Young dreamers of tomorrow gathered around me and asked me about the dangers facing Egypt at this stage of its present. One of them said: Does Turkey represent a threat to us in the east? Another said: The real danger is from the Renaissance Dam in Ethiopia, which may affect our lives, as water and the Nile River are the focus of Egypt’s life!! A third said: Frankly, I see that all of this is linked to Israel, as it is the real, historical danger and may be behind every other danger!! Another young woman responded, saying: O people, the danger is more from the inside than from the outside. The danger is changing the identity of society into a reactionary ancestral society that takes us back and keeps us away from modernity and science! One of the young men said, frankly, I am afraid of terrorism and its effect on us. The intelligent, educated young woman said: The question, Doctor Hossam, is, are we a strong country to be able to face all these challenges??
I looked at them, understanding their fears and realizing their concerns, and I said calmly: What you mentioned are real challenges. Turkey’s presence on Libyan lands on our eastern borders is not only aimed at seizing Libya’s wealth, but threatening Egypt at the military and economic levels, as well as with the hatred they hold from the Brotherhood and their desire to return to control Egypt. . The challenge of water from the south is fundamental and overlaps in it from the point of view of Israel and Turkey in some way. And yes, I agree with you that the civilizational challenge is between us and Israel in the long run. He praised those who mentioned the internal cultural, emotional and economic challenges, but the most important question in all of what you mentioned is: Are we a strong country to face all that?!
The answer is summarizing yes, and the answer in detail is as follows:
Egypt has one of the ten most powerful armies in the world. It has well-trained armed forces and most of its elements are highly educated. Egypt is militarily strong, and if it were not, it would have been a hotbed for those who threaten it from the north and east.. Of course we all know that equipment, planes, missiles and fleets must have brains, expertise, competence and the ability to manage battles and choose their time and place. The lesson in people is behind the equipment, and I am confident that our armed forces possess these components and capabilities and know their importance and feasibility.
Yes, we are militarily strong.
Egypt, young men, possesses human wealth, large in number, and young in age, as 65% of its population is less than 30 years old.. This is a colossal wealth capable of learning, training, acquiring knowledge and creating opportunities. This human wealth is a gift from God if we prepare it well, which is what we have the power to do and implement. Education and health care are the way to make this wealth the main force of the country and the first pillar of its development. Building a confident Egyptian personality, proud of its past and present, and who has hope for its future in our hands, and one decade changes a lot.
This is Egypt’s potential strength, and Egypt’s hope in facing all challenges and using what God has given us of opportunities and wealth.
The same intelligent girl said: Do we have wealth?
I smiled and said: Oh, come on, let me prepare some of them for you. We have the largest historical stock of the world’s civilization. Egypt is a large museum. We only have to show it and benefit from it as a tourist to generate unprecedented economic wealth. We have in the north the most beautiful beaches of the White Sea, and in the east along the borders, the beaches of the Red Sea are unparalleled. We own the most important waterway on the globe, the Suez Canal, which connects the north to the south and the east to the west. It was dug by our ancestors with their blood. This waterway that supports Egypt’s ingenious geographic position could be the country’s main development corridor.
Egypt possesses a wealth of gas under its land and in the depths of its seas, which may be one of the entrances to its future economy, with limits it has not reached before. Egypt has mineral wealth in its lands, which are being discovered now and we did not know of their existence before.
Egypt has the largest commercial market in the Middle East.
Egypt has a soft power of art, culture and knowledge. We must reopen the horizons for its launch and creativity again. Egypt’s soft power was a reason for its impact on those around it, and it still has the same capabilities if we lift the restrictions and remove the obstacles in front of it.
Egypt possesses a civilized stock in its people, and latent capabilities in its youth and old people, which do not need to be launched except for freedom and respect for the law.
And you need to clear the rust from it through education, culture and the arts.
Of course, Egypt is strong, guys, and it can be stronger and more stable, with conscious management and hard work from everyone.
By the way, my words are not slogans, but they are scientific and methodological, and they can happen. Egypt is strong and will grow stronger, and we must join hands to achieve this. A young man from the audience said: What is the way to achieve this?
I said: Sustainability of the implementation of plans that must be announced, and that are established by sharing between the wisdom of experience and the energy of youth.. This can be achieved by listening to various opinions and presenting alternatives from experts.. It is possible to achieve this with the belief that creativity and innovation do not occur except within a framework of freedom. .
The educated young woman said: What is the basis of all this?
I said: You will be surprised by what I say, that it is the system of political governance.. Politics is the entrance to achieving the happiness of peoples, enabling them to reach their capabilities and increasing the strength of the country. Therefore, the modern civil state is the basis and pillar of all of that.
She said: What is the modern civil political state that you mean?
I said: Building the modern civil state is a pillar of choosing the identity of the state and working to consolidate its pillars, with respect for all citizens’ beliefs and religions and their freedom to practice the law within the framework of their rituals.
The civil state I mean here is a state that preserves and protects all members of society regardless of their national, religious or intellectual affiliations. There are several principles that must be met in a civil state, and if one of them is lacking, the conditions of that state will not be fulfilled, the most important of which are:
That the state is based on peace, tolerance, acceptance of the other, and equality in rights and duties, in a way that guarantees the rights of all citizens, and that no one is subject to
A response to a violation of his rights by another individual or another party. There is always a supreme authority, which is the authority of the state, which individuals turn to when their rights are violated or threatened to be violated. It is the state that applies the law and prevents the parties from applying forms of punishment themselves.
– of the principles of the State Civil confidence in the contracting process and the various exchanges, as well as the principle of citizenship, which means that the individual does not know his profession or religion or Baqlیmh or his wealth or his authority, but known as a definition of legally socially as a citizen, that is a member of the community has rights .. and duties , which is equal to all citizens.
– One of the main principles of the State Civil they are not founded by mixing religion and politics, as they are not hostile to religion or reject Although religion remains in the civil state factor in building ethics and create energy to work and achievement and progress, as is rejected by the civil state is the use of religion to achieve political objectives, that is contrary to the principle of pluralism on which the State civil, as this may one of the most important factors that turning religion into divisive and controversial subject matter and explanations may keep him out of the world of holiness, and enter it into the world of worldly interests narrow. Also respecting the principle of democracy, which prevents the state from being forcibly taken by an individual, an elite, a family, an aristocracy, or an ideological tendency.
This state unleashes the capabilities of its members by releasing their freedom, which is governed by law, and allows Egypt to be stronger and more durable, protected by its people, army, culture and civilization.
For Egypt to be strong in the face of external challenges, it must be strong from within.