Dr. Hossam Badrawi Official Website
first article
The bold and intelligent young woman said: You tell us, Doctor, that education, media and culture are the most important pillars of building conscience, and that the family, school and society are responsible for what we see of violence, harassment and corruption.
I said: You are absolutely right, my daughter.
She said: Let’s start with education. What is the situation from your point of view?
I said: The child and young man spend about eighteen years of age in the educational institutions for which the state is responsible. Hence the importance of reaching the vision and message of the community leaders regarding the rights of citizenship and belonging to Egypt, pride and pride in them, and respecting women and their rights cumulatively, directly and indirectly, for our children and youth. There is no place where all citizens gather for 14 years at school and 4 years at university in a framework that has walls, limited in time and place, like educational institutions.
And we have to admit that if a single-minded, fanatical, intolerant of pluralism, violent or extremist and harassing youth graduates from these educational institutions, then we must be doing something wrong.
The young woman said: With all due respect, I doubt that the responsible generations have an agreed-upon vision and a cumulative strategy. We, with all our mistakes, are the result of your lack of clarity in your vision and the confusion of your thoughts.
I said, “Give everything you have.”
She said: You are a generation with those who preceded you. You have confused political, social and cultural concepts. Are we a modern civil state, as some of you say and as we believe, or a religious, Salafist state… Things are mixed before us. Does society respect freedom of opinion, respect women, believe in pluralism, and have tolerance that accepts those who differ from it? I doubt that your generation is stable on its orientations. You have been in conflict over concepts since the beginning of the twentieth century, and you blame us for what happened in our hearts.
I said: In order not to get into an argument instead of a dialogue, I agree with you, but I am looking for solutions.
She said: We are going back to education.
I said: In the book of Dr. Taha Hussein, the famous “The Future of Culture in Egypt,” was talking about illiteracy. He said wisely, that literacy does not mean learning to read and write, but it is the literacy of reading, writing and understanding, because if we eradicate illiteracy of reading and writing without understanding, one who reads and does not understand becomes vulnerable to being controlled by Think. The issue is not reading and writing, but rather a matter that includes a depth of understanding, the ability to choose, make decisions, and distinguish between right and wrong.
The challenge of education is a cross-border issue, as there is no such thing as Egyptian or foreign education. Education is one, because it is based on one foundation and development is proceeding in the same way, but in the last 10 years something happened that did not exist before and the Covid 19 pandemic came and explained the depth of the crisis.
In the last 10 years, technology has become a major imposition in life, and education is changing comprehensively in its means and means of delivering knowledge to students. Knowledge has become available to everyone at no cost, so the role of education has changed from merely transferring knowledge to students’ minds to coexisting students in school and university, which means that the issue has become digital education and humanization, and not a changing curriculum, but rather a model for coexistence within the framework of the education institution in a digital and human framework at the same time.
We are now talking about education after Corona, distance education and new methods and how to use them. But I am aware that it is possible that we can succeed in developing education and use the means of development to an extreme, but we may also unintentionally leave the innovator, the scientist, the creative and the genius, but at the same time, the extremist in thought, the violent and the harasser. The issue is not about introducing a human rights curriculum to prevent violence or issuing instructions to prevent harassment and respect the different, but it is a way of life within the educational institution from which this young man/woman emerges, able to distinguish between right and wrong and to live in a framework that respects the rights of others without the excessive violence methodology found in modern societies. The making of conscience takes place in educational institutions, in the family, in the media, in the atmosphere of general culture and the arts. New things such as toys, electronics, the use of the Internet, access to unlimited knowledge, YouTube and others interfere in education.
All this technology is available to children and young people without any control on our part, and whoever tries to stand in the way of its use, his efforts are doomed to failure.
Is this an ordeal or an opportunity?
If we learn how to use the tools of the age to create a conscience that allows tolerance, acceptance of pluralism, acceptance and respect of the other, and peace with ourselves and with others, we will have an opportunity to jump over challenges built over the years. And if we wait for the solution to come through prayer and hope, the society will slip further and plunge into contradictions imposed on our generation and those who preceded us as a result of ignorance, between modernity and Salafism, between enlightenment and ignorance, between science and knowledge and myths of the past and beliefs created in people’s conscience at a time when knowledge was few and the methodology of science was absent.
Wisdom and experience says:
First: There is no educational system that rises above the level of its teachers. If we are talking about a curriculum that is taught and an awareness of rights that is taught to modern generations, creating a future, and a personal industry, then our goal must be focused on those in charge of the educational process, such as teachers and administrators, because they facilitate the student’s access to knowledge in the institution. We must define our goal to raise the level of the teacher and the level of education together.
The second wisdom says, that to improve the level of education, the environment must be created for the learner. If the environment for education is ugly and lacking in beauty, do not expect the learner to love beauty or to be clear. Also, if the climate is full of lies and dishonesty, we should not wait for education to rise to a higher level that we think will exist. lonliness.
The third wisdom reminds us of what separates man from other creatures, and what has God placed in man that distinguishes him from them? .. The answer is imagination, dream, accumulation of knowledge and free will in making his decisions.
Children are the most imaginative of us and have the widest dream, even if we consider the violence that we offer to our children in games and movies
Cinematic and Animation to realize the extent of the emotional transmission that we instill in them and shapes their dreams. The other broadcast comes from the claimant of religiosity with myths that have no basis in our beautiful, sound religion to complete an emotional system that has nothing to do with modernity and science.
My respect for Al-Azhar is taught far and wide, but this does not prevent me from wondering how to influence the conscience of a student who spends fourteen years of study in schools and then four years at a university in Azhar education, and no Christian sits next to him and no girl sits next to him – to accept that he is These citizens with him have the same rights.
If there are policies, then they must be applied to everyone, because there should not be a path that allows for oneness of thought, and another path that allows for a plurality of thought. The message must change, as I have not yet encountered a message that combines the two approaches. We want more creativity in integrating ideas and removing confusion.
In my opinion, this is the responsibility of governments and community leaders, and we must show real seriousness in dealing with this matter. Without knowing these human concepts and integrating them into new technologies, it is very difficult to expect a new generation that is more creative, more genius, more tolerant and less extremist at the same time.
Yes, my daughter, you have a right, and our generation must strive with you and with you to get out of this predicament, overcome confusion in concepts, and impose a path without contradiction between what we say and what we do.
For the rest of the story…
second article
Continuing the confrontation between the generations, the dialogue extended between me and the youth of tomorrow’s dreamers and some of their families regarding the difference in viewpoints and accusations by the youth of the two older generations that they are the reason for their conflicting concepts and mixing their values.
The rebellious, educated young woman said: You had mentioned to us, Doctor, that you wanted to include some important human values in the programs of educational institutions, with the aim of building the healthy conscience of children and youth, and we want to discuss with you what these values are, and whether they have the same concept as us.
I said: This is an important topic, because I agree with you that our generation, and those before it and after it, may be a cause of confusion in the concepts of some values you have, especially by repeatedly mentioning them and at the same time working on the opposite.
I was with a group of researchers and we identified 35 important human values that must be established in society and to ensure agreement on their standards and methods of scientific measurement.
She said: There are two types of values, values that you claim and values that you live, so what kind do you mean?
I said: I understand what you mean, despite its harshness, but I accept it. And you have to understand that the first stage of truth is the recognition and identification of reality, and this is the reason for my interest in values and their definition with you and the clarification of the type of gap that may have occurred between generations in this matter. When I use the word “values” I mean the values that we live by, that is, those we do not violate in our actions, in our relationships and dealing with others, in our relationship with nature, and in our practical and long-term situations that we are willing to pay the price for. These are the principles that govern what we do, not What we say or think, unless it is consistent with what we do. Our actions are the true determinant of the values we hold and live by.
There is no meaning for dialogue about values in isolation from practice and the societal context in its various dimensions. It is also meaningless to discuss about values in politics, education, religion, economics, science, society, or the arts… as if there are different sets of values in different fields, values are indivisible and should not be divided.
One of the mothers who attended the dialogue said: How do you say that values are not divided, there are religious values, for example, that we have to establish and impose on our children.
I said: My lady, values are not slogans that are raised, but convictions that are translated through our actions, our behavior and our dealings with others. They are principles embedded in our actions and relationships. And it came in Islam that “religion is the transaction,” and it came on the tongue of Christ, peace be upon him: If someone says: “I love God” and hates his brother, then he is a liar. In other words, the two expressions confirm that the religious criterion is due to our relationship with ourselves and with others, how we treat them and the extent of our sincerity with them and our love for them, meaning that the difference between reality and claim with respect to values lies in actions and not in words. With regard to the Prophet Muhammad and the Messiah, peace be upon them, their focus was on the good human being, and on noble morals, and not all religions differ in the quality of virtuous human values. Cross-religious values.
The first young woman said: What are these main values that you speak of?
I said: We chose 35 values, which are honesty, accuracy, beauty, tolerance, love, cleanliness, freedom, patience, courage, mercy, faith, knowledge, benevolence, thanksgiving, apology, forgiveness, giving, respect, compassion, gratitude, happiness, friendship. Responsibility – citizenship – humility – justice – perfection – righteousness to parents – pride – listening – sacrifice – obedience and respect – solidarity – integrity – participation.
Another young man said: I will choose four values from what you say, Doctor. I see that we will differ in their definition, and we will discuss them with you.
I said: Please.
His colleague said: We chose the values of patience, courage, sacrifice, respect and obedience.
A third commented – which indicates that they cleverly when they knew the topic of dialogue, they did their duty to discuss together before meeting with me, which made me happy – he commented saying: For example, I have a desire to change the value of patience that we call for. There is passive patience that I do not like, which is contentment with illness, pain and failure, and sometimes we call it God’s decree. What we consider God’s decree may not be final, and man can change and modify it. This is negative patience. As for positive patience, it is the relentless pursuit to change the non-sick or painful reality, searching for a cure and taking medicine, if any.
And change what is in the soul to change what is around it. Doctor, the value of the Ayyubid patience is contentment with what we think God has divided for us, and waiting for his release.
We are not satisfied with that and we do not want to pass it on to the children.
Patience is not the key to relief, but rather thinking about salvation and striving to change reality if it is not from us
Seb is the key to the vulva.
We want to change the sign in the employees’ offices that says patience is the key to relief to striving and work is the key to relief..Knowledge is the key to relief.
I said: You did well in your expression, and I agree with you on the introduction to modifying the concept.
His colleague said: I basically find the value of sacrifice strange, because there is nothing that can be described as sacrifice.
I smiled in astonishment and said, “Then you do not recognize the mother’s sacrifice of her children, or the sacrifice in love that poets and writers wrote about, for example?!!!
She said: You taught us to search for the definition of each word and its meaning before engaging in any dialogue, and the definition of sacrifice is to sacrifice oneself, time, or money for a higher purpose, and for a more hopeful goal, free of charge. Which has no equivalent, and the truth is that all human actions have a reward, so the happiness of the mother with the success of her children or the success in protecting them is in return. Nature says that what parents do for their children makes them happier, and their happiness is their reward. And spending money and soul while waiting for reward and reward with God is a very great return. And there is no sacrifice in loving relationships, because the happiness of lovers by giving to each other is their reward, and the word sacrifice usually appears when love stops and each one looks at the past and sees what he was doing as a sacrifice. In the hour of action it was not a sacrifice because the happiness of the loving giving was the return.
He looked at their colleague and said: As for the assimilation of the value of respect with obedience, it is totally unacceptable. Basically obedience to the slaves, not to the free. I understand adherence to rules, I understand dialogue with respect, I understand commitment to contract or agreement… As for obedience, it means giving up reason and enslaving people.
The first young woman said: Definitions of courage in lexicons, psychology books, and religious and moral references say, that courage in language denotes boldness and taking risks and adversities. And in courage is equanimity and steadfastness, in addition to the underestimation of death and indifference or fear of it, and there have been Arab definitions that courage is in which a brave person sacrifices himself in defense of religion, the harem, the oppressed neighbor or the oppressed, and the oppressed in money or honor or in The various paths of truth, whether the injustice is a little or a lot.
I said well done again, and we return to the topic of sacrifice. Courage is the confrontation with knowledge and the ability to execute, otherwise it becomes recklessness.. It is facing injustice knowingly with justice and the ability to establish it. And the face of falsehood knowingly right and the ability to return. And confronting poverty knowingly with conviction and taking honorable steps to get out of it, and knowingly facing weakness with strength and the ability to impose it with justice. And the face of humiliation knowingly pride and the ability to exercise it.
Courage is a virtue, and like all virtues, it is in the middle between two vices
Excessive courage is recklessness, lack of courage is cowardice.
As for the fact that the definition of courage is death in wars and receiving stabs only, it is an incomplete definition, and the courage to express an opinion and the courage to seek freedom comes to mind.
One young man said: Education is courage, Doctor; It has the courage to face ignorance and the courage to change reality.
I said: So, guys.
