An article in Al-Masry Al-Youm entitled “In his latest book… Hossam Badrawy calls for “daring to think.”

An article in Al-Masry Al-Youm entitled “In his latest book… Hossam Badrawy calls for “daring to think.”
Wednesday 05-15-2024 | Written by: Asmaa Amin |
Dr. Hossam Badrawy has always been concerned with educational issues, calling for creativity and innovation, rejecting stagnation, highlighting the importance of growth and development, supporting young people, paying attention to their opinions, listening to them, discussing them and discussing them, always devoting part of his time to “the youth who dream of tomorrow,” and not It is strange that he calls in his most recent book to “dare to think.” The book is an indication of the importance of realizing reality, a step for communication and choice, in order to develop sound visions for our future, as Badrawi emphasized that in every adversity there is an opportunity, and through discussion and development we can extract opportunities from adversity. In 276 pages, the book “Dare to Think” by Dr. Hossam Badrawi was recently published by Dar Al-Maaref, in which the author shared his ideas with the reader, and also shared with them the artistic paintings he had created, which he displayed before each chapter of his book, which included 3 chapters, It has important titles. The first chapter dealt with “Reason and Thinking,” and the second chapter dealt with “Dare to Be Optimistic,” in which he addressed the crisis of his illness. As for the third and final chapter, it dealt with “Dare to Understand,” to complete the author’s main goal, which is to present new horizons and point out the importance of enlightenment and knowledge. And the ability to choose.
The book is a collection of articles within the “Dare to Think” series launched by the thinker Dr. Hossam Badrawy, in an attempt to raise the slogan “We dialogue to understand,” stressing that self-realization through the mind is the human ability and the greatest thing that distinguishes him from the rest of his creation.
The chapters of the book – as Ibrahim Issa said – are theoretical studies that revolve with the circles of life from religion to art, and go with all paths of reality from political relations to emotional relations. They are as gentle as the heart of their author, and as precise as the mind of their author. They are written for the heart so that it ascends from it to the mind and not The opposite. The author pointed out that the mind and thinking are the miracle of creation within us, stressing that the ability to make the best choice stems from the entrance of knowledge and the use of the mind and the scientific method in thinking, pointing out that man is the comprehensive book of all the existences of creation, as he contains the body and the soul, matter and energy, life and death, and permanence. And time, all at once.
Badrawi defined the concept of cultural development, and pointed out the difference between an idea and a thinker, saying: “I may not be convinced by an idea, but I will not quarrel with the thinker,” stressing that ideas do not expire, as knowledge and information multiply, mutations occur in them, new ideas emerge from them, and the most appropriate and fittest remains. . He expanded on talking about the reproduction of information, and addressed the concepts of genes and memes in a simple way that addresses the average reader, pointing out that memes of fanaticism are created by ignorance in all ages, and the more ignorant a person becomes, the more he evades dialogue and the more he insists on what he thinks is absolute, and he is unable to convince others of his beliefs. .
The author did not limit himself to dealing with thinking in its scientific form, but rather touched on freedom, marriage, the word and the difference in meanings, the mind and thinking about the universe. He spoke about the philosophy of religions, and presented the thought of Dr. Mustafa Mahmoud and Al-Aqqad also noted what Imam Ali bin Abi Talib, may God be pleased with him, said: “The head of virtues and the source of good manners is reason, which God Almighty made for religion as a foundation and for this world as a pillar,” indicating that mature rational thinking throughout history has created the possibility of balance for humanity, He left us the task of thinking with our minds, and we began to ask for proof, then to doubt, then to discuss, then to be convinced, to review the statements in order to believe them, and to seek to explain the accumulated knowledge we have that our ancestors did not have.
Most thinkers have always talked about Taha Hussein, and each of them sees his insight into the issue of education, his call for it to be free for every Egyptian man and woman, and the impact of his book (The Future of Culture in Egypt), which remains an important part of the industry of enlightenment, knowledge and culture. The author has shed light on Taha Hussein’s vision. Because of the importance of education and thought, and his definition of illiteracy, to which he added illiteracy of understanding, warning against falling into the clutches of incomplete or distorted knowledge.
Not only is he the dean of Arabic literature, but he referred in the chapter “Wisdom and the Beauty of the Word” to Al-Mutanabbi and his poetry, reviewing some of Al-Mutanabbi’s verses that carry the story and the lesson in the affairs of life, and remain present until now, saying that “Al-Mutanabbi was not a king, nor a prince, nor a leader, nor a person of prestige. But he is the pride of the Arabs and the interpreter of their wisdom, and he is the individual man who composed in one collection what life had scattered in other collections of experiences and sermons.” As for Al-Aqqad, he touched on his wisdom and ideas. He pointed out that he was a thinker, whose Arabic language was lofty, his argument was powerful, and his mental ability was comprehensive. Badrawi pointed out the reason for combining them in one chapter. He said: “Al-Aqqad and Al-Mutanabbi enrich the mind and conscience, and the beauty of the word and the mastery of speech.” The elegance of language and the smoothness of logic and wisdom.
Regarding cultural and national identity, Badrawi spoke about the third gender or non-sex, about Western media and the export of cultures that are incompatible with our societies, and the establishment of institutions that defend these alien cultures. He says: “There are those who want to erase existing identities out of a desire to unite everyone culturally, and this is shortcomings.” A view and an inability to see the integrated beauty of diversity within a single entity,” stressing that the beauty of humanity is the multiplicity of cultural identities of groups of people that gives humanity richness and vitality, and it remains our duty as knowledge matures to learn how to live together and even enjoy and learn from each other.
Thought, ideas, and the implementation of thinking are not only the concern of young people and adults, but it is found in young children who continue to ask questions, which are often too old for their age, and the parents do not succeed in answering them, and they are unable to keep up with their children in their continuous exploratory questions. Badrawi turned to The most frequently asked questions on children’s lips, including: What is a pronoun? Why is the sky blue? How do birds fly? He says: “Curiosity and imagination are the root of creativity and innovation, and the seed of development and civilization,” directing parents to encourage their children to ask questions.

Badrawi chose to simplify the concepts. He touched on scientific theories to demonstrate the necessity of using the mind to emerge from the darkness, pointing to the development and maturity of what the human mind can comprehend for thousands of years until now. Among the concepts he tried to simplify for the reader are “enlightenment,” “liberalism,” and “secularism.” This was after witnessing conversations between young people who insist on their opinion on some issues, and may quarrel without a clear understanding of the terms they use without putting them in their correct context. He pointed out that liberalism, secularism, and civil society call for not using religion to obtain political gains, and its pillars are respect for the beliefs of every citizen, and that Religion is a relationship between the individual and God Almighty.
In his book, Dr. Badrawi emphasized the necessity of exercising reason, pointing to human rights and freedom of choice.