Dr. Hossam Badrawi Official Website
The young follower said: We have agreed to a dialogue on twelve foundations for building the country’s future, and we have started with education and human development, and building the positive personality of the Egyptian citizen, capable of creating a bright future for our country. We talked about young people and the development of policies that accommodate their energies and direct them according to the different age stages. We also discussed the economic approach that increases wealth and eliminates poverty, and our dialogue extended to our fear of the religious Salafist tide, which may develop in Egypt and increase as a result of the beginning of its downfall in Saudi Arabia and the country’s failure to take a clear approach towards confronting it, and we believe, Doctor, that this leads us to a dialogue about the nature of The modern civil state you are talking about, its foundations, and the consolidation of its concept among the new generations.
I said: I am not the one who calls for a modern civil state, but all the people have agreed on a constitution that begins with this phrase: “We are now writing a constitution to complete the construction of a modern democratic state with a civil government.” Separation of powers, balancing them, correlating responsibility with authority, and respecting human rights and freedoms, in the manner set out in the Constitution. This is the premise of the constitution, and its fifth article, which was approved by the Egyptian people by an overwhelming majority in 2014, and neither this introduction nor the fifth article were subject to amendments in 2019 as happened to others. The constitution is our reference in managing and preserving Egypt.
The educated young woman said: What is the civil state that you and the constitution mean? And her colleague said: Why do we want a civil state in the first place, and why do we call it this name, which makes it in contrast to the religious state or the military state, which raises sensitivities without meaning?
I said: The modern civil state has a government that preserves and protects all members of society regardless of their national, religious or intellectual affiliations. The other and equality in rights and duties, as it guarantees the rights of all citizens, not as a gift from the ruler, but as a right of his duty to preserve it. The authority of the state is through law-enforced mechanisms that individuals resort to when their rights are violated or threatened with violation. The state is the one who applies the law and prevents the parties from applying forms of punishment themselves.
One of the principles of the civil state is trust in the various processes of contracting and exchange. The civil state has no arbitrariness or breach of contracts in favor of one group over another. The civil state is characterized by equal opportunities between citizens and institutions on declared bases, as well as faith and the application of the principle of citizenship, which means that an individual is not known by his profession, religion, territory, money or authority, but is defined by a social legal definition as a citizen, meaning that he is a member of society with rights and duties . It is equal to all citizens.
Among the most important principles of the civil state is that it is not established by mixing religion with politics, nor does it antagonize or reject religion. Rather, religion remains in the civil state a factor in building morals and creating energy for work, achievement and progress. What the civil state rejects is the use of religion to achieve political goals, as this is inconsistent with the principle of pluralism upon which the civil state is based, and this matter may be considered one of the most important factors that transform religion into a controversial and controversial subject and interpretations that may distance it from the world of holiness and enter it into the world of interests narrow mundane.
The civil state is also characterized by the principle of respect for the law and democracy, which in essence prevents the state from being forcibly taken by an individual, an elite, a family, or an ideological tendency, and power is transferred in it within a framework of individual freedom of expression, candidacy and election, and all its institutions are placed within the scope of accountability, and a balance The executive, supervisory and judicial authorities in it, so no authority penetrates over another. As for why we want civil government with the definition I mentioned, this is because the alternation of power, the oversight of state institutions, and the balance between powers, is the protector of individuals and their rights mentioned in the constitution. The possibility of devolving power puts every ruler before the moment when he leaves the government and the account of the masses. Yes, there are dictatorial regimes that have achieved developmental breakthroughs, but they are the exception, and the utopia of the just dictator, who, despite his perpetual rule, is not consumed by the intoxication of power and does not think that he is above the law, is unstable.
Their colleague said: So, which system of government that achieves this is a good system of government?
I said yes.
Another said: What is the opposite of the modern civil state?
I said: The opposite of civil rule is religious rule, which uses religion and belief to achieve political powers, and does not recognize citizenship except for those who owe their religion. It is a dictatorship armed with religion.
The other opposite is the dictatorial regime, which is armed with a humane ideology imposed on the people, as was the communist regime, which failed and collapsed and fell.
And the third opposite is any dictatorial regime that armed with intimidation of the people to impose the will of a group of them to rule.
The three have one thing in common, which is that power is not transferred peacefully in this country except through revolutions, coups, demolitions and assassinations.
The educated young woman said: Do you avoid talking about the military state, Doctor?
I said: No, my daughter, the definition of military rule is not of my own making. It is the rule in which the military take over all powers, and stop the civil laws or subject them to their control. It is an exceptional system that countries resort to in the event of emergency crises and disruption of security, and in which a state of emergency is decided permanently until the danger is removed from the country, and in which the executive authority is granted broad powers until security and stability return to the country.
But there is another definition of military rule, which is wrapped in civilian clothes, and that is rule
Which prevents civilians directly or indirectly from reaching power, and aborts partisan and political work so that the civil forces have no value in the elections, and interferes with civilian rule by controlling civil institutions, so that the affairs of the country do not run or a decision is taken without his approval, and the balance between authorities, and all state institutions are marginalized.
The danger is that over time, the argument for staying in power and stopping the transfer of power becomes linked to the absence or inefficiency of an alternative, which is the natural result of the marginalization of civil state institutions.
Society often loses confidence in civil institutions, and a feeling and certainty is generated that civil society is lax without a system, and is not fit to run the country.
All or some of this may happen in a country, and events may lead to it, but history says that all dictatorial regimes, no matter how accomplished in moments – as someone who builds a sand castle on the beach – often ends in violations of freedoms, coups, wars, revolutions or assassinations. It destroys what has been accomplished, and brings the country back to zero again.
The first young man said: What about Egypt?
I said: The only way to sustain the success of any system of government is clarity of vision, allowing the accumulation of experiences, and the transfer of power. As for Egypt, now entering the phase after the transitional years, and we are in a new constitutional presidential period, during which the election of Parliament will be renewed, and procedures for the transition to decentralization are applied. During which local councils are elected for the first time after more than ten years, I am optimistically see a commendable political, economic and social trend for openness and raising the ceiling of freedoms. Which we support, we put to the test within the framework of legality and the law, and I am almost sure that we will notice in 2020 more clearly. My children, I am a man of optimistic genetics, and I see in people the best of them, and our youth and our people have a lot that can build the future, and they have accumulated experiences that can make construction sustainable.
