Dr. Hossam Badrawi Official Website
Since he submitted his resignation from the position of the Secretary-General of the former “ruling” National Party, days before former President Hosni Mubarak abdicated, following the January revolution, Dr. Hossam Badrawi has distanced himself from the waves of turmoil that struck Egypt over the course of stormy years, dedicating himself to his research and studies. And they were working on formulating modern visions worthy of discussion, in a number of important files for the future of Egypt, especially those related to democracy, education and the development of civil society.
Dr. Badrawi issued about two years ago, his most important book, “Education, the Opportunity to Rescue” in a series of books, intended to be presented to the public opinion, under the title The Road to Renaissance, a path that the man clearly sees, that issues of education and knowledge occupy a leading position in it, which is what prompted him before He called for the establishment of a “special commission for education,” comprising the ministries of education, culture, youth and sports, as well as the media, as he believes that the establishment of such a commission may represent a broad step on the road to charting a better future, for this vital sector that needs sustainability and political will. On democracy, parties and civil society, Al-Ahram met with Dr. Badrawi, in an interview that did not lack a deep reading of the Egyptian reality and visions of future prospects.
> I wrote a series of articles on democracy, and I said that it and freedom are in a state of essential interdependence that ensures that there is no transition to chaos, and some view it as a continuation of the saying “Egyptians are not yet ready to practice democracy.” Is this true?
The question about democracy is a historical question, and the truth is that there are no peoples ready with the scientific logic of democracy in its full form, because in the end the matter is related to awareness, the greater the amount of illiteracy and lack of education in any society, the fewer opportunities for choice? Correct, but does this mean that people do not have the right to choose, of course not, people always have the right to choose, and when I asked when democracy is implemented, I said that in its Western form it has not been implemented in any of the developing countries so far, peoples are always ruled by one From four, military forces, religious ideology, economic blocs, or man-made ideologies, such as the communist or socialist regime, this regime died, for example, with the death of the Soviet Union, and we rejected in Egypt the religious ideology of the June 30 revolution, as many rejected It is the developing countries that govern this ideology, and in the whole world there is nothing left but economic blocs with the armed forces.
> Do you think that the existing parties are able to take a step forward in this file?
This question prompts us to talk about the partisan experience in the world first. The rapid developments that are taking place clearly say that the parties, in their old classic image, no longer have a great influence, as they did in the past. The traditional like mobilizing the masses and so on, now the president speaks to the people live without a mediator, and the truth is that in Egypt we are still sticking to the old partisan form, which is a form that has never succeeded in winning power, what happens is that if the ruler has a party, his party is called the The ruling party, and in developing countries usually, there are no ruling parties, except the affiliated parties or those close to the ruling authority, while democracy in the western world is moving towards the extreme right, and look at what is happening now in France and Germany, even the United States of America. out of his party.
> Does what you say mean that the political parties in Egypt have written her death certificate, and will not have a role in creating the future?
What I mean is that the traditional form of parties has ended, and what I think is that the development taking place in the global scene will not enable the traditional political parties in Egypt to work, and that there must be another form of political practice, because the options that will be presented in the near future, will It depends mainly on efficiency and achievement, more than ideology, while the parties will be just content. The future will depend only on releasing the capabilities of the individual, because he has become more influential, and many events around us clearly say that few individuals can make major movements, and correct ideas, we are now We can say that “Social Media” changed the model of government and opposition.
> Does the Egyptian people realize these rapid changes, and can they move towards participation in the future, without political organizations to guide them on the way, as they have been accustomed to over the past decades?
The Egyptian people have wondrous civilized genes, which appear in moments or snapshots, as happened on June 30, and these genes move quickly when they sense danger, as happened during the War of Attrition and the October War, and here we have nothing but respect for this civilized genetic accumulation in the Egyptian people, When you talk about activists, you are talking about a very small part of the Egyptian people, and they are the owners of ideologies, but the so-called “sofa party” when it moves, moves everything with it, and the Egyptian people, if they move on an issue, they can achieve, and what I hope The movement of the Egyptian people is always not a rejection of a reality, as much as it is a desire for a better reality, because the difference is great.
> But don’t these challenges impose a role on the Egyptian elite, and the need to participate with the force and effectiveness required in creating the future?
The Egyptian elite has a very important role, and it is divided in my opinion into two types, one of which is silent and only talks to itself, and the second is the ruling elite, and the expansion of the space of freedom necessarily creates a healthy environment for the exchange of views, and even new political alternatives that are not on the table, but if we close the ear , we are going in one direction, one person always pays for it, and I always bet on the goodwill of the country’s leaders, and I have confidence that it really wants to achieve, and perhaps the disagreement is only in the means that I may see in one way, and others see in another, but my trust The ruling elite would listen well.
Confrontation with the brothers
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A fierce security confrontation has taken place with the Brotherhood for some time, but the group is still continuing its political games, so do you think that the security confrontation is sufficient to eliminate this group?
In my opinion, it is not sufficient, of course. The confrontation must be intellectual, cultural and enlightening, and the security confrontations over the years succeeded and failed, and every time the Brotherhood returned to the picture, the enlightening confrontation comes in my opinion through education and the media, by revealing the reality of the group’s political goals, which are goals It has nothing to do with Islam, which is full of tolerance and affection and does not know violence
> Does this mean that the group is not finished yet?
Groups with intellectual references do not end with a security confrontation only, but they require an intellectual confrontation by refuting fanatic ideas, which always meet with pioneers and an atmosphere and have branches, such as ISIS and other groups of violence and infidels, all of which are products of the idea of politicizing religion or religiosity of politics.
> There has been talk for some time about a major deal in the Middle East, and some say that this deal has expired and no longer exists?
This is not true, what is happening is that things are still in their infancy, and what is happening in terms of the division of countries and what some peoples of the region suffer from partisanship, and what some regions are witnessing from groups that are fighting, and differences are increasing and institutions are falling, he says that we are in the beginning, and I always say look About the only beneficiary of what is happening, and he is undoubtedly Israel, whose capabilities are increasing day by day, and is imposing its control over the region, through the increase in its military capabilities, and in return it finds everyone who claimed at one time that he does not deal with Israel, deals with it from under the table .
> In light of the difficult circumstances that Egypt is currently facing, do you think that Egyptian capitalism has played the role required of it in rebuilding the state?
The question is difficult, but I can say that the successful private sector is the one that produces civil work and a strong civil society, and the truth is that Egyptian capitalism has at many times played important roles, and do not forget that it contributed to building Cairo University and Agouza Hospital, along with many other institutions, and we sat down About two years ago, as representatives of the 15 largest civil associations, we concluded that we spent about 16 billion pounds on social development in Egypt, an amount that no one felt, because the media does not shed enough light on it. We have very respectable people in civil work, doing work Great, but the role is not highlighted enough.
