Dr. Hossam Badrawi Official Website
Hossam Badrawi
I was reading an interesting book entitled” Die Empty”, by Todd Henry, who talks about the most wealthy lands in the world. He denies that it is the Gulf countries full of oil, not the countries of Africa full of diamonds, nor the countries rich in technology, but the richest are the cemeteries .. Cemeteries contain millions of people , who left this world carrying millions of ideas that did
not come to light and were not taken advantage of.
The book talks about that the wealth of mankind is ideas. The writer motivates every person to empty his ideas and document them for the benefit of their societies, and turn them into something tangible before it is too late and before they remain hidden in the graves without seeing the light , remain buried with their owners under the dirt.
“Do not go to your grave carrying your best, and “die empty’ after you have filled
people’s lives with your thoughts.”
I found that as an eloquent and unconventional expression. It reminded me of Al Osstaz Al- Akkad’s book “Thinking is an Islamic Obligation” which I read while I was in secondary school, and of what “Ibn Rushd” said to his student who was crying over his books when ignorant rulers and extremists burned them. He said: “If you cry about the situation of Muslims, then you better know that all oceans and seas of the whole world would not be enough to contain your tears , but if you cry over burned
books, then know that thoughts have wings and they fly to their owners.
Yes, ideas fly to who deserve them. A phrase I read came to my mind saying
When class, sophistication , and advancement knocks on the door of a nation, they ask: Is this a place free thoughts ?, if yes , we are coming in, if not we are out.
I believe in what René Descartes said, “I think, therefore I am.”
I believe that ideas that are not documented , did not exist. Therefore, I have taken upon myself to record my thoughts,
apply what I can from them, and publish a summary of my experiences to those who can benefit from them and with them, bearing in mind Jawaharlal Nehru’s saying “When we think of ends, we must not ignore the means.”
From that perspective, I look at the slogan of the new republic seriously, and even commit to presenting ideas that contribute to building it and building the future of Egypt.
I and a group of young people, experts and politicians meet from time to time, not to ask, as many
people do, what do they mean by a new republic? , as if we are waiting for what others will dictate to us. Rather, we are discussing how to be effective with our ideas in building this new republic.
We did not differ, old and young, that the heart of the new republic should be justice, without which the state would not exist. There is a necessity for a qualitative and intellectual reform of the institutions of justice and law enforcement tools (the police).
This pillar is one of the two most important pillars for the structure
of the modern civil state. The other one is opening the horizons of knowledge and culture , through the gateway of, learning and education.
Incomplete, slow or selective justice is even worth than absence of justice. Citizen’s sense of injustice contradict the existence of a modern civil state.
In order to reform justice institutions , we have to take some important , brave decisions and strive for its sustainability.
Justice is the basis of governance, and even before the
emergence of modern democratic systems, judges were the state’s bond with any ruler.. Now, in the context of heading to a modern civil state and building the foundations and pillars of the new Egypt, the institution of the judiciary system system must be at the heart.
الحق( The state of right and law is based upon the , )والقانون
independence of the judiciary, the separation of powers, the protection of human rights and minorities. The role of justice can only be achieved by ensuring that the separation of legislative, executive, and judicial powers
takes its true meaning only when all authorities are subject to the rule of law. Legislation cannot express the will of the nation unless the rights of all citizens are respected, and the executive authority cannot perform its functions and exercise the authority that the people gave to it by free election without respect of the rule of law and guarantees of citizens’ rights.
Just as freedom turns into chaos if the law does not set a framework for it, the power that people grant to the government turns into oppression and tyranny if it is not deterred by respect for
the constitution by the necessity of transferring power and regulating its work by law.
If the constitution formally guarantees a set of rights for citizens, the international agreements ratified by successive governments must be enforceable before the courts according to the principle of the sanctity of the agreement.
The failure of the judiciary to resort to these agreements limits the effectiveness of human rights guarantees. Not resorting to it simply because it is not included in national laws remains a
worthless justification in international law and jurisprudence.
This concerns not only the rights embodied in the conventions, but also those recognized in the principles of customary international humanitarian law.
I add that whatever the pressures, resorting to the use of exceptional and military courts significantly limits the enjoyment of citizens’ rights. It is not only related to procedural rights, such as the right to a fair trial before an independent and impartial court established by law, and
subject to predetermined procedures in the laws, but also rights that should not be touched or violated, even in cases of emergency and exception, such as the right to be free from torture, treatment degrading human dignity, the right to be free from enforced disappearance, extrajudicial killing and arbitrary arrest.
The courts in Egypt have remained historically, structurally and in practice subject to the hegemony and interference of the executive authority. This has contributed to the loss of citizens’ confidence in the extent
to which these courts are effective in protecting the rights of citizens’ rights violations and criminally prosecuting the perpetrators of these violations. We must avoid this in the new republic.
The establishment and consolidation of the State of rule of law is based first and foremost on the role that the judiciary can play in an impartial and independent manner in subjecting the rest of the other authorities to the law, and in protecting the rights of citizens.
Egypt, in the new republic, must affirm in that in the constitution, , and in its declared policies pressing on the effective total independence of the judiciary from the rest of the organs of the state. Someone will say that this does not need further confirmation because it is contained in the current, previous and earlier constitution. However I focus here on actual independence, not formality. Independent and impartial courts are the basis of the judicial system that guarantees respect for the rights of citizens.
I stress that the special protection that judges, lawyers and members of the Public Prosecution Office should enjoy entails special responsibilities. The principle of judicial independence should not allow them the right to exceed the limits of their authority to achieve personal benefits that allow them to infringe the rights of individuals. Therefore, judges may not decide cases according to their personal whims, nor their religious or ideological affiliation, but according to the facts and their legal description, no matter how much pressure on them is from the authority or a general
opinion or their personal previous convections.
We are looking for a new initiative to govern our country , in an agreement between the dream of a modern civil state with consideration of the real power on the ground. An initiative that does not deprive the country of its human potential or of its effective national institutions, an initiative that gives freedom its place as the core of the State, that would not allow freedom to turn into Chaos, nor the selective manipulation of the law. An initiative that allows the general public to freely choose
and make good choices for their representatives in Parliament via BUisness;ding up human capacity to make appropriate decisions . This is the philosophy behind the approach , and the action must match it.
I return to ideas, and to proposed dialogue. There is no mistake in consulting, and there is no shame in putting forward ideas and initiatives, avoiding fears, and learning from our previous experiences, and the experiences of others…
So let symposiums be held, ideas to flare , and let us listen to each other freely, for thoughts
are the realization of the mind in the known to reach the knowledge of the unknown.
Gentlemen, thinking is the basis of wisdom, and as Plato said, “We are mad if we cannot think, fanatics if we do not want to think, and slaves if we do not dare to think.”
In the end, “A man is nothing but a product of his thoughts. What he thinks of, becomes him.” As Mahatma Gandhi said.
let us die empty, as the title of the book with which I began the article said, after we fill the world with ideas.
