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| Dr. Ali Mabrouk |
I owe a heartfelt
apology to Ali Mabrouk, the Egyptian citizen, professor of philosophy, and
multi-discipline highly-esteemed intellectual, brave and vigilant patriot, and
human… who stayed for the last moments of his life struggling to fulfill his
humanity. I was eager to meet him after I read his articles in Al Ahram in the
same page and day when my article is published and after I read and understood one
of his books. Once I met him, all barriers were left for we had the same face
features of countryside people and our intellectual and spiritual inclination
had the same genes. I felt no shy to tell him in presence of our common friends
that I learn from him and that sometimes I find it difficult to understand some
of his lines and so attempt to reread them more than once. On his side, he
recommended what I write and say on TV. Afterwards, we were close enough to
share our burdens and pains. However, his were more severe than mine as he
suffered persecution and negligence which I didn’t suffer like him.
I apologize for Ali
Mabrouk, the Egyptian citizen, for all the efforts we exerted to bring to
reality a state of citizenship where citizens can enjoy their rights in good life,
were very modest and worn-out. I apologize for the dream we left behind; a
dream of a republic where limits between classes are almost nonexistent, a
republic where freedom, socialism, and unionism are maintained, a republic
where concepts of self-sufficiency, justice, and equal opportunities are
guaranteed. I apologize for we have given away that dream and accepted –
despite our refusal and struggle – to live as mere numbers and tenth-class
citizens. We even stood still watching when our county was traded in the
regional and international market and being dealt with as satellite state. That’s
why Ali Mabrouk couldn’t have a single right of his citizenship’s despite his
knowledge, scientific degree, intellect, integrity, decency, and honesty.
I apologize to Ali
Mabrouk, the professor of philosophy, for we haven’t tried to discuss the oppressive
atmosphere dominating in the Egyptian academia and universities – atop of them
of course is Cairo University – despite the wide pages in papers we write in,
the hours we were allowed to appear on TV, and the public gatherings we’re
usually invited to. We didn’t pay due attention to revealing the intrigues and low-level
behavior adopted by those whom only the biological coincidence brought them in
charge of taking decisions governing our academia, those who kept persecuting
the efficient and hard-working people and degrading their excellence to prevent
any comparison that would definitely show their real value compared to those hard
workers.
We even contributed to attracting
publicity for those claiming to be heritage researchers and leading religious
thinkers who are aware of modern-time interpretations and true teachings of
religion. It turned out that those imposters, as proved later when you see
their stance toward Ali Mabrouk and Nasr Hamid Abu Zayd[2], are nothing but primitive
machines meant to repack and rewrap what was already produced and well digested
before.
I apologize to Ali
Mabrouk, the intellectual, nationalist, and human, for we didn’t continue, not even
for once, any of the dozens of attempts and efforts we exerted to build the
cultural and civilization bulwarks against our present-time Tatars who exist in
all fields, either those religion-proclaimed ones or others who claim to be
scientists, seculars, liberals, and believers of scientific research freedom while
actually they are more dangerous and even incomparable to the cancer inflicted
by muslim brotherhood, salafists, thieves of public fund, and all their likes.
They sought to nail the honest Ali Mabrouk and spared no efforts in doing so to
destroy his scientific and philosophy project. They undermined his morale and drove
him to disbelieve in his country but it was in vain; they failed. However, he
was lonely.
We became closer, me and
him. I tried to publish his banned articles outside Egypt. We used to meet and
sit to discuss a single phrase in a line searching for alternative word here or
there lest the article is banned again from publish. Publishing was his own way
of breathing and feeling free until an unintentional and unexpected interruption
took place when I fell sick due to my back pains. That’s why I didn’t know
about his bigger-than-mine suffering. My friend, whom I cry and owe an apology,
suffered from Liver disease. Those mean incompetent bastards treacherously and
mercilessly persecuted him. Of course, his immune system was affected due to
the exhaustion inflicted with his mind and nerves while trying to afford his
children and family expenses and all that he needs as to references. The little
sum he used to have out of his academic position was not enough in any way to
provide for him, especially after he fell sick. I wish I hadn’t fallen sick… I
wish I had continued to help him through that publishing.
Ali Mabrouk left our
world after morally destroyed, just like what happened to Nasr Abu Zayd. If
Ali, the philosopher and university professor who educated generations, had
been one of those who fill full sheets of paper of filthiness, triviality, and
nonsense and then call it a novel, story, or poem, he would have found many
standing by his side defending him against those bastards in university; he
would have found many conducting debates, holding conferences, and even
protesting against those who persecuted him, or he might have even found a room
among those paid by rulers to talk about nations’ fate.
May God bestow his mercy
on you my brother and forgive me for what I owe you.
Translated into English by: Dalia Elnaggar
Translated into English by: Dalia Elnaggar
This article was
published in Al Ahram newspaper on March 24, 2016.
To see the Arabic
article, go to:
#alahram #ahmed_elgammal
#ali_mabrouk #Egypt #egyptian_university #egyptian_academia
[1] Ali Mabrouk: (Arabic: علي مبروك) (1961 – 2016)
was a professor of Islamic philosophy at Cairo University and one of the
prominent thinkers of Islamic heritage and contemporary Arab thought. (Source:
https://almanassa.com/ar/story/1354)
[2] Nasr
Hamid Abu Zayd: (Arabic: نصر حامد أبو زيد; also Abu Zaid or Abu Zeid (July
10, 1943 – July 5, 2010) was an Egyptian Qur'anic thinker, author, academic and one of the leading
liberal theologians in Islam. He is famous for his
project of a humanistic Qur'anic hermeneutics, which "challenged mainstream views" on the
Qur'an sparking "controversy and debate”. While not denying that the
Qur'an was of divine origin, Zayd argued that it was a "cultural
product" that had to be read in the context of the language and culture of
seventh century Arabs, and could be interpreted in more than one way. He also
criticized the use of religion to exert political power. In 1995 an Egyptian Sharia court declared him an apostate, this led to threats of death and his fleeing Egypt
several week later. (He later "quietly" returned to Egypt where he
died.) (Source: Wikipedia)
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