The deliberate mix between the religious absolute perspective
and the human relative one was the fuel of al-Fitna al-Kubra whose beginning,
I believe, was latent since the conquest of Mecca when there were Muhajirun,
Ansaar, and Tolaqaa’ or “The Migrants”, “The Helpers”, and “The
Emancipated”… later, this Fitna grew a little in the day of as-Saqifah
until the great upheaval of Fitna took place in the time of Uthman’s
Caliphate… and I think its waves are still present to date.
It was when some of senior companions of Prophet
Muhammed, including some of The Ten Promised Paradise, got involved… also,
followers, followers of followers, and who followed them got involved… of
course, there were nobodies whom history does not mention their names and who
rushed to join that party or this group in order to make some gains of money or
authority.
In my opinion, the culture – if one can use such term
here – of al-Fitna al-Kubra is no longer limited to those having religious
ideologies alone… but it expanded among some of those adopting man-made
ideologies… whether liberal, pan-nationalist, or leftist... as one sees them
issuing final moral judgments over the social and political phenomena and do
not cease to act with bigotry in favor of an idea, orientation, person, or
class… moreover, they feel no shame to disregard all disciplinary rules that
govern scientific methods of tackling human phenomena, whether historic,
political, or social.
In the beginning, I was very enthusiastic to read the
first part of Mr. Amr Moussa’s memoir after I had heard him in a common
gathering at a dear friend talking about the book and the effort exerted in it
to come to light… I bought the book and started reading with a fluorescent
marker in one hand and pen in the other… highlightening lines and paragraphs
with the former and writing footnotes over the white margins with the latter.
I was ready to write however, that state of “al-Fitna
al-Kubra”-like fighting made me hesitate a lot before going into such “fight”…
specially that some went into this and some of them misunderstood the rudeness of
whores to be the nobility of knights… in such context, one recalls the true
old-in-time folkloric proverb saying “do not mess with the whore lest she
accuses you of adopting her conduct”… and so, one should disregard what was
written by those whom such proverb best suits them.
That was the first footnote over what Mr. Amr Moussa
wrote… as to the second one, we find ourselves before an important source of
the history of the Egyptian diplomacy… whether what has to do with the
composition and performance of the establishment responsible for it; the
ministry of foreign affairs, its mechanisms, relations, restrictions, and breaches
that govern and intervene its work… or what has to do with its performance as
an establishment or the performance of its leaders of ministers, deputies, and ambassadors…
also, its relations with other establishments like the presidency and the rest
of ministries…
It is known that the personal memoirs, just like the
oral accounts narrated by those who participated in the events, are subject to
the disciplinary rules set by research methods… and so, these memoirs are criticized
from within inside, as well as from the outside perspective… furthermore, the
character of the writer or the narrator is being studied regarding composition,
orientation, preferences, also his mental state when he wrote or told his
account… adding to this, comparing what came in this “testimony”, whether it is
written diaries or recorded narration about certain incidents and circumstances,
with other sources like documents, memoirs, and narrations of others who witnessed
and participated in the same events… therefore, what Mr. Amr Moussa said in his
diaries is not history, final judgment, or the absolute truth that should not
be left untouched.
The third footnote over what Mr. ex-foreign minister
wrote is the density of what he recorded as related to his family; his father,
mother, and half-brother… his step-father, maternal family, and paternal one…
also, what he wrote about “Mahallat Marhoum” village where his maternal
family lived… “Bahada” village where his paternal family stay… Tanta
where he was educated… and before this, Cairo neighborhoods where he lived part
of his life… also, the network of family relations extending to well-off
families of relatives, kins, and in-laws… and Wafd-party political leaders in
specific… reaching to the wider network in the faculty of law and the ministry
of foreign affairs… such things require one with good knowledge of the social
aspects of life in the Egyptian countryside, especially between wealthy owners
of agriculture land and the rest of the social classes’ pyramid… It also requires one specialized in analytical
psychology, psychiatry, and also social psychology in order to give us an analysis
for this “genuine character” that started to develop since its childhood until
elderliness… a man believing he possesses a unique human composition that has its
own charm.
The last footnote to mention in this space – as an
introduction for what will follow afterwards – is, Mr. Amr Moussa confirmed
during that kind gathering at our common friend that the book is empty of any
linguistic mistakes or slips and it is so indeed except for some mixing in
using demonstratives as “this” is preferred for the recent action and “that”
for the far in time one.
That was an introduction for what will follow later…
now, for those asking about the difference between “the footnote” and “the
original text”… footnote is what is being added to the book to give more
information or explanations… in such regard, one recalls that Sheikh Hassan
al-Attar was the first to write a criticizing footnote discussing what was
written in the original text after all footnotes were nothing but boring
explanation… as to the original text, it is simply the script contained in the
book.
Translated into English by: Dalia Elnaggar
This article was published in
Almasry alyoum newspaper on October 11, 2017.
To see the original article,
to go:
#almasry_alyoum
#ahmed_elgammal #amr_moussa
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