The centenary and the future

Some will interpret that media, political, intellectual, cultural and also sentimental momentum accompanying celebration of the birth centenary of leader Gamal Abdel-Nasser saying it’s ill nostalgia and that it’s a degree of political salafism that is not less worse than religious salafism. Also, that it’s a manifestation of a multi-faceted complication inflicting on Egyptians making them slaves to past experiments that were not void of failure and defeat despite all their achievements, and that this complication will not end unless we have total disconnection to the intellectual and political foundations related to that experiment.

I also do think that such tackling of the event will turn into a vicious attacking campaign in which all political ammunition of doubting, belittling, and maybe bad language will be used, as there are some who definitely went appalled of this rebirth of the man whom they considered a nightmare to them, and before them, to their fathers and folks. What makes them that appalled is that they spared no money, effort, conspiracy, false accusation or fallacy to assassinate the character, ideology, method and reputation of Nasser after he physically left our world almost half a century ago.

Usually, those appalled some do not possess the intellectual or linguistic capacity to produce the media content needed to fulfill the tasks I mentioned at the beginning of those lines. Therefore, they will pay for the pens and names that will do this mission. Such agreement between these two groups is more like Nikah mu’tah or “pleasure marriage”; meaning a mission with a legitimate cover based on offer and acceptance, as both parties have common interests in such mission, and because some pens realize that marketing what they write is connected to the consent and cooperation have revenge upon July 1952 revolution and Nasser.

The more vicious the attack over July revolution and Nasser, the more the reward, even if they produced nothing new as all that may come to the imagination of that bunch of attack, grounds of conviction and accusations for July revolution, Nasser, Arab-nationalism and liberation have already been said in writings, seminars, conferences, radio and TV stations since the mid-seventies until few weeks ago when we read a column for a writer in one of the private newspapers – whom I described recently as of unknown social and intellectual descent – attacking Nasser because Dr. Huda Abdel-Nasser commented over some of what was written in Amr Moussa’s memoirs!!

In my opinion, there are others required to present a different tackling for such intellectual and media momentum accompanying this centenary; a tackling aiming at filling the gaps between the lessons learnt from the Nasserist experiment on all political, economic, social and intellectual levels and necessities of the reality and future in Egypt and the Arab nation. As the principles upon which July experiment and Nasser’s ideology and vision were based still exist and it’s likely that they will continue for a long time for the strategic, historical, geo-political and geographical reality that yielded such principles still exists and did not change… not to mention that the challenges that came to exist since conflict between international powers of national liberation, and colonization powers were defined still are present on the ground, even if their priorities and some of their features changed. What affirms such thing is that the imperialist colonization powers including the Zionist state did not change their vision or strategies since long time.

For those who underestimate such thing, I hope they can see the behavior of the American administration, especially the American president; the legitimate representative of the policies and changes of his administration and who did not cease to practice a highly significant media and political discourse giving evidence how the superior colonization mentality still exists. Therefore, the challenges that we faced during our national history still exist, even if some claimed that time changed and we can no longer manage Egypt’s international relations using old loud-voice policy.

Moreover, Egypt’s relation to the African continent and to the East; India, China and Eastern Asia, also Russia, and its relation to international communities in South America are still open and more compelling issues. It’s not a coincidence that Egypt during the Nasserist regime had very strong relations with Africa, mid-eastern Asia and South America. Unfortunately, during the time period of post-October 1973 until the end of Mubarak’s era, such role of Egypt shrank and other rival ones replaced it, atop of them is the Zionist Israeli role that did not miss the chance and had significant existence in African countries and has growing relations with India and China, after those countries and nations were once proud of their strong relations with Nasser’s Egypt.

Realizing this and witnessing that intellectual and media momentum accompanying birth centenary of Nasser, I believe getting busy in tackling the future is the right thing to do.

Translated into English by: Dalia Elnaggar

This article was published in Al Ahram newspaper on January 18, 2018.

To see the original article, go to:

http://ahmadelgammal.blogspot.com.eg/2018/01/blog-post_18.html

#alahram #ahmed_elgammal #Egypt #Gamal_Abdel_Nasser

What is left for Nasser

People of our beloved Egypt always prove how deep their noble values are, atop of these values are loyalty and expressing gratitude. They always prove that they haven’t lost the will to dream of a better reality and future. We can see all this represented in their stance towards Gamal Abdel-Nasser whom we celebrate his birth centenary these days.

When we say people of our beloved Egypt, we mean the broad masses of peasants, small owners of agriculture land, laborers, skilled professionals of different specialties, intellectuals of diverse ideologies, also soldiers out of whom Gamal Abdel-Nasser came… as to those who kept for long decades spending money and plotting conspiracies for assassinating Nasser alive or assassinating his character after he left our world, they represent a minority of the Egyptian people. How shameful for that bunch that their billions they spent over satellite channels, newspapers and traitors went in vain and proved nothing but their failure when they see how Nasser is still present not only in Egypt, the Arab nation, Africa and the third world, but in the unbiased intellectual circles in the developed world as well.

Some wonder: what is left from Nasser? and I believe it’s better to say: what is left for Nasser? Some others wonder: what if Nasser lived and faced what took place of changes. Such question has nothing to do with the scholar discipline of history, for history does not recognize such thing as “what if”, rather it recognizes that there are incidents that took place and which had beginnings and courses and produced results; those results should be discussed and interpreted to take lessons from them in order to benefit the present and establish for the future.

What is left for Nasser is his pure Egyptian composition; meaning simplicity, spontaneity, sense of humor and assuming burdens. And before and after all this, his continuous strong feeling of dignity and pride, and consequently connecting those traits to the national sovereignty and people.

What is left for Nasser is his outstanding ability to respond to challenges. The bigger and tougher the challenge is, the stronger the response. There are tens of situations and incidents confirming that taking into consideration that the challenges were not only foreign, like the challenge of old occupation, the Zionist enemy, modern imperialist colonization, challenge of keeping the Nile flooding, challenge of dismantling the Arab nation and challenge of fighting reactionary powers in the region; those which used religion in fighting nationalism and Arab-nationalism, all those and more were foreign challenges facing him. However, there were also domestic challenges that were not less serious, like the challenge of national independence, challenge of achieving comprehensive planned independent development, challenge of fighting poverty, ignorance and diseases, challenge of thwarting attempts fueling doctrinal and sectarian strife, challenge of standing against powers opposing change, challenge of building a strong national army… in general, the challenge of achieving renaissance and defending the country.

In response to all those challenges, he adopted policies and made achievements that some of them were recorded in the international history like the High Dam which is internationally considered as the most important construction project in the twentieth century.

What is left for Nasser are the millions of Egyptians who realized that their personal dignity is connected to their country’s dignity and to their right in having life; having food, water, health services, education, knowledge, culture, art and work, in addition to hundreds of thousands of engineers, doctors, technical professionals, lawyers, accountants, teachers and many others who graduated from the universities spread nationwide and who were the makers of renaissance and messengers of our beloved Egypt to its Arab nation and African continent.

What is left for Nasser are his endeavors to stand up for the rights of the people of Egypt in all directions; what is more important and comprehensive is his ability to dream; that was what distinguished and pushed him to achieve what he achieved and then leave our world while he was only 52; his dream of a liberated country, free citizen and a united Arab nation expanding from the Atlantic Ocean to the Indian Ocean, dream of a third world liberated from colonization, subordination to major international powers and under-development, dream of an international world based on justice and mutual respect among nations; dream of a balanced human who knows how to satisfy his conscience and make balance between his mind, soul, feelings and body, that’s why Egypt’s soft power grew exponentially in cinema, theater, folkloric arts, singing, music, and opera and operetta as well.

If we knew in details what is left for Nasser, we would definitely know why he, represented in his method, vision and dream, became a standard model residing in people’s conscience, as one sees them connecting their reality to what was in Nasser’s dream. We would also know why the masses still raise his picture and chant his name at every big political event, not only in Egypt but in many countries all over the world from Palestine to Latin America.

Based upon all that, one can understand the ferocity practiced against his character, method, dream, history and achievements as if the man is still alive; such ferocity by those whose only sacred thing is gaining profits and accumulating fortunes even if it was dirty money made from corruption and exploiting the efforts of workers, peasants and employees, to the extent that those bunch considered conspiring with the occupier and aggressor an acceptable behavior even if the result is destroying the whole country and threatening its security, safety and future of its generations.

The identity of those who conspired and cooperated first with the British occupation, then worked in media institutions of the aggressor in 1956 war and even celebrated the victory of the Zionist enemy in 1967 and some of them prayed to God thanking him for what happened, is no longer a secret.

Finally but not last, this conflict will last as long as there are goals that were, are and will always be present in our national agenda; such as defending our national sovereignty and independence, fighting the aggressors either foreign or terrorism on the domestic level, and not ending by achieving social equality which is the pearl of all dreams of millions of people.

Translated into English by: Dalia Elnaggar

This article was published in Al Ahram newspaper on January 15, 2018.

To see the original article, go to:

http://ahmadelgammal.blogspot.com.eg/2018/01/blog-post_15.html

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What is left of Nasser… method and vision

History is not only about the past; it’s about the past, present and future as well, meaning it’s the incidents that took place, completed its action and became solid facts on the ground. It’s also analyzing the beginnings, course and results of that which completed its actions. It’s the lessons learnt and laws governing the dynamism of human beings in place and through time… as a result, it became confirmed that historical contexts are regarded as continuous graphical line having ups and downs, or as continuous circles like those of the spiral spring; each circle is connected to the one preceding and the one following it.

Therefore, nations, which are human congregations, make their history through the interplay of place, time and humans, in doing so, they develop unchangeable and undeniable constants. Maintaining those constants and strengthening their roles become the criterion to know if nations are living or dead. They are also the criterion to assess the roles of intellectuals and leaders to know if they did their task or not. This is what the people of Egypt and some of its intellectuals and leaders did throughout time.

Here we come to the question that some – who consider themselves intellectuals – turned into an unquestionable reality: is it logical to have issues or phenomena that can be described as eternal and are not subject to change or dying? Their answer is: “There is nothing called national constants or historical facts… everything is relative and subject to changes of time.” Hence, some issues, that are considered national taboos, became totally accepted in their “enlightened” “progressive” point of view, like cooperating with the Zionist enemy in times when its aggression on the Arab and Egyptian national security was at its peak.

Therefore, in my opinion, Gamal Abdel-Nasser is not just a human, Arab-national and patriotic leader who lived in the time period from X to Y, did X, Y, Z and made mistakes just like all humans. However, in addition to all that, he is a historic figure who realized his nation’s constants and laws governing the historical dynamism of this nation. He also worked to reinforce those constants and strengthen their effect; moreover, he searched for new scopes to confirm their historical and moral legitimacy.

Before going on talking about the concept of historic figure and essence of what Nasser presented to the since-eternity-and-until-forever well-established national constants, I’d like to mention that the world knew more than one method adopted by certain nations to add legitimacy to what those nations regard as their national constants and security, as the United States in the post-World War I era announced the Fourteen Points of President Wilson. In the post-World War II and during the fifties, they adopted the policy of filling the hegemonic vacuum, and now, for example and in continuity for what happened during the times of Carter, Regan and those who succeeded them, we have this account of the Zionist Christian fundamentalism and the thousand-year king; meaning that Jesus will come back to rule the world for thousand years with goodness, love and fighting evil, and that he will not come back unless the Temple is built in Al-Quds “Jerusalem” and the state of Israel becomes powerful, in addition to other issues representing the foundations of the Presbyterian Evangelical Church. As to Nazism, this cover was the superiority of the Aryan race and doctrine of Lebensraum. France, meantime, adopted the principle of belonging to the Francophone culture.

As to Gamal Abdel-Nasser, he went on reinforcing the constants of the Egyptian national security adopting the theory and method of national liberation and Arab-national belonging. He was creative in his vision for Egypt’s role within three connected foreign circles; the Arab, African and Islamic circles. That was at the beginning of the revolution at the early fifties. Due to different changes, those circles broadened to include the circle of national liberation in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Adding to this his endeavors seeking the African unity and Arab one based on human foundations including same belonging, same suffering and same hopes, not to mention the common cultural aspects. This is what I believe will not only last for long decades, but forever.

Moreover, as long as issues of national independence, international and regional role, sustainable comprehensive development, strengthening the national economy, working for achieving more human freedom, common interests between the Egyptian circle and the Arab and African ones, necessity to go in a way different to those heading west or east exist, then the method Nasser established over what he realized of what I called laws governing the historical dynamism of interplay between place, time and humans in Egypt proves to be right.

For example, and not exclusively, the reciprocal relationship between the river and sea as it was proved, throughout time, that Egypt’s power comes from the cohesion of its people and balance among its social classes. Such cohesion and balance cannot be maintained unless the movement of the river, either its flood or drought, is adjusted and regulated with people’s relation to it. Otherwise, there will be fighting over its waters in a country looking like an oasis surrounded by a vast desert environment. If this thing happens with the river, then Egypt sets off in its environment and blocks the sea; meaning preventing those coming to it seeking to steal its fortunes from reaching to its heart and dismantling it. All great leaders of Egypt – meaning the historic figures – realized this fact and their greatness was about their ability to control the river by building dams, reservoirs, and barrages and digging irrigation channels.

This is what we knew. An example for this in the modern time is Muhammed Ali and his family who built Al-Kanater Al-Khayriya and after this Aswan reservoir, then Gamal Abdel-Nasser built the High Dam. There are many laws governing the historical dynamism that are too many to detail in this limited space, of them are social equality, interaction of cultural components including the religious and folkloric ones…etc.

What is left of Nasser, and will last for very long time, are his method and endeavors to reinforce the national constants and giving their implementation a human cover.

Translated into English by: Dalia Elnaggar

This article was published in Al Ahram Al Arabi magazine on January 11, 2018.

To see the original article, go to:

http://ahmadelgammal.blogspot.com.eg/2018/01/blog-post_11.html

#alahram_alarabi #ahmed_elgammal #Egypt #gamal_abdel_nasser

Nasser… and braid of dreams

Before sciences of strategic and geo-politics related to the national security of Egypt came to exist, the ancient Egyptians defined the frame for the security of their country and put it in clear short sentence saying: “The king led the army to secure the land – meaning Egypt – starting from the reversed resources of water until the Horn of Land”. The water resources meant here are those of the Tigris and Euphrates at the Anatolian Taurus Mountains. They were called reversed for they run in opposite direction to that of the Nile; meaning from north to south while the Nile runs from south to north. And the Horn of Land intended is the peninsula of the Horn of Africa including Mandeb Strait and the lands from where predators and materials of mummification, like Frankincense, Myrrh, incense and sandalwood, come. It’s also connected to the Nile resources including Land of Punt; meaning Ethiopia, Eritrea and parts of Somalia.

This is what we call the main and principle constant in the equation governing the national security of Egypt. Therefore, all who ruled Egypt had to know this truth and deal accordingly as per the variables changing with eras and necessities of up-to-the-time circumstances. Here we notice that the political evolvement of relations among countries and nations has witnessed a new necessity; that is the necessity to have an ethical cover and a cultural and ideological justification to gain control over that equation of national security which was once known as the vital domain, another time as the international and regional role and a third one as the cultural and civilization influence…etc.

Then July 1952 revolution, led by Gamal Abdel-Nasser, erupted for that genuine leader to outline Egypt’s vision regarding the circles defining its international role; the Arab, African and Islamic circles, and for Egypt to set off in a strategic vision to achieve liberation and development. This vision wouldn’t have come to exist in a way or another if it wasn’t for the concept of the three circles which, according to that time period of history, were mostly colonized and dismantled. Therefore, the cultural, ideological and ethical cover for achieving the national security for Egypt consisted of two great values in the human consciousness in general and the individual human in the three circles in specific. The first value is fighting colonization, putting an end for long centuries of exploit, injustice and underdevelopment for all the peoples who suffered that, and working hard to achieve the Arab unity, African unity and establishing an entity gathering countries of the Third World aspiring for liberation and development, and so, concepts of Positive Neutrality and later Non-Alignment Movement emerged.

In addition, there was a set of cultural ideological ethical objectives included in Egypt’s vision for achieving its national security to stay away from any conflicts of race, colonization, exercising clout or subduing others. Therefore, I do not exaggerate when I say that those who did not cease to accuse Nasser of wanting to build an empire and that this empire was nothing but strong desires for leadership and uncalculated risks did not and will not know about or understand the facts of history, necessities of geography or the cultural and civilization contexts.

As Nasser did not come up with the vision outlining the strategic and geo-political frame of Egypt, rather his true accomplishment was the braid in which he weaved Egypt’s security and role with the Arab World’s security and independence along with liberating Africa, Asia and Latin America. Through this braid, he used the African, Arab and Egyptian components in establishing a third route; that was the Non-Alignment Movement, also it’s the unity of the cultural civilization domain bringing the small nations together.

Also, the cultural and political Arab-national orientation of Egypt was connected to the Egyptian dream of having an independent liberated country, innovative free human, social equality and productivity, since the productive free independent Egypt needs – in addition to its human and economic resources – energy resources, capital surplus and markets to sell its agricultural and manufactured products, also markets making use of the manpower ready to work abroad. The market, energy and capital surplus were available in the Arab domain and obtainable in the Third World and African arenas. In all ways, a cultural, ideological and ethical cover was needed to give this Egyptian ambition a deep human essence, and so, the Arab-nationalism came along with the Arab affiliation and hope of having an Arab unity and the steps taken to achieve this.

Translated into English by: Dalia Elnaggar

This article was published in Sabah Al-Khair magazine on January 2, 2018.

To see the original article, go to:

http://ahmadelgammal.blogspot.com.eg/2018/01/blog-post.html

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Gang of subversive cultural lag

A state of hysterical piffle is increasing by this gang of subversive cultural lag whenever the impact of the June 30^th revolution gets stronger and achievements on the domestic level and on the foreign circles; Arab, African, and international get more evident… as the decisive main role in all that was and will always be for the Egyptian army and the broad masses of the Egyptian people.

Such hysterical state has started since that alliance of feudalism, Capital, corruption, and British occupation in Egypt was hit by the July 23^rd revolution in 1952… that revolution that came as a phase completing other long phases of the struggle of the Egyptian people in their modern and contemporary history; meaning since their revolution against the French Campaign at the end of the eighteenth century and the dawn of the nineteenth century.

It is a gang since it is a composition that cannot have the honor of being described as a division, community, or even a group as such names are given to other respectful compositions… but the gang, in its contemporary definition, best suits the criminal compositions.

Also, it is a hysterical piffle since the parties of the gang, including capitalists, owners of satellite channels, and others who “commit” the profession of writing and some of them have daily columns, are supposed to be normal beings due to their education, culture, and the nature of their work, but what they do reveals they are diagnosed with a composite psychological mental disorder.

Moreover, it is a subversive cultural lag since they make desperate efforts to stop the wheel of progress and smash it and to mess with the national conscience and rip it apart… the more intense the domestic fighting, the more hysterical they become and the more fuel they add to the fire.

They declare all the time that July 23^rd revolution was and will be a heinous subversive action that killed Egypt and the Egyptians… and that the royal regime, its figures, along with the British occupation, that remained until 1954 and tried to come back to power in 1956 but failed, were all good and everything was doing great… and so, they regard all the achievements, policies, orientations, and stances related to that revolution and its figures as guilty… they even refuse to go into a reasoned discussion about it… then suddenly one finds them praising Sadat and considering him a hero and a symbol for their orientations for a clear target; that is driving a wedge in the structure of July revolution and ripping its history apart as part of ripping the national conscience.

They turn their back to the fact that Anwar Sadat was a member of the Free Officers movement… and that he was the one announcing the statement of the revolution in radio… and that he remained a serving soldier to its goals and close to Nasser until his death… and that he was his only deputy; that is why he assumed the office of presidency after him… and that he, until his death in 1981, remained proud of the July revolution and his role in it to the extent that during the parties’ experiment that started in 1976, it happened that Sadat adopted a strict stance against the enemies of July revolution and described Fouad Serag el-Din and his group with what they deserved and did not cease to throw them in jail.

It is a gang that collaborated with muslim brotherhood in embedding subversive cultural lag as both of them were part of a common cultural social economic composition that we call capitalism by mistake… such composition does not deserve such name since respected capitalism has achievements and practices that cannot be culturally lagging or subversive.

I do believe that such gang still wishes and seeks the return of muslim brotherhood as they think the European and American orientation aims at enabling the fundamentalist groups with the religious-based orientations of ruling the region for known time-consuming to explain reasons.

And so, we found one of those servants of such gang, who “commit” writing a daily column in a private newspaper that has no known cultural, ideological, or social orientation, writing and issuing final judgments, just like one diagnosed with hysterical rave, that July 23^rd revolution is a crime… then he travelled to Erdogan’s Turkey to appear in the muslim brotherhood satellite channel “Mekammelien”… and after that he praises Sadat while asking the owner of the satellite channel to join him in these hysterical practices.

In my opinion, the subversive cultural lag-spreading gang will not rest or calm down unless they succeed in having a mischievous shake-up between the Egyptian people and the Egyptian army as the latter is the leader of July 1952 revolution, 1973 victory, and the June 30^th revolution… furthermore, if we put aside the figures of Mohammed Naguib, Nasser, Sadat, Mubarak, and Sisi, the Egyptian army will be the one leading the national struggle… phase after phase and time after time.

I call on all normal people in our country not to take the bait offered on the hands of this gang and to reveal what parties of such gang commit against the people, army, and country… I also ask to deal with our historical course as complete connected phases with each one having its own positive and negative sides, but they still remain connecting and completing each other… Sadat and the victory of October belong to July revolution and not to that subversive cultural lag-spreading gang.

Translated into English by: Dalia Elnaggar.

This article was published in Al Ahram newspaper on October 12, 2017.

To see the original article, go to:

http://ahmadelgammal.blogspot.com.eg/2017/10/blog-post_12.html

#alahram #ahmed_elgammal #Egypt #July_23_1952_revolution

Heading east and regaining our role

The necessity to head towards the East imposes itself on everyone interested in the present and future of our country… in many times some think that the enthusiasm of those having leftist and Arab-national political and intellectual orientations to have such heading towards the East indicates a hidden desire to smash the relationship between Egypt and the West… atop of these relationships is Egypt’s relationship with the United States of America… especially that some of the important countries in the East are still raising slogans of communism like China and Vietnam… as both of them have a communist party that has its own intellectually deep-rooted beliefs and known structures… even if dealing with the changes that took place in the world made the policies of those countries look estranged from their ideological belief.

If one kept detailing the historical experiences we had throughout the contemporary and modern eras; meaning since the French Campaign at the end of the eighteenth century until our present time, one would not be able to defend our relationship with the West… actually the list of accusations and convictions is full… at least since the Convention of London of 1840 which brought the modernization project of Muhammed Ali Pasha to an end… to the latest resolution of the Congress to decrease the American aid to Egypt… and the systematic journalistic campaigns attacking Egypt and reports of organizations like Human Rights Watch that makes up all that has to do with besieging Egypt and undermining its political regime.

I do not want to go into details lest some may believe what West politicians, especially those of the American administration, say when they always accuse us of escaping from the reality to recalling history and pains instead of engaging with the present and thinking and planning for the future.

In my opinion, heading East seems a pressing necessity and does not necessitate that it should be done on the expense of other relationships as I said before… actually, keeping our relationships with the Western Bloc – if one can still use the term – entails such pressing necessity in order to achieve balance and reach the maximum limit of interests of what parties of international relationships want.

I still remember what Sheikh Ali Algergawi wrote about his journey to Japan at the end of the first decade of the twentieth century. He recorded its details in his unique book “the Japanese Journey” which late friend professor Dr. Ra’ouf Abbas Hamed wrote another introduction to it in its latest edition. Since that time, the hope of strengthening our relationships with the East captivates many.

To be more specific, the East does not mean only what used to be called the Communist Bloc… and not only Tigers of Eastern Asia too… actually, it broadens to include many countries stretching from the east of the Arab Gulf; meaning Iran, Pakistan, India, China, Russia and reaching to Japan and the far East.

It is not a coincidence that these countries have qualities the West may lack like the mutual cultural, civilization, and doctrinal roots we have in common… it is not our point now to go into details but it is an encouraging call to employ such factors in improving the relationships that look promising and full of progress chances in more than one field.

Here comes the president interest in cementing Egypt’s relationship with the East and his final visit to China and Vietnam is like what some may call “dealing with the disaster that hit the established role of the nation”… disaster here means the negligence and dereliction that hit many of the long-established roots of the Egyptian role in Asia, Africa, and Latin America… such negligence led to the wide spread of the Zionist Israeli role in areas that were once almost close before it because it represents an ugly face of the anti-liberation racist settlement colonization that practices aggression and occupation.

I do not want to go deep into details in the glorious history Egypt made with China and Vietnam in specific… but I may mention a piece of information; that is Egypt was the first Arab country to recognize the “People’s” republic of China and establish strong relationships with her… and the first Arab country to stand strongly in solidarity with the right of the Vietnamese people in liberation and resisting the vicious American aggression…

Throughout such glorious history, one finds himself recalling great names like Gamal Abdel-Nasser, Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, Ho Chi Minh, general Giap… such names that evoke a sense of healthy nostalgia in us that makes us feel proud and hopeful of a better life.

China and Vietnam kept what is regarded as established foundations connected to their independence and liberation… in the same time, they coped up with the changes, accumulated experiences, and built up economies governed by the latest mechanisms… and China became the second strongest economy worldwide while Vietnam was able to place itself over the way of rapid progress.

It is very noticeable how they respect the figures that established all this and fought in order to reach such stage… how inspiring and affecting that scene was of president Sisi shaking hands with the leaders there while in the same hall, there were pictures and statues of the founding leaders whose names are held by airports, squares, and big projects… and so, I believe it is time that Cairo airport shall hold the name of Gamal Abdel-Nasser like the case of Ho Chi Minh airport.

Some of those having a bad national conscience tried to omit Nasser’s name from Nasser’s lake by saying lake of the Dam despite that the international atlases still have Nasser’s name over the lake… also, Nasser’s name was omitted from the name of the stadium built in the man’s time and which held his name after he passed away then it was changed to Cairo Stadium… this is really shameful.

Translated into English by: Dalia Elnaggar

This article was published in Al Ahram newspaper on September 13, 2017.

To see the original article, go to:

http://ahmadelgammal.blogspot.com.eg/2017/09/blog-post_13.html

#alahram #ahmed_elnaggar #Egypt #heading_east #Nasser

“Newton”… despite many

Dialogue between me and “Newton” has not stopped – despite being intermittent – since I started writing in Almasry alyoum newspaper at the end of October 2012… and perhaps the most heated parts of the dialogue were the ones concerning the July 23^rd revolution, Gamal Abdel-Nasser, Nasserism, Nasserists, and also Socialism.

Newton used to always confirm that he believes the most important thing Nasser achieved and that lasted after him was what has to do with the social relations and protecting the poor… in such regard, Newton cites the example that before 1952, as he belongs to a socially powerful family, he could order that a certain peasant leaves the village along with his family and cattle – in case he had any – as soon as possible; meaning “tomorrow morning”… but after the revolution and until now, no one can do such thing to any peasant… away from this, Newton’s opinion of the revolution, its leader, and ideas were and still are severely criticizing.

I, in turn, had the opinion that the revolution, its leader, and ideas were not free of mistakes but it is better that we draw lessons and provide alternatives so that we do not fall in the trap of reproducing the same phenomenon.

In the last week of July 2017, Newton wrote three articles and followed them by a fourth one that, in my opinion, does not only has a special importance, but I also consider it as the most important thing written in the last two decades about an important era of Egypt’s history… of course, I will not rewrite what Newton wrote as the articles are available… all of these articles were about Gamal Abdel-Nasser.

However, I would like to stop for a while at some notices… first, the writer proved that the concepts of objectivity and seeking the common good are two possible things if he wanted to adopt them to prove in the same time that he is away from subjectivity and Ad hominem… as many of those who tackle the mission of evaluating the historic events and public figures sometimes lack the ability to reach the truth for two reasons… first, due to absence of documents and lack of the main sources… second, forcing facts and concealing some aspects in order to serve a certain point of view… and so, if documents were available and sources were provided and the second reason was not there in the first place… then one can find a very good writing like what Newton did about Nasser and his practice of self-criticism and thorough re-evaluation of his regime.

The second notice is Newton’s ability to connect the past to the present through drawing lessons, demonstrating the necessity to benefit from them, and asking why we haven’t benefited from those lessons in the subsequent eras that followed… the writer did not hesitate to give examples, some of them could be very sensitive… which is considered a bravery attributed to the writer.

Third notice is, in the time when “Almasry alyoum” newspaper was publishing what Newton wrote about Nasser and his ability of self-criticism, re-evaluation of policies, and his accuracy in detecting his regime mistakes… it was publishing for others who pick from time to time the occasions related to July revolution and Nasser to “commit a certain kind of writing”… such kind of writing has to do with biology and has nothing to do with history or other social sciences any way.

As those who “commit writing” are closer to be very minute microscopic creatures and very poisonous ones in the same time… in biology, when one dies, his body starts to decompose until it is almost vanished and then come those microscopic creatures that nourish, reproduce, and secrete their poisonous secretions over all that is microscopic of the very remains of the dead body.

However, in the world of history and other social sciences, life and human experiences work in cycles or connected graphical lines… and there is no room for sayings or axioms of any kind that state “a community, a society, or a person are dead… and all what they did or achieved throughout their lives is over by their death”…and that is why we knew continuing serious studies about pre-historic eras and later historic ones when man knew about writing in drawings, symbols, and characters.

One wonders of the audacity – and not bravery – of those who commit such kind of writing and who definitely know that while they deliberately issue judgments of death penalty over historic eras and figures that have different opinions over them, they do, in the same time, issue the same judgments over whole nations that still keep what is positive regarding those eras and figures in their conscience and memory.

Back to Newton, again I tell him, this time in written and published words, that you were lucky… to prove one time after another that you do really belong to the Egyptian Nationalism, liberal ideology that respects the other party, and rules of scientific objectivity… and if someone wanted me to prove what I am saying, I have proofs to provide.

What “luck” is but the unknown that we were told to believe in… or one can say it is unexpected and unseen factors that contribute to the reality and continuity of human phenomena.

Translated into English by: Dalia Elnaggar

This article was published in Almasry alyoum newspaper on August 2, 2017.

To see the original article, go to:

http://ahmadelgammal.blogspot.com.eg/2017/08/blog-post.html

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