Beautiful golden Nile…

In August, most peasants like me remember that inflammation which used to hit our backs, shoulders, and chests and cover them with red rashes due to having what was called “Hammo en-Nile” or Miliaria… and the remedy usually used to calm this irritated skin was the repeated strokes of the white inner side of watermelon rind.

The Nile was present in our life during the months of flooding… also during the months of Tahariq or when the water level goes low… until now, I do not know why the tea made from water taken directly from the river has different taste to that made from water taken from water pumps or taps… or why they used to place a thick layer of mud under the watermelons stored in the sitting room of the upper floor in order for them to stay ripe until the second season except for some seeds that start to sprout inside the watermelons… I also do not know why “showing off” women preferred to rub their legs and feet with this mud to make them healthy, soft, shining, and vivid with color… again, I do not know why some families used to insist on throwing the “placenta” of the newly-born baby into the river right after the calling for Fajr prayers thinking by doing so that they guarantee the baby stays healthy, enjoys long life, and is never thirsty.

In August, I yearn to the Nile despite the missing amity between me and its two branches; Damietta and Rosetta… as it happened once that the current of the great red flood swept the buffalo whose noose I was catching in my hand while it was bathing near the riverbank when a truck with a bubbling motor passed by and startled the young female buffalo… the noose slipped from my hand and the buffalo was about to be taken away with the flood but thank God, it did not… that was when I was hosted by its owners in the village of Meet Aboelhareth in Aga province of Dakahliya governorate where I used to go every year to visit my co-brothers of honorable Sufi dervishes.

As to the missing amity between me and Rosetta Nile branch, it is old in time and has many phases… the first one took place in the first half of the fifties’ decade… I was in a visit to my elderly maternal aunt Nabiha who was married to Ahmed Effendi Ismail Karkotli; the cotton merchant… they used to live in as-Safiya village in then-called Dessouq Fou’adia province and later called Kafr esh-Shiekh… the kids used to race with each other to take off their clothes and jump naked in the Rosetta branch during flooding after going back for a few meters then thrusting forward to jump… the longer “the jump” into the river, the more applaud the jumper receives…

I did like they did to find myself sinking in the riverbed then “floating” then “sinking”… until someone grabbed me and swam towards the bank… he stretched his hands to catch the stalks of “an-Nasseela” plant to stand against the violent current… but the plants were uprooting… he tried again and again until we got out and he saved my life… that man later died at a young age after he had just graduated from the faculty of commerce while he was having morning prayers before heading to his work… meanwhile, the saved one stayed alive until he reached seventy.

Failure to learn swimming continued even when I managed long time ago to subscribe to the swimming pool of Nile Hilton hotel… and swimming coach started to train me as Mr. Kahhoul; supervisor of the swimming pool and cabins surrounding it, asked him to take extra care of me… there, I started a friendship with the late creative Nour esh-Sherif who, like me, used to stand at the corner of the swimming pool for he was not good at swimming and we had interesting long conversations… at that place too, I used to wait for Dr. Muhammed Fayyad; medicine professor who used to go into the pool prior to sunset to swim along with that Lebanese ex-minister who used to stay almost permanently in his cabin looking over the Hilton pool.

Now we come to the second time which developed that missing amity between me and Rosetta Nile branch, that was when we were paying a visit to Sidi Ibrahim ed-Dessouqi when suddenly a kind fellow of us said he had a hunch suggesting that we should pay another visit to Sidi Abo-elmagd; father of Abo Elainain – another nickname for Sidi Ibrahim ed-Dessouqi… and so, we set off and hurried to the nearest sailing boat heading southwards from Dessouq to Morqos where the shrine of Sidi Abo-elmagd lies.

A fierce blustery wind blew from north that the waves raised the water high to the edge of the boat and reaching to our clothes… the boat kept swinging up and down like a cart over a bumpy road… we held our breath, started whispering with prayers, then our voices went louder asking God’s help to save our lives… we arrived and went to the beautiful mosque looking over the riverbank and there we had Asr prayers… back to the sailing boat that went with the water coming from the south while the wind was coming from the north… the boat had a zigzag course over the water surface… for long years after this incident, I hesitated a lot in going aboard any sailing boat under any circumstances… and how unfortunate I am if it happened that I have visitors coming from abroad and one of my kins wants to be generous to them and so he invites them aboard a felucca in the Nile.

We used to remedy “Hammo en-Nile” rashes we had during the flooding days in August with watermelon rind… now, we are head and ears stuck in the journalistic and political rashes we have… we used to ask for God’s help to save us… now, we ask his mercy not to punish us all by what stupid people of us do.

Translated into English by: Dalia Elnaggar

This article was published in Almasry alyoum newspaper on August 9, 2017.

To see the original article, go to:

http://ahmadelgammal.blogspot.com.eg/2017/08/blog-post_8.html

#almasry_alyoum #ahmed_elgammal #Egypt #River_Nile #memories

Nasser… Sisi… and dead wolf head

Despite almost half a century has passed since he left our world, attempts to kill off Nasser’s character are still ongoing… Those attempts are not aimed at Nasser alone… however, they aim at disconnecting rings of Egyptian national struggle… and disrupting phases of Egyptian national renaissance based on maintaining the Egyptian state and strengthening its bases…

And then they threaten using the model of “dead wolf head” to terrify the current national leadership and prevent it from pursuing the national struggle and Egyptian renaissance project… in the same time, they are keen to follow their ancestors… those who considered themselves “people of the real interest in Egypt”… those ancestors who chose to cooperate with the British occupation… to adopt westernization in thought and behavior… to give priority to revenue and self interests over any other values… and finally, they worked to tie the country to the internationally-dominating strategies and interests… depending on the era… meaning since the old colonial empires to the savage new-imperialist capitalism… including the Zionist state that is considered, according to history and politics, a true extension of colonization; old and modern… as Israel is a perfect model of racist settler colonialism…

This is my explanation for the campaign that turned into almost a syndrome rashing over those afflicted with it every now and then… and so they can’t help but write unceasingly attacking Nasser and July 23 revolution… and of course, along with them all social, economic, cultural and intellectual aspects of both the revolution and Nasser.

We don’t, and shall not in all means, seek to expect the current national leadership represented by president Sisi, to be an identical copy of Nasser lest we make the same mistake… also, we don’t expect to have the same policies like before… since it’s a sick feeling of nostalgia to the past that doesn’t take into consideration the massive changes that took place during that long time… and so there is no chance left to any kind of repeating past eras’ policies… not to mention that this attitude is unfair to the current national action since every leader has his own character and vision…

There is great difference between dealing with fundamentals of Egyptian national existence imposed by necessities of geography and geopolitics and which are also mentioned in history lessons since central state was first established around the river and started controlling the relation tying the river and sea, the valley and desert… and other political facts stating that there were policies and practices valid at their own very time and era but no longer are in our present time… exactly like many other human, political and intellectual phenomena…

Geography facts and history morals have the priority… as they have one definition for Egyptian national security necessities… those necessities that were long expressed and formulated by ancient Egyptians in theories of strategy professors’ and history philosophers…

For example, ancient Egyptian inscriptions speak of the king – especially that of the modern dynasties – as the one who works to secure “the land”… land here means Egypt… by securing the easternmost projection of the African continent and reversed river resources… meaning the Horn of Africa where Land of Punt lies… also where mummification materials and other valuable materials used to come… this area that stretches to Mandab strait along with the eastern coast and the land beyond it; now known as Eritrea, South Sudan and Ethiopia… all that region that controls Egypt security… they also headed north to secure the Tigris and Euphrates rivers’ resources flowing from Taurus Mountains… they are also called reversed waters since they run from north to south… unlike the unique case of the River Nile running from south to north…

They conducted military campaigns and established checkpoints of surveillance and early warning… they also extended sources of potable water…etc… this strategic geographical fact along with all the details associated to it in history lessons is an established truth throughout ages to date.

In this way, if it happened that all great Egyptian leaders paid due attention to the River Nile and its relation to the sea and national security… then it’s because they are fully aware of the national fundamentals… and not because they repeat old practices… in this regard, there are a lot of examples to tell, and which are known to those aiming at disconnecting rings of our national struggle and disrupting phases of our renaissance project…

But they will not cease to write about their syndrome unless they guarantee full control over decision making process in Egypt… it’s the truth… and this is the real essence of the conflict bustling in Egypt now… it’s a conflict between committing to national fundamentals and destroying and going astray from them… it’s a mental and psychological struggle… and I don’t think there is a near end to it.

Translated into English by: Dalia Elnaggar

This article was published in Al Ahram newspaper on September 28, 2016.

To see the original article, go to:

http://ahmadelgammal.blogspot.com.eg/2016/09/blog-post_28.html

#alahram #ahmed_elgammal #Egypt #Nasser #sisi #history #geography #river_nile #national_fundamentals

Our immunity system… killing injury

Painting depicting celebrating Mawaled in Egypt

We’re still talking about what I think major harms that hit our national Egyptian immunity system directly affecting it in a way that allowed terrorism cancer to spread through extremism, fanaticism, and religion-proclaimed ignorance. In previous articles, I stated four harms including one I called the greatest calamity for it hit the civilized and cultural aspects of the Egyptian mind in the core.

Today I repeat and say what has been always said and proved right; destroying is easier than building. What Egyptians have accumulated, in both mind and conscience, throughout centuries is a very cohesive combination where elements and prerequisites of Egyptian existence have mingled together and integrated in a way very similar to that when you place bricks next to one another layering them in courses over one another and attaching them together using a very strong mortar. Such cohesion can be found between the valley and Delta, and the desert; the River Nile and sea; and also between pre-dynasty ancient Egypt and Modern state in Dynastic-era ancient Egypt. Afterwards came digesting the newcomer by integrating him in Egypt’s cultural fabric, even if that newcomer was occupation.

In order not to complicate things anymore, I will give you examples I’m never bored of repeating; the Egyptian braids. In my opinion, it was not a coincidence those who excelled at braiding palm foliage into beautiful woven artistic pieces celebrating Easter and Sham el-Nessim[1] or even weaving them into baskets and robes producing a very distinguished Egyptian-flavored art, have outshined as well in braiding and weaving their own terms of religion, culture, folklore, and mythology. I believe those keen Mawaled[2] attendees – whom I belong to – whether Christian or Islamic Mawaled, enjoy very much the mystical mix between Sufi Inshad[3]; Islamic and Christian, to the extent they may day-dream over the beautiful rhythm and lyrics.

We have a lot of braids in our cultural heritage; the one woven among Isis, Om el-Noor[4] Mary the Virgin, and purified Om Hashem[5]; Khamsa w khemisa[6]; Mar Gergis[7] and al-Khidr;[8][9] Ahl al-Bayt[10], and four Qutbs[11] of Sufism[12] along with the twenty-four elders of revelation; in addition to other braids. Each braid has its own unique characteristics, some I experienced myself while others could be seen in our accumulated heritage. I apologize for what you may find obscure and incomprehensible here, however, I can say, these are the core of our Egyptian cultural heritage. Proverbs, popular pieces of wisdom, and even heritage of illusionists and folklore Inshad performers, all enjoyed a very specific Egyptian-style distinction; such distinction that is characterized by depth, tolerance, strength, and heroism as well. This heritage also did not miss exits to escape the deluge if needed!

Suddenly everything went darker as if an octopus-like demon landed on our mind and conscience prompting hundreds-of-centuries-accumulated ethics to vanish. Isis, Mary, and Om Hashem purity was replaced by woman’s impurity. Woman became nothing but Awra[13] due to be covered and dealt with as a source of seduction and evil! Braids woven in our civilization and culture started to unravel; war against our ancient Egyptian history raged; monuments, wisdom texts and Egyptian innovation became nothing but idols and atheism symbols. The battlefield even widened to include Christian Coptic Egypt. New raids targeting all that is rational or emotional in our heritage, all that does not comply with their twisted ideology, are conducted every day by those behaving as guardians of the society. Homeland and patriotism, Egypt itself, became meaningless in their dictionary, to the extent that one of them, Muhammed Akef, ex-head of muslim brotherhood -head of terrorism- once said: “let Egypt go to hell and those living on its land as well”. It’s an evil demon that wrecked Egypt and turned it upside down. A new set of beliefs replaced all what we used to know. I believe that was the most dangerous harm that hit our country immunity system in the core.

It could be easy or difficult – but eventually possible – to build factories and laboratories, to reclaim desert, to tame the river, to stand against the sea, to make up what we had left behind in production, invention, and discoveries. But it’s almost impossible to rebuild the civilization and culture accumulated through ages dating back to the pre-dynasty era in Egyptian history; meaning since more than 7000 years.

Other examples are the Jihadi muslim-brotherhood salafist war declared against Mawaled, holy shrines, and our entire popular heritage in this field. They succeeded to a great extent; they managed to drain hundreds-of-centuries-lasting resources that used to enrich our Inshad heritage, the one that dates back to pre-divine-religions Pharaonic deities like Amun[14], Ra[15], Aton[16], Geb[17], Nut[18], and others. War raged as well on other Christian and Islamic figures like Mary the Virgin, Mar Gergis, Mar Mina[19], Ahl el-Bayt, four Qutbs of Sufism; al-Jilani, ar-Rifa'i, al-Badawi, el-Desouki and other prominent Sufi figures who followed them like ash-Shadhili [20], al-Qenawi[21], Abu'l-'Abbas [22] and dozens others… After Inshad came reciting the Holy Bible including liturgies, and then came Quran reciting. The Egyptian school in Quran reciting has shined producing many who enriched our religious heritage like Muhammed Refaat, Muhammed El-Siyfi, Subh, al-Munged, Taha al-Fashni, Ali Mahmood, Abdel-Hakam, Mustafa Ismael, Abdel-Baset Abdel-Samad, Mahmood Ali el-Banna, Muhammed Seddiq Al-Menshawi, Muhammed Mahmood Al-Tablawi in addition to hundreds others[23]… All those eminent figures rose from Mawaled and religious celebrations. This beautiful spring that used to water and enrich our heritage was dried thanks to those tactless senseless poor-minded creatures with their rigid bloody interpretation of religion. Azan[24] is now echoing, shouting with ugly hoarse voices instead of the pleasant-sounding melodic one given by Sheikhs Ali Mahmood, Muhammed Refaat, or Taha el-Fashni.

Examples are many and exhausting to list… This harm was the worst to hit Egypt immunity system… May God save our beloved Egypt.

Translated into English by: Dalia Elnaggar

This article was published in Al Ahram newspaper on February 25, 2016.

To see the original Arabic version, go to:

http://www.ahram.org.eg/News/131827/4/481664/%D9%82%D8%B6%D8%A7%D9%8A%D8%A7-%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%A1/%D8%AC%D9%87%D8%A7%D8%B2%D9%86%D8%A7-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D9%86%D8%A7%D8%B9%D9%89-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A5%D8%B5%D8%A7%D8%A8%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%82%D8%A7%D

#alahram#ahmed_elgammal#Egypt#immunity_system#heritage#culture#extremeism#terrorism#muslim_brotherhood#Christianity#Islam#Pharaohs#religion#mawaled#Bible#Quran#Inshad#history#civilization#homeland#patriotism#braids#egyptian_braids#sufism#ahl_el_beyt#folklore#Easter#Sham_el_Nessim#river_Nile

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[1] Sham el-Nessim: (Egyptian Arabic: شم النسيم) is an Egyptian national holiday marking the beginning of spring. It always falls on the day after the Eastern Christian Easter (following the custom of the largest Christian denomination in the country, the Coptic Orthodox Church). Despite the Christian-related date, the holiday is celebrated by Egyptians regardless of religion. (Source: Wikipedia)

[2] Mawaled: (Arabic: موالد) plural of Mawled (مولد) or Meelad (ميلاد) is the observance of the birthday of an iconic figure in religious or cultural heritage which is celebrated once a year.

[3] Inshad: (Arabic: إنشاد) a kind of chanting that makes musical sound with the voice. It’s found in both Islamic and Christian heritage.

[4] Om el-Noor: (Arabic: أم النور) a title given to Mary the Virgin meaning mother of light depicting Jesus as light.

[5] Om Hashem: (Arabic: أم هاشم) a title given to Sayyieda Zainab bent Ali, grand-daughter of Prophet Muhammed, who came to Egypt after the killing of her brother Hussien ibn Ali in the battle of Karbala. In Egypt, it’s enough to say as-Sayyieda (Arabic: سيدة, meaning the dame) to mean Sayyieda Zainab.

[6] Khamsa w khemisa (Arabic: خمسة وخميسة) is a palm-shaped amulet popular throughout the Middle East and North Africa, and commonly used in jewelry and wall hangings. Depicting the open right hand, an image recognized and used as a sign of protection in many times throughout history, Khamsa w khemisa is believed to provide defense against the evil eye. Khamsa is an Arabic word that means "five", but also "the five fingers of the hand". It may also be taken as a reference to the primary number itself. (Source: Wikipedia)

[7] Mar Gergis: (Arabic: مار جرجس, Mar is a Syriac Aramaic word meaning Master while Gergis is the Arabic word for George) or Saint George, according to legend, was a soldier in the Roman army who later became venerated as a Christian martyr. His parents were Christians of Greek background, his father Gerontius was a Roman army official from Cappadocia and his mother Polychronia was a Christian from Lydda in the Roman province of Syria Palaestina (Palestine). Accounts differ regarding whether George was born in Cappadocia or Syria Palaestina, but agree that he was raised at least partly in Lydda. Saint George became an officer in the Roman army in the Guard of Diocletian, who ordered his death for failing to recant his Christian faith.

In hagiography, Saint George is one of the most venerated saints in the Catholic Church (Latin and Eastern), Anglican, East Syrian, and Miaphysite Churches. He is one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers and is regarded as one of the most prominent military saints, immortalized in the myth of Saint George and the Dragon killing in Beirut, Lebanon. His memorial, Saint George's Day, is traditionally celebrated on the Julian date of 23 April (currently the 6th of May according to the Gregorian Calendar). Many countries, cities, professions and organisations claim Saint George as their patron. (source: Wikipedia)

[8] Al-Khidr: (Arabic: الخضر) is a mystical figure that some believe to be described in the Quran as a righteous servant of God possessing great wisdom or mystic knowledge. In various Islamic and non-Islamic traditions, Khidr is described as a messenger, prophet, wali or in some cases as a god of the material world. The figure of al-Khidr has been syncretized over time with various other figures like Saint George. (Source: Wikipedia)

[9] Some believe al-Khidr and Saint George are the same character while others argue it’s not since al-khidr lived during the life of Moses and Saint George came nearly 300 years after Jesus was born. However, the resemblance between the two figures along with their significance in both Christianity and Islam still represents a major source of syncretism between the two religions, and another braid added to many woven by Egyptians throughout their history.

[10] Ahl al-Bayt: (Arabic: أهل البيت) is a phrase meaning, literally, "People of the House" or "Family of the House". Within the Islamic tradition, the term refers to the family of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. (Source: Wikipedia)

[11] Qutb: (Arabic: قطب‎), means 'axis', 'pivot' or 'pole'. In Sufism, a Qutb is the perfect human being, al-insān al-kāmil (Arabic: الإنسان الكامل) (The Universal Man), who leads the saintly hierarchy. The Qutb is the Sufi spiritual leader that has a divine connection with God and passes knowledge on which makes him central to, or the axis of, Sufism, but he is unknown to the world. There is only one Qutb per era and he is an infallible and trusted spiritual leader. He is only revealed to a select group of mystics because there is a "human need for direct knowledge of God". (Source: Wikipedia)

[12] Four Qutbs of Sufism are Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani (Arabic: (عبدالقادر الجيلاني; Ahmed ar-Rifa'i (Arabic: أحمد الرفاعي); Ahmad Al-Badawi (Arabic: أحمد البدوي); and Ibrahim El-Desouki (Arabic: إبراهيم الدسوقي).

[13] Awra: (Arabic: عورة) meaning it should not appear before anyone.

[14] Amun: (Arabic: آمون) was a major Egyptian deity.

[15] Ra: (Arabic: رع) is the ancient Egyptian sun god. By the Fifth Dynasty in the 25th and 24^th centuries bc, he had become a major god in ancient Egyptian religion, identified primarily with the noon sun. (Source: Wikipedia)

[16] Aton or Aten: (Arabic: آتون) is the disk of the sun in ancient Egyptian mythology. The religion of Atenism was established by Amenhotep IV, who later took the name Akhenaten in worship and recognition of Aten. In his poem "Great Hymn to the Aten", Akhenaten praises Aten as the creator, giver of life, and nurturing spirit of the world. Aten does not have a Creation Myth or family, but is mentioned in the Book of the Dead. The worship of Aten was eradicated by Horemheb. (Source: Wikipedia)

[17] Geb: (Arabic: جب) was the Egyptian god of the Earth and a member of the Ennead of Heliopolis. It was believed in ancient Egypt that Geb's laughter were earthquakes and that he allowed crops to grow. (Source: Wikipedia)

[18] Nut: (Arabic: نوت) is the goddess of the sky in the Ennead of ancient Egyptian religion. She was seen as a star-covered nude woman arching over the earth, or as a cow. (Source: Wikipedia)

[19] Mar Mina or Saint Mina: (Arabic: مار مينا) (285 – c. 309) the Martyr and Wonder-worker, is one of the most well-known Egyptian saints in the East and the West, due to the many miracles that are attributed to his intercession and prayers. Mina was an Egyptian soldier in the Roman army, martyred because he refused to recant his Christian faith. His feast day is celebrated every year on 15 Hathor (November 24) in the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria and on November 11 in the West and East. (Source: Wikipedia)

[20] Abu al-Hasan ash-Shadhili: (Arabic: أبو الحسن الشاذلي‎) is an influential North-African Islamic scholar and Sufi, founder of the Shadhili Sufi order. (Source: Wikipedia)

[21] Abdel-Reheem Al-Qenawi: (Arabic: عبد الرحيم القنائي) was a Moroccan Islamic scholar and cleric, founder of the Raheemieya Qenawiya Sufi order.

[22] Al-Mursi Abu'l-'Abbas: (Arabic: المرسي أبو العباس‎) is a Sufi saint from Al-Andalus who later in his life moved to Alexandria in Egypt. He is one of the four master saints of Egypt, the other three being Ahmad al-Badawi, al-Dessouqi and al-Haggag. (Source: Wikipedia)

[23] All those before mentioned were very prominent Egyptian Quran reciters.

[24] Azan: (Arabic: آذان) is the Islamic call to worship, recited by the muezzin (Arabic: مؤذن) at prescribed times of the day. (Source: Wikipedia)