Pearls (III) . ByTarek Heggy• Egypt has, as usual, wasted a tremendous opportunity to eradicate the source of many problems , when those in charge decided not to expel the person responsible for the flow of fatwás [religious opinions] ripe with superficiality, naivety, and stupidity, the most egregious of which was his "excretions fatwá ." Such a decision would have addressed many issues, especially if followed by replacing his eminence, the mufti of excretions with a new mufti. And this mufti would receive clear instructions to never release fatwas on non-religious topics or else be dismissed. His eminence, the mufti of excretions 'thinks' that any hadith [sayings and doings of the Prophet Muhammad] mentioned in 'al-Bukhari Authentic' is certainly true. This is a strange and unusual way of thinking as Abu Hanifah al-Nu'man refused to cite most of the hadiths which were later compiled by al-Bukhari into a book with 600 repeated hadiths ! Most of those included by al-Bukhari are 'single-narrator hadiths ' and some jurists doubt their authenticity. Consequently they cannot be used as a basis for establishing rulings. I wonder if his eminence, the excretions fatwá -man follows the fundamentals of jurisprudence articulated by the Hanbali School [In reference to Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, one of the four great Sunni jurists in Islam]. If so, it will be a great catastrophe. It would mean that the Azhar (the principal religious authority for Islamic affairs in Egypt ) which was founded on a Hanafi/Shafi'i ground, has become Hanbali in the Wahabi-Hanbali oil-dollar era.
• I do not know why the state-run newspapers, al-Ahram, al-Akhbar, and al-Gumhuriyyah have ignored the message Pope Shenouda III addressed to the president. And why did an article authored by a prominent writer refer to the message as simply as 'one of the Pope's sermons'? Have we become that removed from the ability to confront problems? Why was this speech, which is worthy of respect and support, not published in the state-run media or broadcast on its television? Or have we reached such a level of deification of the ruler that we are afraid to publish a speech addressing him in the manner of Pope Shenouda III? And how does this environment exist in conjunction with the current constitution which specifies that no individual, regardless of position, is protected from questions raised in a legal forum?
• Muhammad Dahlan accused a leading Arab state of not taking decisive stands against the warring Palestinian powers. In an interview with Al-Arabiya Satellite Channel, he said "Enough! We have enough diplomatic statements from the part of This leading Arab state." And because of the 'diplomatic stances' of 'Farce-land and Filth-land', the Palestinian/Palestinian conflict will continue. Moreover, it will soon replace the Palestinian/Israeli conflict and have an extremely negative impact on our political spectrum in Egypt . How can it be rational for a state to profess neutrality when asked to address a conflict between a 'civil regime' and a group promoting a 'theocratic approach' at a time when we are suffering from a wild theocratic danger?
• For ages, the last page of al-Akhbar newspaper was monopolized by authors who directly belong to the outlawed group. The last of those was the obscurantist author Muhammad 'Destructive.' For years, Mr. Destructive has been spreading his venom, as if al-Akhbar were the media pulpit of the outlawed group. Mr. Destructive was later expelled, in the aftermath of one of his catastrophic positions. However, as much as we appreciate the expulsion, we would like to ask several questions here: How? When? Why? And under what justification was any page allocated to obscurantist authors from 'Ahmad Cockscomb' to 'Muhammad Destructive? One last question emerges: What did the Azhar do with Muhammad Destructive after he exposed the national unity of Egypt to a critical split? And why did the government not recommend his expulsion from all his posts to set an example for other preachers of obscurantism?
• It lifted my spirit to see a police officer, who tortured an Egyptian citizen, standing behind bars. Since generalization is a catastrophe, we should affirm that not all, not even most, police officers commit such notorious crimes, but not all of them are angels either. Consequently, the trial of that officer, and his like, is a badge of honor for Egyptian society and not a blemish to be hidden by the official media and the 'governmental press,' the so-called national press. It was shameful to only be able to follow the trial of this criminal officer on non-Egyptian screens.
• To a great extent, I admired Mr. Abd Allah al-Sinnawi, the national author and member of the Arab Nasserite Party, when he defended Ayman Nur. The ability of political foes to unite on common ground is evidence of mature and civilized politics. Despite the differences between the political agendas of al-Sinnawi and Nur, it did not stop al-Sinnawi - and it should not have stopped him - from condemning what is taking place against Ayman Nur. What increased our respect for Mr. al-Sinnawi was that he did not attack the U.S. for defending Ayman Nur although al-Sinnawi is an ideological foe of the U.S. in the full sense of the word. I wonder when the leftists and liberals will meet on common grounds, which undoubtedly exist.
• In one of my lectures before a Coptic assemblage a few days ago, I severely criticized Copts for their passivity and unawareness of the consequence of their political negativity. Copts and modern women form a strong and wide coalition that can block the advancement of the dark powers by participating in all kinds of elections, defending freedom and opposing regression. Organizations of modern women and Copts should work toward maximizing their contribution to political life in Egypt . They should work toward light and against obscurantism. They should not wait for a state initiative. If the state was able to achieve any progress in this field, it should have done so over the past quarter of a century. The sad reality is that indolent states never take such initiatives.
• "It is natural for the U.S. and U.S. President Bush to hate our gigantic economic achievements." Although I understand Aristotle, Plato, Spinoza, Kant, Descartes, and Hegel, I confess I did not understand such an amazing statement by a great government indentured writer. I wonder if he could explain to people like me his deep, astonishing statement which is beyond my comprehension and the comprehension of my non-indentured colleagues as well.
• I do not understand the fact, the motivations, and the sources of the dead silence in Egyptian media toward the crimes committed in Darfur . I'm referring, of course, to the crimes against human beings whose only sin was that they, although being Muslims, descend from African roots. I have not read one single article by a prominent writer, whether indentured or not, that condemned the Arab silence toward the terrifying crimes against non-Arabs in Darfur . This quiet, this silence is replicated in the absence of articles showing sympathy towards Iraqi Kurds or North African Berbers or Shiites in the eastern parts of the Saudi Kingdom or any of the other minorities in the Arab world.
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