Beyond presents reflections from the late Ibrahim Shihata on the choices facing Egypt at this important moment of its history In the first chapter of his seminal book, My Will for My Country , completed in 1999, in which he detailed his views on the comprehensive reform of Egyptian society, the late Ibrahim Shihata saw Egypt facing three basic choices: either it was to move backwards, by following the path advocated by those he viewed as proponents of intellectual regression; stand still, gripped by the fear of change and innovation propagated by beneficiaries of the status quo; or move firmly forward by implementing critical reforms capable of leading Egypt towards new horizons of economic and social achievement. This distinguished Egyptian thinker was confident at the time of writing that his views -- in favour of reform -- had many supporters, even though they did not form a coherent political movement. Following are exerpts of his views on the choice of moving forward. On religion Advocates of "moving forward" are strong believers in their faith and in practicing its tenets and rituals. They see in religion the virtues of love, compassion and forgiveness. To them, being religious means having an open mind and being willing to learn from other civilisations for the benefit of Muslim society. In their view, to be religious is to obey the law, to be just, and to govern with integrity. To be religious is to believe in equality of opportunity for all. It is to be truthful in both speech and in action. It is to practice the virtues of order and cleanliness and to refrain from harming others. As called for in the verses of the Quran and in the Prophet's sayings, "They delve into religion with care", seeking closeness to God through worship and good deeds, and are moderate in their positions and in their behaviour. They are convinced that religion does not place a limitation on human reasoning. Rather, religion nourishes the mind and stimulates thought, as called for in the Quran, and as evidenced by the writings of Muslim scholars in Islam's golden age. They interpret religious texts by analysing their rationale ( hikma ), not just by looking at the illa -- or immediate reason -- as advocated by past scholars, taking account of changing conditions and seeing God's purpose in the preservation of society's well- being, without necessarily confining themselves to the interpretations of their ancestors. They believe that "jihad" in modern times must include as its highest priority eradicating illiteracy, raising living standards, and achieving prosperity and progress for one's country. They are convinced that Muslim rights will continue to be trampled on as long as the majority of Muslims are illiterate and living in backward societies. They are convinced that such an understanding of religion and "jihad" is capable not only of protecting Islam, but also of allowing Islam to flourish through changing times and circumstances. They believe that imprisoning religious precepts within the confines of early interpretations, and the repressive portrayal of religion by the advocates of "moving backwards", inflicts grave harm to Islam and to all Muslims. On the state Advocates of "moving forward" are in agreement with the scholars of the golden age of Islam who, in answer to the question of what form the caliphate or imamate (i.e. the political system) should take, replied that this issue should be governed primarily by what would be most beneficial to the people, taking account of the special conditions of time and place. They, therefore, want a state where both the subjects and the rulers are governed by the rule of law, not only on paper and in slogans but in real life as well. They want a state where there is no difference between the written law and the law that is applied, and where the law applies to everyone with no exceptions based on influence or money. They want a state where all branches of government are subject to a constitution that does not simply list empty slogans, but spells out the inalienable rights that are guaranteed to all citizens. They want a constitution that specifies the operational safeguards that would protect these rights from encroachment by the government, be it the executive or legislative branches. They want a constitution that does not discriminate between citizens based on gender or religion, but which rewards hard work and excellence. They want a constitution, which keeps religion outside politics by rejecting the state's interference in a person's relationship with God. They want a constitution that defines the relationship between citizens and the government and the relationship among the different branches of government. They stress that while the laws governing these political questions should be based on the universal moral values espoused by all religions, particularly Islam, the authority to decide on them must not lie with religious institutions (which are, in effect, institutions set up by man). Advocates of "moving forward" define the role of the state in a way that does not have the state interfering in every issue, both large and small. They stress, however, that the state has an indispensable role to play in the design of policies, in the promulgation of laws and regulations that protect the public interest, as well as in the serious and impartial enforcement of directives and laws. They emphasise the role of the state in the administration of justice; not only in the sense of providing for swift and fair settlement of disputes, but also in the sense of achieving broad social justice and equality of opportunity. On stability Advocates of "moving forward" realise that there is no hope for achieving lasting political and social stability in Egypt as long as every group believes that its own way is the sole "right way" ( Al-Sirat Al-Mustakeem ), and that anything else is heresy and must be destroyed by force. They recognise that social peace and stability depends on the ability of Egyptians to be tolerant of each other's religious and political differences, and to live together and compete with one another for the benefit of their country. They believe that citizens have the right to belong to whichever political movement they choose and to express their views through the spoken and written word. They strongly reject any group's assumption that they have a monopoly on truth, or that they have the right to remain in power indefinitely, or that they have been divinely chosen to rule over the country and its people. They realise that truth in worldly matters is not absolute, and that God did not delegate any one person to rule over the people, nor has He delivered divine revelations to any person after His Prophets. On educational reform Proponents of "moving forward" call for a major change in the educational system. It is beyond their comprehension that in a country as poor as Egypt where basic primary education is, in fact, not available to all Egyptians, university education is open and free of charge even to those lacking the necessary qualifications. They find it unacceptable that we continue to focus our efforts on achieving this huge quantitative expansion in "higher" education, despite the obvious collapse in the quality of this education. Nor do they find it acceptable, that our educational system continues to be based on memorisation rather than critical thinking, research and teamwork, and that the end result of the "education" provided in our schools and universities is the closing of students' minds instead of opening them to new ideas. While the perpetuation of the present educational system is ostensibly justified by the need to protect the rights of the poor, the reality is that the poor are the ones who have been harmed by it the most. A large percentage of the poorest children are unable to enroll in primary schools, while many who do complete their primary education are still unable to read and write. Education in public schools continues to be heavily dependent on access to private after-school lessons that the poor cannot afford. Furthermore, graduates of public intermediary schools are unable to find jobs because they lack vocational training; and the skills they are taught do not match the skills required by the marketplace. As for our university education, the policy of enrolling massive numbers of students, literally hundreds of thousands, and subjecting them to a system of learning by memorisation, has produced university graduates that are a burden to the economy and to society instead of being leaders of the development process. "Moving forward" entails the adoption of a new system for public education based on three principles: first, basic elementary education of high quality is to be provided, free of charge to all; second, intermediary schooling should be expanded to absorb large numbers of students and it should provide serious vocational training in the skills needed in the market; third, general secondary schooling and university education of superior quality should be available only to above-average students. It should be based on research, critical thought, and practical experience and should be provided free of charge to the financially needy through a system of targeted scholarships. Such an educational system would be less costly to the government than the present system, which not only has failed to provide a useful education, but has also turned universities into breeding grounds for reactionary ideas. Additional, appropriately supervised, private educational institutions, particularly in fields where the demand for skills exceeds available supply, could complement public university education. On population growth Proponents of "moving forward " believe that much greater attention needs to be accorded to the problem of population growth in Egypt. They recognise that the long-term solution to this problem is dependent on economic development, on the spread of education, and on increased employment, particularly of girls. However, they point to the necessity of immediately implementing measures aimed at improving women's health, increasing the availability of birth control products, expanding social insurance coverage, and introducing legal and financial incentives aimed at reducing family size. On corruption Finally, supporters of "moving forward" believe that it is critical, though not sufficient, to seek out the sources of corruption and to punish perpetrators. It is just as important to remove excessive bureaucratic regulations and excessive taxes and fees, and to sharply limit the many exemptions and discretionary exceptions to the rules. All citizens should be subject to the same regulations, which should be known in advance, and which should be fairly and universally enforced. In addition, investigations of allegations of corruption should be made public in order to avoid the spread of rumours and to counteract the prevalent perception that corruption is rampant. In this context, it is noteworthy that corrupt practices seem to have spread so much in Egypt and many neighbouring countries that many among us no longer consider them to be corruption. In fact, to too many people, bribery has become simply a form of "gratitude", and the granting of favours has become a sign of "goodness". In such an atmosphere, it is futile to fight corruption through preaching and admonition alone. Concerted action must be taken to determine and combat the root causes of the spread of corruption in individual and group behaviour, until new ethical standards emerge with the implementation of the necessary reforms. Shihata concluded his chapter by stressing that all humans have within them both the innate capability to reform as well as the innate tendency to inaction, stagnation and even corruption. The existence of our innate capacity to reform means that the opportunity is always there to achieve a more just and more prosperous future. He cautioned that it was imperative that we proceed, without delay or hesitation, with much needed reforms, so that we do not find ourselves becoming ever more poor and less developed. He called on us not to allow our negative side to prevail and, instead, to utilise our strengths and creativity to fashion a better future for our country. The above excerpts, translated by Samia Farid Shihata, are from Chapter 1, entitled "The Choices Availa5ble to Egypt", of My Will for My Country published in Arabic in 1999.The book is available at Diwan bookstore.
