Cairo - It was a dream I have had for years when I, along with a few like-minded fellows who could be counted on the fingers of one hand, had been confronting the forces of darkness, which were attiring in skin-deep religiosity behind a façade of religion, for several decades now. My lifelong struggle that spanned over a course of more than thirty years, I have never lost my composure nor my moral compass even one day. My pen has never strayed right or left from the truth or swerved off the right path. I have used to see with my heart and think with the deep recesses of my mind, searching for my lost homeland that had been eventually found hidden under the ashes of love. Thirty years or more of constant struggle during which I had paced up and down restlessly, trying to put my thoughts in order even when the forces of darkness took the helm of power in Egypt. Since day one, my decision was clear, that is, the confrontation was the only viable solution to Egypt's plight. my motto was to live by the pen trying to make my voice heard and echoing in every street and alley as well as in every workplace and circle. It was such a litmus test to the patience of the restless struggler like me. Frankly, I rested assured only after our struggle has come to fruition by dislodging those 'evil forces' that stood for everything that engender backwardness, ignorance and pseudo-religion into an already-troubled nation. Now I vividly remember our inspiring real-life story with Al-Bawaba, the inception of which was merely a recurring dream of mine that came true only three years ago. To me, Al-Bawaba was simply the culmination of our struggle. We started it at Mahmoud Basiony St., downtown Cairo in 1996, then Champillion St., passing through Hoda Shaarawy St., and 3rd Mosaddak St., and eventually we have settled in 57 Mosaddak St. The long journey spanning over twenty years was the quest for my own NGO like Al-Bawaba. It was my idea and initiative! I wanted to build an independent, citizen and national research association and a newspaper that would be fending off destructive thought with cogent counterargument and equipping itself with overall awareness and free speech. These are the toolkit of the confrontation against forces of darkness and the hijackers of my homeland and agents of anarchy. During my lifelong struggle, I had never lost faith in my willpower when I was opposed and attacked from every which way. I have always stood my ground, maintained my resolve and hope in the nobility of my cause. Even my close-minded acquaintances did not leave me to march towards my dream in peace; they used to push me back sometimes, and other times, call upon me to engage into side imaginary fights alongside them. The possibility of joining their lost causes was as far-fetched as preposterous conspiracy theory. From the onset, my goal—or let us say my just cause—was very crystal clear, that is, to reclaim my homeland, elevate my reason and materialize my dream.
