The Forum issues this report, which presents in a scientific manner “the meaning of atheism, its history, its motives, and its indicators, as well as a presentation of the efforts of the Egyptian state and its religious institutions to confront this phenomenon.”

The most important recommendations to limit the spread of this phenomenon:

1- Activating the role of the Friday sermon to respond to the suspicions and concepts promoted by atheist websites, which have great repercussions among young people.

2- Exploiting drama in an effective and scientific manner to explain the true religion and shed light on human values and the concepts of mercy and justice in Islam.

3- Develop a major media plan in which traditional media and social media participate to confront the spread of atheism in various societies.

4- The commitment of the relevant religious institutions to moderate religious discourse and the rejection of strange and deviant opinions, which were appropriate for past and past eras.

5- Forming a global body of specialists in the religious, scientific and human sciences on platforms in various languages to respond to suspicions of atheism and dialogue with atheists with reason and logic.

6- Holding open dialogue meetings in universities, mosques, and churches to respond to the suspicions of atheists, discuss their ideas, and dialogue with them through evidence and proof by specialists in all fields.

First: The concept of atheism…

In Arabic, atheism is defined as “abandonment and deviation from integrity.”

As for the concept of atheism as an idea and ideology, it means questioning or denying everything, including religions, beliefs, God, the holy books, and prophecies.

Second: the history of atheism…

There are some historical indicators that recorded the first atheism movements in the year 1000 BC in India, and they included doubt in one of the sacred manuscripts of the ancient Indian religions, which questioned the mechanism of the origin of the universe and the reality of the existence of God and His control over the universe, and about 500 years later, “ Buddhism, which did not provide a clear concept of the existence of a God and Creator of the universe; But it was more concerned with human suffering and desires and the way to get rid of this suffering, by reaching “nirvana” or non-attachment.

These civilizations followed; the emergence of Greek civilization, which laid the foundation for the idea of atheism in its various eras, which relied on the idea of “the eternity of matter.” This theory emphasizes the eternity of a specific material element such as air, water, or fire, and from this element all creatures and existing things branch out. These ideas were launched by philosophers in The pre-Socratic era, which included the Malatian school of “Thales, Anaximanders, Anaximenes”, and the idea was crystallized by the philosopher “Democritus” (460: 370 BC), who did not acknowledge the existence of gods at all.

This era also witnessed the spread of the ideas of the philosopher Epicurus, who emphasized that the world is ancient and eternal, and will remain as it is forever, and that the God whose existence some claim is unable to prevent evil. Therefore, he later adopted the idea of the existence of two gods. One is for good and the other is for evil, with no belief in the existence of life after death, but Aristotle provided rational proof of the existence of “God.” But at the same time, he did not deny the eternity of the world and the existence of matter, which he called “plasmism.”

But Greek ideas and philosophies quickly faded with the fall of Athens to Roman rule and the declaration of Christianity as the official religion of the Roman Empire. Thus, the idea of “God created the universe from nothing” became popular.

At the beginning of the seventeenth century, and coinciding with the repercussions of the French Revolution, which took secularism as an intellectual framework and attacked the ideas of the Church and its control over human lives; Ideas have returned that see experimental science as a solution to all the problems facing humans, and that the world does not need a God to manage its affairs, as long as science is capable of that, with a return once again to the idea of the eternity and antiquity of matter.

Contemporary atheism: The events of September 11 are the first driver of the wave of contemporary atheism, which spread widely in Europe and then moved to the countries of the Middle East. Accusing the Taliban of being the perpetrator of these bombings sparked in thousands the feeling that religion and religiosity are the primary reason for the spread of extremism and the lack of acceptance and threat of others, and even killing them and threatening humanity in general. Currents have emerged calling for making atheism an alternative to religiosity to save people and preserve the scientific and human development .

Third: The causes of atheism…

There are many reasons for the spread of atheism:

1- Psychological reasons: A study titled “The Psychological Type of the Atheist,” which included 320 male people in America, revealed that more than half of the respondents had lost one of their parents before the age of twenty, and that these people had suffered from psychological and social problems in their lives. early; This was reflected not only in their rejection of the rules of family and society; And even rejecting the existence of God, and celebrating that, is what made the study recommend the necessity of studying the psychological reality of atheists in general.

2- Dependence on the West: One of the repercussions of the French Revolution was the West’s adoption of separating religion from politics and abandoning the Church’s control over all aspects of life. This trend was followed by the occurrence of Western and civilizational progress, which made some of the peoples of the world believe that abandoning religion is the primary reason for achieving sophistication and progress. Therefore, the same intellectual approach must be followed to achieve this civilizational achievement.

3-the rigidity of religious discourse and its inability to keep up with the requirements of the era and its accelerated developments, and the inability of a large number of preachers to respond to the suspicions and allegations of atheism.

4-the shortcomings in the DA’wah system and the inability of the religious current to embrace the practical spiritual youth, and often content with dry scientific lessons and sermons that lack renewal .

5-the desire to enjoy life without restrictions, in conjunction with the tremendous cultural development that opened up to the human soul various colors of temptations and pleasures, which religion stood in front of.

6-the emergence of terrorist groups that described themselves as” Islamic ” and committed massacres and barbaric acts in the name of religion, made many people alienate from the entire religious system, and choose atheism as a counter to faith.

Fourth: indicators of atheism locally and globally 

There is no doubt that it is difficult to put accurate figures and indicators for the numbers of atheists in the world, especially in the Arab and even Islamic countries specifically, as many atheists hide their identities for fear of social ostracism and victimization of them and their families; however, some indicators can be taken into account to clarify the extent of the spread of this phenomenon globally and locally:

1-Al Arabiya website stated that according to the campaign conducted by the “bioform forum for religion and public life” -an American Studies and Research Center specializing in religions and beliefs – that more than 84% of the world’s population are followers of the heavenly religions, or believers in a belief or something, and the rest do not believe in anything at all, as they classified themselves in a campaign that conducted more than 2,500 censuses in 230 countries and geographical regions of the world throughout 2010.

2-one of the results of this campaign was that atheism has become the third “religion” in number in the world after Christianity and Islam, and that Islam is the most spreadable, distributed between 87 and 90% of the Sunni sect, the rest are Shiites, while Judaism is the weakest religion, and slightly less than half of its followers reside in Israel.

3-Al Arabiya also published a map showing the number of atheists around the world as follows:

The map shows that the number of atheists in Europe reached 134,820,000, while in North America it reached 59,040,000, in Latin America 45,390,000, in Asia 858,580,000, in Africa 26,580,000, and in the Middle East and North Africa the number of atheists is 2,100,000.

The map-which shows the geographical distribution of those who classified themselves as non – religious; they do not believe in any belief, that is, “nihilists” without any connection with metaphysics-shows that the lowest percentage of them is found in the Middle East, where they are no more than 0.2% of the billion and 100 million “atheists” and their number, as shown by the map, is only two million and 100 thousand.

After them come the atheists of the black continent, with the exception of Egypt, Sudan and North African countries, with 2.4% of the total, followed by 4% in Latin America and the Caribbean, followed by 5.2% in the United States and Canada, then 12% in Europe, and the rest in Asia, with 76.2% representing more than 858 million, including 62.2% in China alone, which is approximately 586 million atheists.

4-according to the Al Arabiya website, statistics show that there are 58 million people, less than 1% of the world’s population, who can be considered “hayari” in any religion they belong, including Baha’is, Sikhs, Zoroastrians, Magi and”Wicca”, a religion founded in Britain in the Fifties of the last century, as well as “Jains” whose beliefs are widespread in India in particular, as well as followers of “Taoism” spread in China and its neighbors, as well as similar followers of the tenrikyo belief.

5-in January 2014, the Egyptian Dar Al-Ifta issued a report on the number of atheists in the Arab world, where it said that the number of atheists in Egypt is 866, in Morocco 325, in Tunisia 320, in Iraq 242, in Saudi Arabia 178, while the number was 170 in Jordan, 70 in Sudan, 56 in Syria, 34 in Libya, and 32 in Yemen.. This is equal to 2,293 atheists among the then almost 400 million inhabitants of the Arab world. But this statistic has been described by some scholars as inaccurate, stressing that the number of atheists in the Arab world exceeds millions, because in 2012, the WIN Gallup Foundation conducted an opinion poll in which it proved that five percent of Saudi citizens – more than a million people then, according to their census – consider themselves “convinced atheists”, the same percentage in the United States, by the way, while 19 percent of Saudis – about six million people – consider themselves “non-religious”.

6 – according to the data of the world index of religions and atheism at the “Red Sea” Center, 32.4% of Egypt’s atheists are in the age group from 15 to 24 years and 36% in the age group (25-34 years), 73.8% of atheists are male and 26.2% are women.

7-the website of the Egyptian newspaper “Al-Wafd” stated that a survey conducted by the American University of Eastern Michigan revealed that the number of atheists in Egypt reached 3% of the population after the revolution of January 25, 2011, i.e. more than two million atheists, including 8 million abroad according to the population census at the time.

The American University survey also revealed that the largest governorates of Egypt in terms of the number of atheists are Cairo, followed by Alexandria (north), in addition to the presence of atheists in Ismailia (Northeast) and Sharqiya (Nile Delta, North), while Upper Egypt governorates are completely free of atheists, according to the same report

Fifth: Egyptian state’s efforts to confront the atheism

1- The Ministry of Endowments, in cooperation with the Ministry of Youth and Sports, launched a national campaign to confront the spread of atheism among young people, with the assistance of a number of psychologists, sociologists, politicians, and psychiatrists.

2- Al-Azhar International Center for Monitoring and Electronic Fatwas launched the “Bayan” Unit in 2018, to correct concepts and confront waves of extremism and deviations of any kind, especially atheism and non-religious thought, and to confront systematic campaigns to question the concept of religion in general and Islam in particular.
3- The “Bayan” Unit has allocated the hotline “19906”, which is affiliated with the Al-Azhar International Center for Electronic Fatwas, to respond to intellectual and religious questions related to Sahih al-Din, and they are answered directly by specialists over the phone and recorded.

4- The “Bayan” Unit, through the “Thought and Religions” Department, allocated the phone number (0020225973500) to answer questions on suspected atheism from callers from inside and outside Egypt.

5- Al-Azhar Al-Sharif established an electronic follow-up department that monitors abnormal ideas, analyzes them, and draws up systematic plans to address and correct them and protect society from them.

6 – Al-Azhar was keen to prepare the Research and Publishing Department for a number of research and scientific papers to refute atheistic principles and the suspicions that they promote.

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About the book and the writer: the book “the pulse of the imagination“, although the author considered it to be from the category of autobiography, It exceeded this limit a lot, it was as close as possible to the style of Abdullah ibn al-Muqaffa in” Kalila and Damna ” and true to the style of Gramsci in criticism and commitment to community issues. It is a book that exceeded its numerical size by 66 pages, so it was much larger when we reflect on the issues raised by him, which spanned over 13 scenes.

“The pulse of thought ” was published by Atlas publishing and distribution house by the writer Salah Hashem, an author who holds more than 16 books as well as articles and studies, is a professor of development and planning at Fayoum University in Egypt.

The content of the book

It consists of an opening and 13 scenes that express Egyptian life as the writer experienced it in the society in which he grew up: God, fate, life, death, love, friendship, mother, homeland, justice, freedom, knowledge, poverty and corruption. Such titles are almost the same concerns as every person in the Arab environment, not just Egypt. The writer here traveled with his memory, full of love and pain at the same time, throughout all parts of Egypt, so he says, “I was faithful in conveying the thoughts and feelings of those with whom I interacted throughout my past life, just as I was faithful in monitoring their pains that their tongues were unable to express at the time, and I was also keen to express them.” “To convey my observations on governments’ policies regarding their dealings with the issue of poverty and the concerns of the poor, in the hope of changing their policies for the better, for the sake of a strong state based on peace and fair dialogue between the government and the people.”

Thus, he transferred people’s pain and suffering and portrayed all this in a persistent and spontaneous form away from excessive rhetoric and freeing himself as much as possible from the restraint of traditional writing, which necessitates enriching the text with evidence from other studies. Imagination and insight were enough for the writer Salah Hashim to paint the suffering of the poor, fragile groups and even the marginal ones, which he called the oral language in which he grew up.

This book has a range between the language of conscience and reason. When a writer is a part of the suffering of people, of whom he himself was one, and I made him loyal, passionate about championing them, he considers them a part of himself..But soon the language of reason and science comes to mind, and the situation is that the specialist in the field of development and planning sees him from time to time to download these scenes according to their cognitive contexts, enthusiastic about the need to make them in the priorities of reform and development, even he considers that fighting poverty is an absolute priority without which development and the Egyptian leap cannot be achieved, and therefore he says:” the rivers of poverty will not stop flowing unless the state adopts policies that stimulate the poor to work and produce, and the government Justice, and stop the hands of those responsible for corruption”

This book dealt with the concept of Egyptian humanism, humanism as the most important concepts used in the Arab sociological field, as we read in Bhudia’s book labeled “humanism in Islam” and went through a number of misconceptions in our Arab society, such as those addressed by Salah Hashim, especially in the scene of fate and God..“If you want to be a human being, let you have a heart filled with the swings of children, and a mind inhabited by the wisdom of elders…fill your patients with Love, Love is the charity of lovers”..And the “zakat” of the overbearing and the poor ” thus founded the philosophy of love as a savior from death far from all the meanings of the yellow culture that touched even the representation of religion and its teachings, life and death.

This book is an adventure in new thinking in order to convey the concerns of society and the perceptions of its members, in which the writer hinted at what should be. The language of the wise and the sincere Patriot stood out, he is, in the words of Gramsci, that committed intellectual. Perhaps this is the justification for Dr. Salah’s “madness” with love for his homeland: ” my beloved homeland ..I’m not that far from you..Only between us is a raging” sea ” inhabited by snakes..(..) Egypt is a great country.. Do not live inside “dwarfs”..(…) Egypt is stronger and larger than its population.

Do not accept that it is ruled by weak people, or inhabited by bloodsuckers..”This love, as I understood it in the writer’s soul, is that he wants to ward off from Egypt all that is flawed and discouraging its development, especially poverty, which is the main concern of the writer Salah Hashem, especially through his victory for the category of the poor, and he boldly calls for overcoming some of the outdated contents of the heritage, which whenever he reviews it in a sarcastic“..We again need to restructure religious education within the framework of a proper reading of the Koran and the Sunnah. Far from hyperbole And militancy.

We do not need new “victims” of a false religious “understanding”.. “Here he is highlighted by his bold calls for reform, calling for renewal in a highly transformed world in order to achieve the desired and achieve prosperity, because according to him,” the only thing you have to die for is the homeland..If the country lives, all those you love will live in it..And if it burns..The vessel in which you are fused with your loved one burned out.. (…) When God wants us to rise up, he will give us faith in work, and he likes us to pray in the fields, to remember on the Gears of production machines, and officials live the happiness of work in love for the fatherland, and not in building personal glories.. “And such a thing he worked to dismantle in his book called”the new Poor”.

This book is an enrichment for the Arab library because it is the book of the sought-after Arab man away from all the projections of ideology and this is no stranger to the thought of the writer Salah Hashem, whom I had the honor to meet and enjoy his lectures in Tunisia. he tirelessly calls for renewal and renunciation of the yellow culture, the culture of death. Man, society and renewal are a triad component of the writer’s thought as we understood it in the pulse of the mind.

The post Reading of The Book “Pulse of Thought” by Salah Hashem appeared first on المنتدي الاستراتيجي للسياسات العامة و دراسات التنمية.

 Despite the fact that the “Al-Aqsa Flood” operation, which was launched on October 7, 2023, was a logical result of the ongoing Israeli provocations and violations against the defenseless Palestinian people, and its policies that included unfair and systematic discrimination, the unlawful usurpation of lands, the forced displacement of the land’s owners, and a growing settlement expansion, However, the Israeli occupation army forces gave themselves the right, with international blessing, to punish the Palestinian people for their desire to liberate their land, and carried out a brutal attack on the residents of the Gaza Strip, which was described as the most violent in the series of Israeli attacks on the Palestinian people.

 Through this documentary report, the Strategic Forum for Public Policy and Development Studies “Deraya” monitors the violations of the Israeli occupation army and its criminal actions against the Palestinians and their right to their land and sanctities in occupied Palestine, in flagrant violation of all international humanitarian laws and conventions.

 “War crimes” are defined in their absolute sense as: “serious violations of international law committed against civilians or combatants during an armed conflict, which lead to their perpetrators being held individually criminally responsible, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.” These crimes apply to all violations of the Geneva Conventions. Which was approved in 1949 following World War II.

 This definition was included in Article 8 of the “Rome Statute”, which is the treaty establishing the International Criminal Court that was adopted in June 1998, as Article No. (8) of the “Rome Statute” defines war crimes as: serious violations of the laws and customs of war applied in International Armed Conflicts”, based primarily on the 1899 Hague Declaration and the 1907 Regulations relating to the Laws and Customs of War on Land annexed to the Fourth Hague Convention, the 1925 Geneva Protocol, the 1954 Hague Convention and its Protocols, the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the 1994 Convention for the Safety of United Nations Personnel United Nations and associated individuals, and the Statute of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia.

 According to the Rome Statute, these violations and crimes against humanity include multiple aspects, including: -Intentional killing, torture and inhuman treatment, conducting biological experiments, or causing widespread destruction and seizure of property, without military necessity justifying it and in violation of the law and in a senseless manner.-Likewise, attacks against the civilian population as such, or against individual civilians not directly participating in hostilities, or intentionally directing attacks against civilian sites, that is, sites that do not constitute military objectives.

 -These violations also include intentionally directing attacks against buildings designated for health purposes, hospitals, places where the sick and wounded gather, places for religious, educational, artistic, scientific, or charitable purposes, historical monuments, and other targets that are not considered military.

International humanitarian and criminal law also prohibit the establishment of sieges and the deliberate starvation of civilians as a method of warfare. Objects and materials indispensable to the survival of the civilian population also receive special protection. These objects and materials include: foodstuffs, agricultural areas that produce them, crops, livestock, and water facilities. Drinking water, its networks, and irrigation works, it is prohibited to attack, destroy, move, or disrupt them in any other way.

Monitoring the crimes of the Israeli occupation army against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip:

Since October 7, 2023, the Israeli occupation army has been committing all forms of war crimes against the Palestinian people of the Gaza Strip, which can be listed as follows:

1: crimes of genocide

The prime minister of the Israeli occupation state, Benjamin Netanyahu, promised to turn Gaza into “ruins”, and the minister of defense of the occupation state, Yoav Gallant, said: “We are imposing a complete blockade on the Gaza Strip, there is no electricity, food, water, fuel and everything is closed, we are fighting human animals –as he put it -, and we act accordingly,” promising the defenseless Gazans that they will see Hell

These statements and subsequent actions and violations over the past weeks constitute direct incitement to commit the crime of “genocide,” which is prohibited under international law. Article VI of the “Rome Statute” regarding the establishment of the International Criminal Court in 2002 defines the crimes of genocide.

The above are some of the images of genocide crimes that we have seen in the past weeks, which prove for sure that the Israeli occupation state committed all the above-mentioned crimes in its brutal war in the Gaza Strip, which are of course war crimes, punishment and genocide in accordance with the convention on the prevention and punishment of the crime of genocide and in accordance with the four Geneva Conventions and the law of the International Criminal Court, because the perpetrators know for sure of the crimes of genocide and their multiple criminal precedents in this regard, witnessed by the whole world.

2: Imposing a siege and preventing the entry of humanitarian relief

According to international humanitarian law, and according to statements by officials of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, imposing a blockade that would threaten the lives of civilians by depriving them of basic goods and services necessary for their survival is contrary to international humanitarian law, and unless there is military necessity that justifies it, It is classified as one of the manifestations of collective punishment criminalized by the Geneva Convention of International Law in the Third Protocol in Article 87, the Fourth Protocol in Article 33 and its Appendix in Article 50, and Rule No. 103 of customary international humanitarian law.

Imposing restrictions on the movement of individuals and goods that would threaten the lives of civilians is prohibited under international law, and accordingly, imposing a “total siege” on the Gaza Strip and banning the entry of food, fuel, and medical aid is considered a full-fledged war crime.

3: Following the starvation policy

The crime of siege is followed by another crime, which is starvation. In its latest statements, OXFAM accused Israel of using starvation as a weapon of war against civilians in Gaza, stressing in this context that only about 2% of the necessary food supplies were allowed to enter Gaza, meaning that civilians in Gazans do not have the most basic necessities of life, such as food and water, and they cannot find anything to satisfy the hunger of their innocent children. This is a blatant violation of the most basic human rights, which violates all laws, humanitarian norms, and international agreements.

4: Forced displacement

Forced displacement is a serious violation of human rights and a clear violation of the provisions of international law, international humanitarian law,

the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 relating to the protection of civilians in time of international armed conflict, and the two additional protocols issued by the United Nations in 1977 relating to the protection of civilians in time of internal and international armed conflict, and is also considered a violation of the International Convention for the protection of all persons from Enforced Disappearance adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in its resolution 47/133 of December 18, 1992, which states in its initial article that: -No one shall be subjected to enforced disappearance.-No exceptional circumstance whatsoever, whether it is a situation of war or the threat of war, internal political instability or any other exception, may be invoked to justify enforced disappearance.

5: Killing children and women and targeting civilians

The Israeli occupation forces committed the most heinous crimes against Palestinian civilians, especially children, women and the elderly. The number of massacres they committed in the Gaza Strip reached more than 1,031 massacres, leading to the martyrdom of more than 10,165 Palestinians, including more than 4,104 children and about 2,500 women, in addition to More than 27,000 injured, in addition to about 163 martyrs in the West Bank, and 2,250 wounded in the West Bank, according to the latest data of the Palestinian Ministry of Health, and the violations are still continuing and the number of victims and injured is increasing hour after hour, and the bombing has also led to the removal of more than 100 entire Palestinian families from records. Civil status following the martyrdom of its members.

The indiscriminate bombing of civilians and infrastructure by the Israeli occupation army forces amounts to crimes against humanity that require accountability in accordance with Article 3 of the Geneva Convention.

6: Demolition of homes and civilian facilities such as hospitals and schoolsIsraeli occupation army warplanes demolish homes and civilian facilities over the heads of their residents without warning, following a scorched earth policy, as they completely destroyed nearly 32,000 buildings and about 200,000 other housing units that were severely damaged and no longer fit, and still more. Of the 2,500 people missing under the rubble of their homes. On the evening of October 30, 2023, the Israeli occupation army forces destroyed an entire residential neighborhood in the middle of the “Jabalia” camp, north of Gaza. This massacre resulted in the fall of about 400 martyrs, the majority of whom were children and women, and left hundreds of wounded and injured defenseless civilians.

At the level of violations and crimes committed by the Israeli occupation army against hospitals and medical centers in the Gaza Strip, the bombing of Al-Baptisti Hospital on October 17, 2023, which resulted in the death of about 500 Palestinian civilians, the majority of whom were children, represents a new massacre and another full-fledged war crime in addition to the crimes committed by Israel against… In full view of the whole world, which is a grave violation of all the norms of international criminal law and the provisions of all international agreements. The protection of civilians is the basis of the International Geneva Convention, which was signed on August 12, 1949.

This is also a clear violation of the rules of international humanitarian law, especially Rule 55, which considers schools and hospitals to be red lines protected under international law.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health stated during a press conference on November 4, 2023, that 150 medical staff were martyred and 57 ambulances were destroyed. The Israeli occupation army forces also deliberately targeted 105 health institutions and put 16 hospitals out of service.

The occupation forces also targeted the vicinity of Al-Quds Hospital in Gaza more than once, and other hospitals that they ordered evacuated, such as Al-Shifa Hospital and the Indonesian Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip.

7: targeting international relief organizations and their employees

 The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) alone lost about 88 of its employees in the Gaza Strip; the largest number of deaths recorded by the United Nations in a single conflict at all, after many of them were killed while they were inside their homes with their families, according to the statements of “Philip Lazzarini, Commissioner-General of the agency, who confirmed that about 40 UNRWA buildings were bombed, which led to its complete destruction, including schools and warehouses, and many other relief buildings were severely damaged due to Israeli raids, the latest of which was the” AL-fakhoura “school it housed thousands of refugees in the northern Gaza Strip.

All international humanitarian organizations operating in the Gaza Strip, such as the “World Health “Organizations, The” Red Cross”, UNICEF … and others, announced the interruption of communication with their crews in Gaza, and warned the international community during the previous days that they are working under very difficult conditions amid the interruption of the internet, telephone and cellular communications, as well as the huge lack of resources to ensure that they continue to provide their services to the affected in the Strip.

8: Killing journalists and suppressing opinions opposing the Israeli escalation

Reporters Without Borders announced on the first of November 2023 that it filed a lawsuit before the International Criminal Court regarding the commission of “war crimes” against journalists during the recent events in the Gaza Strip, and a media statement from the organization stated that it filed a complaint related to war crimes to the Office of the prosecutor general of the International Criminal Court on October 31, 2023, including details of the cases of more than 10 journalists killed from the seventh of October and two others injured while doing their work, out of about 36 other journalists killed during the Battle of “Al-Aqsa flood”, and this conflict since its foundation in 1992.

During the media coverage of the events, we find that the Israeli occupation army forces are practicing blatant violations through which they are trying to obscure the voices supporting the Palestinians and suppress opposing opinions through widespread arrest campaigns inside the Strip and in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, described by observers as the widest and loudest for years, according to the Israeli newspaper “hearts” and in a news report published on its website on October 20, 2023, it says that hundreds of Israeli Arabs and Palestinians in the occupied city of East Jerusalem have been expelled and imprisoned from work and the university due to seven posts on social networking sites in solidarity with the Gaza Strip Gaza. And the destruction of about 50 centers and headquarters of media institutions as a result of indiscriminate and violent shelling, according to a recent report issued by the Freedoms Committee of the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate, including, but not limited to: Al-Aqsa media network, Ma’an news agency, Sawa agency, Shihab agency, Al-Quds newspaper, Baladna Radio, Radio Zaman, Wataniya agency, Khobar agency, Al-Ayam newspaper, event media services company, Fadl Shana Foundation, Holy Quran Radio, Shams news agency, APA agency, Al Jazeera News Network office, Palestine TV, Agence France Presse…

9: Use of internationally prohibited weapons

Since October 7, 2023, Israel has been arbitrarily using a huge amount of explosives that were dropped on the Gaza Strip, dropping more than 25 thousand tons of explosives – that is, the per capita amounting to approximately 12 kilograms of explosives – equivalent to two nuclear bombs, according to what was stated. The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Observatory is an independent international organization concerned with human rights issues in the Middle East, North Africa and Europe, headquartered in Geneva.

The Euro-Mediterranean Observatory stated in a report that the size of the explosives used by the occupation army exceeded the weight of the nuclear bomb that the United States dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan at the end of World War II in 1945, which was estimated at about 15 thousand tons of explosives.

  It also indicated that the area of ​​the Japanese city was estimated at about 900 square kilometers, while the area of ​​the Gaza Strip did not exceed 360 kilometres, which means that the destructive power of the explosives dropped on Gaza since the outbreak of the brutal aggression exceeded those dropped on Hiroshima.

White phosphorus weapon:

Many videos have been circulated in all media outlets showing the aerial bombardment of the Israeli occupation forces on the Gaza Strip and targeting them using the internationally banned white phosphorus weapon.white phosphorus bombs represent one of the types of deadly weapons, the explosion of which produces intense heat and columns of burning white smoke, leading to melting human skin and separating it from bones, and incendiary particles can remain inside the body even after the end of the bombardment to cause fatal damage.

The Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip indicated that the Israeli occupation forces used internationally banned shells in their brutal attack on the Gaza Strip, as the fragments penetrate the body and cause explosions inside it, causing terrible burns that melt the skin of those affected and sometimes lead to death.

Unguided bombs:

They are unguided bombs, which is why they are called “dumb bombs.” They are also known as free-fall bombs, gravity bombs, and iron bombs. They are dropped from American “M-117” F-16 aircraft, and their effect is to cause complete destruction of buildings and wipe them off the ground. face of the Earth. They were used during World War II, and continued to constitute the vast majority of bombs dropped by aircraft until the end of the 1980s, until they have now been largely replaced by precision-guided munitions, which are directed to specific targets to avoid injuring civilians or demolishing non-target buildings.

Vacuum bombs, “Halper” retaliatory bombs:

Vacuum bombs are one of the most dangerous and controversial bombs used by the Israeli occupation army forces in the Gaza Strip, because they are more destructive than conventional explosives of similar size, and they have a terrible impact on anyone who falls into the circle of detonating them and causing serious damage, and they are the most destructive to buildings and infrastructure, while “Halber revenge” bombs are considered internationally prohibited incendiary and Fortress-piercing bombs, which are used by the Israeli occupation forces in their aggression on the Strip.

Some international media reports talk about the expansion of the occupation forces in the use of chemical warfare tools during their ground attack on the Gaza Strip, and plans to use nerve gas such as VX gas, sarin gas, Suman gas and Tabun gas, as these toxic gases target blood cells and prevent oxygen absorption, leading to suffocation.

 In the end, the Strategic Forum for Public Policy and Development Studies “Deraya” recommends the necessity of forming an international committee of jurists and specialists in the military field to document the war crimes committed by Israel against the defenseless Palestinian people, and to prosecute its political and military officials, including those who issued orders, plans, and implemented them, and to submit them to the International Criminal Court for trial. As “war criminals,” in addition to requesting compensation for the Palestinians similar to those that Israel obtained from the German government as compensation for victims of the “Holocaust,” which amounted to more than 90 billion dollars over 70 years, according to what was announced by the “Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany” organization. Year 2021.

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Illiteracy is a problem that transforms human and life, and makes him rigid in his thinking and his quest for change and development, as the illiterate person becomes a crippling force that cannot deal with modern production mechanisms and cannot implement development plans, especially since illiteracy has become not only limited to ignorance of the basics of reading and writing, but has also included Digital and technological illiteracy in light of successive technical developments experienced by all peoples of the earth.

if the development plans are based mainly on the economy, the environment and society, yet the human being remains the main pillar of it, and his development and the development of his capabilities are no less important than the development of the wealth of countries and their natural resources, and the availability of education and eradicating illiteracy of individuals is the way to this development and the transit corridor to improve the quality of life and eradicate poverty and build Human.

In view of the spread of illiteracy in quantity and quality, and the seriousness of this matter on the security and stability of societies, the Strategic Forum for Public Policies and Development Studies “Draya” issues a report that monitors indicators of illiteracy at the international, Arab and local levels, and the reasons for the high rates of illiteracy in Egypt and its implications, in addition to shedding light on The efforts of the Egyptian state to address and reduce the problem, with a presentation of some recommendations that may contribute to developing a more comprehensive vision for the decision-maker to reduce and completely eliminate illiteracy rates in Egypt within a specific timeline.

This report monitors the issue of “literacy” through several axes:

First: Indicators of illiteracy globally and in the Arab world.

Second: Indicators of illiteracy in Egypt.

Third: The reasons for the high rates of illiteracy in Egypt.

Fourth: the effects resulting from the high rates of illiteracy locally.

Fifth: The efforts of the Egyptian state to eradicate illiteracy.

Sixth: proposals to solve the problem of illiteracy.

First: illiteracy indicators globally and in the Arab world

The central agency for public mobilization and statistics monitored illiteracy indicators globally and in the Arab world, and the Arab Organization for Education, Culture and science (Alesco) issued a report for 2021 clarifying the situation of the problem of illiteracy in the world in general, and in the Arab countries in particular, which came as follows:

1. Indicators at the global level:

– Chad and Guinea have the highest illiteracy rates in the world, with 77.7% and 69.6% respectively for individuals aged 15 and over of the total population .

– 17% of the world’s population (15 years and older) still do not know how to read and write, that is, about 781 million illiterates in South and West Asia and sub-Saharan Africa out of all illiterates in the world, according to UNESCO statistics.

– South and West Asia recorded the highest numbers of illiterates belonging to the age group of 15 years and over at 47.5% of the total number of illiterates in the world in the same age group, followed by sub-Saharan Africa at 26.5%, then East Asia and the Pacific 10.6%

– The illiteracy rate among males is about 36% and females 64% globally.

2-indicators at the Arab level:

– 21% illiteracy rate in the Arab world, where one in five people (15 years and older) suffer from illiteracy.

– Somalia and Mauritania come as the highest Arab countries in the percentage of illiteracy (15 years and over), where the illiteracy rates are 62.2% and 48%, respectively.

– Bahrain is the lowest Arab country in terms of the illiteracy rate among its population aged 15 years and over at 2.5%, which is among the lowest rates globally

– There are some Arab countries where the illiteracy rate has not exceeded 10%, namely (Qatar, Palestine, Jordan, Bahrain, Kuwait).

– The Arab region accounts for 9% of the total number of illiterate people in the world.

The increase in the number of illiterate people in the Arab region is due to the suffering of many countries from unrest, armed conflicts, security and political instability and the decline in the deterioration of the economic situation (Syria, Yemen, Iraq, Sudan, Somalia, Libya)

Second: illiteracy indicators in Egypt

Illiteracy is one of the oldest social phenomena in Egyptian society, and one of the most complex problems due to the multiplicity and interweaving of its dimensions, and the most severe impact on the low results of development programs and plans in general. The most prominent indicators of the problem are as follows according to the statistics issued by the central agency for public mobilization and statistics:

The illiteracy rate reached 17.9% (10 years and over) in 2021, the lowest in 45 years, according to data from the 2021 labor force survey.

The largest illiteracy rate is among the elderly, where the age group (60 years and over) recorded the highest illiteracy rate at 63.4%, and the illiteracy rate among individuals under 45 years of age decreased to 17.2%.

The percentage of illiteracy among young people aged (15:35 ) years has decreased to less than 16.1% among the illiterate, while the younger age groups (under 20 years old) recorded 6.6% as the lowest percentage of illiterate in the 2017

The illiteracy rate for males was 21.2% compared to 30.8% for females in 2017, a decrease of 1.2% for males and 6.5% for females compared to the 2006 census.

Upper Egypt recorded the highest illiteracy rates in Egypt, with Minya topping the highest illiteracy rates with 37.2% .

The border governorates recorded the lowest illiteracy rates, as the Red Sea governorates are the lowest in illiteracy rates with a percentage of 12% in the 2017 census.

Egypt ranks seventh among the Arab countries, 23rd in Africa and 32nd globally in illiteracy rates.

In the latest statistics issued by the General Authority for adult education on illiteracy rates in the governorates of the Republic until 30/9 in 2022, with the addition of dropout rates for the age group (15 years and over), the results were as follows:

– Minya topped the governorates of the Republic in the percentage of illiteracy by 35.5%, followed by Assiut governorate by 33.9%, Fayoum by 33.6%, and Beheira by 32.8%

– The border governorates came the lowest in illiteracy rates, topped by South Sinai governorate with 7.9%, followed by the New Valley governorate with 9.1% and the Red Sea with 9.5%

– The results also showed a significant disparity in the illiteracy rates between males and females, as the total illiterate males at the level of all governorates reached 19.9% and the percentage of females reached 29%.

These results indicate that the upper level governorates have the highest illiteracy rates, perhaps due to the increase in poverty rates in these governorates and the lack of school numbers, which leads to an increase in the rates of children dropping out of education and enrolling them early in the labor market to be one of the sources of income for the family.

As for the low illiteracy rates in the border governorates, this is mainly due to the decrease in the total population of these governorates .

It should be noted that the disparity in illiteracy rates between males and females is largely due to Old Customs and traditions that favor male education over females, and many families, especially the poor, resort to enrolling girls in the labor market, especially as domestic workers or marrying them early so that these families can get rid of the material burdens of girls

Third: Reasons for  high illiteracy rates in Egypt

There are many reasons for the high illiteracy rates in Egypt, namely the following:

1-Economic Reasons: poverty leads to an increase in the number of illiterates and also an important reason for the inability of many families to educate their children, the family’s economic poverty may lead to their inability to pay educational expenses, and prefer to employ children at an early age so that they are a source of family income.

2-Cultural Reasons : there are still some customs and traditions prevalent in the Egyptian society, which believes that girls in particular do not have a need for education, but it is better to marry them at an early age and get rid of their material burdens, which has contributed significantly to the increase in illiteracy rates among girls, especially in rural communities.

3-Social Reasons: the death of one or both parents may lead to the children bearing the material burdens of the family, and the student’s illness, especially if it is continuous or suffering from some disability, may not complete his educational career, but the student’s continuous failure may also lead to leaving school and joining the labor market early.

4-Demographic Reasons: the huge increase in population and reproductive rates is one of the most important reasons for the inability of the state to provide schools and educational facilities in line with this increase, especially with regard to the primary stage, as well as the lack of financial resources available for education.

5-legislative and legal Reasons: the failure to activate the legislation on literacy, and the absence of legislation obliging the illiterate to erase their illiteracy

6-Geographical reasons: Upper Egypt and rural governorates suffer from a significant shortage in the number of schools and educational facilities compared to urban governorates, which contributed to the increase in the number of illiterates, especially the governorates of the tribal face

7-Educational reasons: there is still a lack of linking the educational system with the real needs of the environment and the labor market, which led to the reluctance of many to continue their educational career because they believe the futility of the educational process.

Fourth:  Effects of illiteracy in Egypt

Illiteracy entails many negative and destructive consequences for the individual and society, the most prominent of which are:

1-high poverty rates: illiteracy leads to high poverty rates in Egypt as it is one of the direct reasons for the increase in unemployment rates and the decrease in the percentage of skilled labor among the labor categories available in the markets

2-disruption of sustainable development plans: an illiterate person constitutes a major obstacle to the state in achieving its plans for the development of society, as this person cannot exploit the resources of available wealth, deal with technological developments and benefit from them, thereby wasting the state’s available resources

3-high rates of population increase: many studies have proven a direct relationship between high illiteracy rates and population increase, which represents a significant burden on the state’s resources and capabilities.

4-increased rates of violence and crime: all statistics indicate a close relationship between the increase in the number of illiterates and the high frequency of violence and crime in society. The education and culture of people leads to an increase in their abilities to cope with challenges better and more consciously and a decrease in their criminal and violent inclinations

Fifth: the Egyptian state’s efforts to eradicate illiteracy

The Egyptian state has suffered for many decades from high illiteracy rates and the resulting risks to society as a whole and its development process, so the current political leadership has paid great attention to this problem, and sought to reduce it, and over the past years has been keen to find solutions to address it, which goes beyond just literacy education, to include awareness development and skills education, most notably the following:

1-Inclusion of literacy in Egypt’s Vision 2030

2-the Egyptian state has developed a strategic plan “to declare Egypt free of illiteracy by 2030”, especially in the villages of Upper Egypt, its countryside and places suffering from large population density.

3- launching an electronic platform for remote adult education using some technological applications so that students can deal with it easily

4-increasing online literacy classes, especially in rural areas and cities of Upper Egypt

5- launching the ” decent life without illiteracy “initiative in cooperation between the Ministry of solidarity and the National Commission for literacy and adult education in the target villages through the Presidential Initiative” decent life” of 1,409 in 52 administrative centers in 20 governorates.

6- launching a digital platform to broadcast training materials for teachers of literacy and adult education.

7- launching the ” literacy of one million citizens ” campaign in coordination with the General Authority for adult education and Al-Azhar Al-Sharif under the umbrella of ” a decent life. “.

8-providing job opportunities for young graduates in literacy projects and programs through the free contract system

9- The establishment of new specializations in the Faculty of Education under the name of “adult education”, and the obligation of university students to erase the literacy of a certain number of illiterates.

10-10-training 58,147 teachers, mentors and technical followers at the adult education authority on literacy programs in order to increase the number of teachers specialized in adult literacy.

11- Preparing and approving new curricula in adult education by the Public Authority for Adult Education.

These efforts have eliminated the illiteracy of about 5 million people since 2014, according to the president of the General Authority for adult education. Egypt was also awarded the UNESCO Prize 2021 as one of the top 10 countries that implemented literacy programs.

Sixth: Proposals to solve the problem of illiteracy in Egypt

Despite the efforts made by the state, the number of illiterate people in Egypt is still large, which requires more efforts. The report therefore recommends the following:

1-reviewing the state strategies for adult education and working to update and develop them continuously.

2-the creation of mobile educational centers that can reach all illiterate people in all governorates and cities of the Republic, especially remote and border areas.

3- Increase the number of Community Schools in rural and Upper Egypt villages.

4- -increase and support female education programs in the poorest villages.

5-linking obtaining a public service certificate with the education of a certain number of dropouts from education in cooperation with the Ministry of social solidarity .

6-motivating university youth and giving them material and social benefits if they participate in literacy programs.

7-working to involve civil society institutions in the development and implementation of literacy plans in Egypt .

8-establishing a large and detailed database in coordination between the adult education authority and the Ministry of Education showing the numbers and percentages of illiterates and dropouts from education.

9-providing material and moral incentives for people to be literate while celebrating them on social media and various media.

10-launching a major media campaign on social media and the media to explain to people who want to be literate how to enroll in literacy classes and the benefits they will receive once they obtain literacy certificates.

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Since the first half of the twentieth century, Egypt has witnessed the emergence of media in moderate social, enlightenment, and reformist thought, whose ideas and opinions penetrated the minds and consciences of Egyptians, and even crossed borders to many countries of the world. We cannot forget the pioneers of human thought who founded many reformist schools in Egypt and many countries of the world, such as Sheikh Muhammad Abdo, Jamal al-Din al-Afghani, Saad Zaghloul, Professor Qassem Amin, and other pioneers of awareness in the modern era. I believe that during this particular period, Egypt was a leading change and awareness regionally and internationally. It had a clear and respectful political decision. It was economically supportive of various Arab countries and exported culture, art, creativity, reform and politics to the whole world.

the period from the beginning of the fifties until the end of the sixties Perhaps witnessed incomplete attempts and experiments in social reform, but most of them fell into a state of extinction and stagnation in the seventies, coinciding with the distorted economic reform processes, and the unplanned and ill-conceived experience of openness, its consequences and repercussions at the same time as the decline of the general characteristics of the Egyptian citizen and the transition of the general human thought from the depth to the superficial and moving it away from appreciating work and production and respecting everything that is Egyptian and authentic to a culture of insecure consumption, while sanctifying the foreign product!

theory of social reform and enlightenment

All this has led me for years to think about a theory in social reform and enlightenment that is based on analyzing human conditions in general and comes out with a set of indicators that may enable us to understand the social field and how to deal with the human mentality in general by researching the formation of human according to the philosophy of nature.

And we answer a general question: How can societies and peoples progress? How can the human product be increased and developed safely? And how can it be directed to serve the general goals of states, which are summed up according to “Socrates” and “Machiavelli” in hegemony, strength and stability in general .. The starting point in the theory was thought as the main pillar in enlightenment and reform in general .. And as “Emil Cioran” said in His book “Water is All the Color of Drowning” When we failed to create a person who thinks, we naturally failed to form a people. but we have a clapping and cursing audience, clapping once, cursing once.. but he doesn’t think!

Peoples and masses

Of course, there is a big difference between the peoples who participate with states and governments in building their civilization and whose ideas are characterized by depth, sobriety and innovation, and those that have a superficial mental and psychological structure and whose ideas and attitudes are characterized by instability, which prompted communication scholars to describe the masses as being like a dirty woman loving those who flirt with her, unlike the peoples who It is basically the source of wisdom and civilization and the source of inspiration and development.

Reform starts from the people

So, the start here in reform must be from the people who represent the vessel from which governments and leaders are elected, and the more clean and sophisticated the vessel, the more sophisticated its leaders will be, and the more corrupt it is, the more corrupt its governments will be. So, it is not logical for us to care about reforming governments, leaving the people without control.. Working to reform governments without the people is just a wasted effort that is useless but sliding to the bottom, retreat, backwardness, and corruption!

The question here is related to the reform of the peoples, how can it be, and what is the ideal image of the rising and urbanizing peoples?.. and what are the mechanisms of this reform? Can reform be reduced to economic or religious reform only?

I imagine that the concept of reform is deeper and greater, and that social reform should be the basis for the process of change and development, and this is what we will focus on in building our theory that will be formed through our next article.

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In our previous article, we talked about how the absence of social thought can play out in replacing peoples with audiences that are usually superficial and impulsive behind their instincts and are not governed by sound logic and easy to guide and lead, even against the State itself; This justifies the inevitability of the inauguration of new theories of social thought that contribute to the reproduction of national peoples capable of building new civilizations in the light of the realities of modern times.

At a time when investing in people has become the most successful and profitable investment.. Do not talk to me about the wealth of a country whose people are fraught with hatred, racism, rationalism, ignorance and wars, and limiting the concept of development to searching for a living or working to secure it.. At a time when people are chasing by the power of money; circumstances and destinies are chasing him with the utmost cruelty, so that the outcome in the end is the retreat of the countries with accelerated steps backwards..!

Singapore, the country whose president once cried because of his country’s lack of drinking water, is today ahead of Japan in terms of average per capita income…!!?? And Nigeria, which is one of the countries in the world that possesses the most natural resources and the most that exports oil, has become the poorest and most regressed country in the world on the human development index, and the secret word for that is the decline of the human being who has become burdened with burdens, conflicts and ethnic grudges..!

Investing in the human mind is the safe engine for development

In our contemporary world, it is only the underdeveloped peoples who depend on their balance in the underground in order to live and develop.. Unlike the developed country, which always bets on investing in the human mind as it is the safe locomotive for development and the field of its wealth that does not run out.. The profits of a company like Samsung have reached in the one year about 327 billion dollars.. And many countries may need a hundred years to reach this figure of their domestic product..!

Japan was defeated in World War II. In less than 50 years, it has retaliated from the entire world with science and technology. If the ordeal, as Victor Marie Hugo says, makes men, the desire to live makes monsters. When the people lose their national compass, they destroy their public property, believing that they destroy government property. This was clearly witnessed during the events of January 25, 2011.

The “third percent” theory

So man is the password, not the stone. State’s ability to create
a civilized people capable of producing a secure future in which man enjoys the finest human characteristics of education, health and otherwise. Hence, we must think together about the anatomy of the human community. According to a simple human notion called the “third percent” theory, which is based on a philosophical question that “Is the whole people supposed to be productive to have a productive state…? And is the whole people supposed to be fit to have a civilized state?

Human society, in our perception and according to what we understood from geneticists, consists of three factions.. Each faction constitutes 30% of the total population.. The first third of the people is characterized by extreme positivity and determination, and has a strong will for reform and production, and bears full responsibility for the development and renaissance of society.. As for The second third, it is completely different from the first third, as it is characterized by extreme negativity and has a strong desire for corruption and demolition, and lacks the ability and desire to work and produce and tends to be lazy, indifferent, and live on the shoulders of others. He does not feel responsible and is only preoccupied with his own interests and personal gains, even if they are at the expense of the state’s interest, its present and future.
He is always nostalgic for the past and feels suffocated by the present, frustrated, and indifferent to the future. He is convinced that deep selfishness is the basis of all human virtues.. Love yourself, O man, that is the only rule that this faction of the people believes in, according to the sayings of “Fyodor Dostoevsky.”

Free Rider

The third three consist of a faction “between between”. It borrowed its description from the philosopher of civilization “Malik bin Nabi” when he talked about “Insan al-Nisf” or half human being, confirming that the corruption of revivals is usually produced by the production of Insan al-Nisf.. Ben Nabi defined “Insan al-Nisf” as a very persistent person in seeking his rights, even though he does not perform the minimum of his duties, or from the culture of what is available to him, he goes to school as he goes to work, for nothing but wasting time. He does not innovate in a shop and does not accomplish in a project. He is always a half-man.. He stands in the middle between the other two factions to represent 30% of the total.. He tends to play the role of the “free rider ” who always prefers to sit on the spectators’ seats on the battlefield, to clap at the end for the winner without earning the enmity of either of the two teams. It is the easiest of the three factions to attract, polarize, and influence, and always describes itself as objective..!

Perhaps this perception is an ideal picture for all human societies from the beginning of the social contract until now.. And that the growth of society in this case is a natural growth that is unable to enter into the race of evolution.. Even this spontaneous development does not guarantee the continuity and survival of society..!
So as long as the three factions are equal, the equality here is in the volume that is based on similar characteristics between each of the three factions: “the good faction that puts the interest of society before itself, and the corrupt faction that prevails its personal interests over the general interest of society, and the third faction, which is the human half.”

So, the struggle is always between the first and second factions, and the victor is the one who imposes its own characteristics on society, whether positive or negative.

.. And the maximum victory that one faction can achieve over the other is to turn part of it into the third faction represented by the half human being or the free rider who is the real arena for the conflict between the two factions .. as the faction that is the easiest to attract and polarize.

The question that arises is how can a faction overcome the other two factions to form the general features of a society and how can a good faction achieve dominance so that we have a good society in which all the elements of renaissance are available, which we will explain in our next article.

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We often read and hear about the importance of awareness in building human societies, and without human awareness of the historical circumstances nature, crises, and sources of power….. these societies become fragile and weak, unable to face civilizational or even cultural shocks that may threaten their survival in general.

The Russian philosopher “Anton Chekhov” spoke about the nature of failed societies as societies in which every successful mind is matched by a thousand foolish minds. And every conscious word is matched by a thousand foolish words. And in which the majority of its citizens remain idiots, and they always prevail over the wise and those with sound human logic. If you see trivial topics occupying the forefront of the conversations of the hour among the intellectuals and the public, and when the trivial people take center stage, know that you are talking about failed societies.

When humanity is absent, societies become sick and awareness becomes an effective remedy for the restoration of their health. Awareness and good understanding may be an effective alternative to the most powerful weapons in societies’ wars in their political, military and economic crises, the first way to stabilize and confront all kinds of greed, whether political or material.

In the context of talking about the importance of awareness in facing material greed and waves of monopoly, especially in crises, a French story that I had read about the herd culture, which later became a proverb in many political situations that talk about herds and the absence of awareness.. And why we always compare the absent to sheep.

The story tells of a man named Panurge who was on a cruise on a ship. On the same ship was the sheep merchant “Dandono” with a flock of sheep transported for sale.. ““Dandono” was a greedy merchant who represented the absence of humanity. Panurge was determined to take revenge on the greedy merchant, so he decided to buy a sheep from the merchant at a high price.

Amidst the happiness of “Dondono” with the winning deal… Panurge” grabs the sheep by its horns in a strange scene and drags it forcefully to the side of the ship and throwing him into the sea, One of the sheep was only following the footsteps of the drowned sheep to meet its inevitable fate, to be followed by the second, third and fourth amid the trauma of the merchant. then the remaining sheep lined up in a “majestic line” to play their part in jumping.

Dandono went crazy while trying to prevent the herd from jumping into the water, but all his attempts failed. The “belief” of the sheep in what they were doing was too great to be resisted, and with a strong motive of greed, “Dandono” rushed to catch the last of the living sheep, hoping to save him from his inevitable fate. However, the “believing” sheep could not abandon the culture of the herd to which it was built, and was insisting on They drifted after the sheep, and they both fell into the water to drown together.

The expression “moutons de Panurge” from this story became a common term in the French language, meaning that the group unconsciously or voluntarily drifted behind the opinions or actions of others.. After that, the term was transferred to all human societies to confirm that it is not more dangerous to a society than His herd spirit is growing.

We often meet in our lives entire flocks of “Panurge sheep” repeating words or doing actions just because they heard or saw someone doing so. Psychologists call this phenomenon “verbal” disease, in which it is intended to repeat terms without understanding or realizing their meaning..! Consciousness is a human phenomenon that allows a person to use his mind, and if he does not use it, he allows others to use it and control it.

There is no clear agreement between writers and philosophers on the importance of awareness despite its role in building personality. Many philosophers believe that awareness may become a curse and prevent a person from enjoying his life, and that he is usually hurt because he has suffered more than his ability to bear or that he has known too much. And that sadness afflicts only those who understand more than they should or because they know too much!.

The writer “Franz Kafka” believes that excessive awareness is more dangerous for a person than drugs .. while the writer and philosopher “Emil Cioran” says that awareness is a chronic curse, a terrible disaster, and that it is our true exile, for ignorance is a homeland, and awareness is an exile. Thus, he is not much different from “Fyodor Dostoevsky,” who believes that complete awareness is a dangerous human disease!

Here, I may agree with the views of Kafka, Sioran, and Dostoevsky about the danger of awareness sometimes to human security and at other times to the stability of societies. Aristotle’s crime was that teaching people to speak, just as awareness was a major cause of al-Hallaj’s tragedy, and it is the same awareness that prompted people in Marcus’s Philippines to sell their electoral votes Because they were aware that it was the first time, and perhaps the last they saw the candidates for parliament, as they believed that the sums they received in exchange for selling their votes might be the only return from the parliamentary elections! This may be beneficial on the level of narrow individual interests, but it will definitely be a highly effective rate of demolition for the future of states, systems and human societies.

Safe awareness is one in which knowledge is as much as needed.. Whatever the danger of awareness, there is no doubt that it is a clean weapon for countries to achieve stability and development, and without it societies become easy prey for the cultural invasion that manages minds and ideas and makes them work upside down to become deadly weapons directed only towards their societies and civilizations that have been destroyed. Build its civilization over the years.

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– even The  one who is familiar with such reports, which lacks the simplest rules of professionalism and objectivity, discovers the falsehood of the information, data and numbers that are not relevant to the truth. It is not the first time, and it will not be the last, in which criticism of the human rights file in Egypt has been directed in order to discredit its reputation before the international community. Although the human rights file is an internal affair that is not affected by any external pressure, it is necessary to refute these allegations and to monitor all efforts made by the state to protect and promote human rights, in a manner befitting the status of Egypt and the aspirations of its people who carried out two revolutions in 2011 and 2013 to uphold the values ​​of freedom, dignity, human and social justice.

– Among the allegations contained in the reports of some Western media and biased human rights organizations, the widespread use of the death penalty, the increase in enforced disappearances, as well as the ill-treatment of prisoners and the consideration of the recent release of prisoners as “exceptional” processes and that thousands of political prisoners are still behind bars. Through this report, we refute these suspicious allegations.

1-the death penalty

-The Egyptian legislator has established the death penalty for a number of offences which it deemed to be extremely dangerous and grave. The legislator used this punishment in four laws in Egypt: the Penal Code, the Anti-Drugs Law, the Military Judgments Law, and the Weapons and Ammunition Law.

-In the Penal Code, The Egyptian legislator decided the death penalty for a range of crimes, and among these crimes are what harms the security of the state from the outside (Articles 77 and beyond from the Penal Code), and some of them harm the security of the state from the inside (Articles 86 and beyond penalties), including What harms the security of the people.

-Egypt’s law also requires several guarantees for the death penalty ruling that reduce any possibilities of error : The death sentence must be pronounced unanimously by the Court (not by a majority of the members of the Court)and The opinion of the Mufti of the Republic must be taken (the judgement shall be invalidated if the Court renders it without taking the opinion of the mufti), and The case must be brought before the Court of Cassation to exercise its control over all elements of the judgement, whether substantive or formal, whereby the case papers are examined from its inception and reviewing the minutes of the sessions of the criminal court, including medical reports, examinations and statements of witnesses, examining the evidence and all that was contained in the papers, and ruling on its own initiative to overturn the judgment in any case of error in the law or invalidity, and if the Court of Cassation decides to overturn the judgment and re-trial again and the Court of Retrial considers The death sentence for the second time, it must also follow those procedures again, which is to take the opinion of the Mufti and issue the ruling by consensus.

– It should be noted that there are other guarantees established by the legislator for death sentences, according to Article 46 of the Law on Cases and Procedure of Cassation 57 of 1959, which included that if the judgment was issued for the death penalty in the presence of the accused, the Public Prosecution must submit the case to the Court of Cassation with its opinion in the judgment, and that Within the legally prescribed time, “sixty days.” And here the legislator considers that the death sentences handed down in his presence should be brought before the Court of Cassation without dependence on the appeal of them by the parties to the criminal case, due to the gravity of the death penalty and the keenness that the sentence conforms to the law and reality. The Public Prosecution Office presents the judgment to cassation, even if the judgment in its view is not appealed.

– Another guarantee is that the President of the Republic must ratify any death sentence issued by a court, whether military or civil, when the sentence becomes final and all means of appeal have been exhausted (it was supported by the Court of Cassation), where the Minister of Justice submits it to the President of the Republic for ratification, and the sentence is executed if The order was not issued completely pardoning the penalty or commuting the penalty within 14 days.

– Finally, after all these safeguards and controls established by the legislator in view of the gravity of the death penalty, malicious media and human rights organizations allege that death sentences are carried out on a large scale, forgetting the full commitment of the judicial authorities to the rule of law, and providing full guarantees for any accused to exercise his right to defend himself, and other Procedures are to be followed.

– Accordingly, such media platforms have deviated from the standards of objectivity and professionalism when making these allegations, which are considered an unacceptable transgression against the Egyptian judicial system and those in charge of it.

2-Increase in enforced disappearances

– it should be noted that during the events of January 2011 there were cases of disappearance of a limited number of individuals, and those numbers increased during the the country’s protests in 2012 and 2013, but the reports and communications submitted since 2014 until now are characterized by a significant lack of information, starting with the names of the alleged perpetrators of their disappearance, the exact circumstances or timing of the disappearance, or the parties allegedly committed this crime.

– Despite the lack of seriousness of doubts about the validity of many of these allegations, the National Council for Human Rights was keen to verify all complaints received about enforced disappearance, stressing that most of the cases were either presented to the Public Prosecution and imprisoned or emigrated abroad and joined terrorist organizations.

– The Ministry of Interior has repeatedly denied the existence of enforced disappearances and confirmed that only prisoners or detainees are under detention by a decision of the Public Prosecution pending cases in preparation for presenting  them to trial or releasing them, and that perhaps among those alleged for their enforced disappearance are elements who left the country to join terrorist organizations in several Arab and foreign countries, or fugitive elements who are wanted for arrest in implementation of the Public Prosecution’s decision.

– And regarding the allegations of the enforced disappearance of the researcher, “Ayman Hodhoud” before his death, all responsible authorities denied this claim, including the National Council for Human Rights, which confirmed in an official statement that the Council’s Complaints and Monitoring Committee had not received any complaints from any of his relatives that he had been subjected to enforced disappearance.

3- ill-treatment of prisoners

– Western media and some human rights organizations, in their politicized reports, deliberately promote the existence of human rights violations inside Egyptian prisons, considering the recent release of prisoners as “exceptional” operations and that thousands of “political prisoners” are still behind bars, which is beyond reasonable and exceeds the right and sovereignty of Egypt on its territory. These and other reports did not provide logical evidence confirming the validity of what is being published on the websites, nor did they indicate the extent of efforts and achievements made on the ground with the aim of creating a life and dignified treatment for all Egyptians, especially the “prisoners”.

The Egyptian state’s efforts to protect the rights of prisoners

-Those reports ignored that Egypt was among the highest in ratifying the 18 international human rights conventions, in addition to that Egypt participated in preparing and drafting the Global Charter on Human Rights in 1948, and the International Covenant on Rights Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic and Social Rights.

-Since the inception of the United Nations ,Egypt has also actively participated in all its human rights bodies, whether those based on the Charter of the United Nations or on the ten basic international human rights treaties, in addition to Egypt’s participation in the Universal Periodic Review mechanism (The Universal Periodic Review) UPR since its establishment by the United Nations Human Rights Council in 2006.

-The 2014 constitution, which is considered the most advanced in the history of Egyptian constitutions in the field of human rights and freedoms, allocates more than 125 articles that are translated into legal texts applied through the policies adopted by the State to affirm human rights in the areas of private and public freedoms, politics and sociology and economics, and Criminalization of violation of human dignity, torture and discrimination, and emphasizing all freedoms of expression, publication, creativity, belief, movement, property, work, strike and the rule of law. The state’s efforts in this context can be monitored through the following axes:

4-National Strategy for Human Rights regulates the treatment of prisoners and detainees

-National Strategy for Human Rights, launched by President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi in September 2021, laid down controls and plans for dealing with prisoners and other detainees – which are not highlighted in such malicious reports – and came as follows:

1-.It recommended the members of the Public Prosecution Office to supervise and inspect prisons, places of detention, in addition to accepting prisoners’ complaints, and examining all prison papers and records.

2- Emphasizing the continuation of development and modernization of prisons facilities and the establishment of new prisons to reduce the density within the framework of continuous improvement in the standard of living and health care of prisoners.

3- It called for the expansion of the establishment of literacy classes and the religious and cultural seminars for prison inmates in coordination with the Ministry of Endowments and the General Authority for Cultural Palaces to develop the religious and cultural aspect of the inmates.

4- it emphasized the importance of involving civil society organizations, the private sector, and government agencies in the reintegration of the released prisoners into society and providing the necessary support to them and their families.

Amendment to Prisons’ Law

-The politicized and selective reports did not address the parliament’s approval in March 2022 of a draft law submitted by the government to amend some provisions of Law No. 396 of 1956 regarding the organization of prisons, within the framework of the state’s plan to develop penal institutions in terms of their names, buildings, and management in a way that aims to consolidating the values ​​and principles of the rights of the prisoners, to provide them with societal protection, rehabilitate and integration into society, and benefit from their rehabilitation in development programs and plans by supporting the educational rights of the prisoners by completing their studies for those who have the desire and taking the exams set for them within the public reform and rehabilitation centers.

– the Amendment to Prisons’ Law comes within the framework of strengthening the concepts of human rights established by the State on 30 June, which has integrated human rights into the development process. This legislation reflects the penal institutions’ adoption of a new philosophy based on transforming traditional places of detention into exemplary places to rehabilitate prisoners in terms of the entitlement of convicts not to be punished twice for their crime, and thus aims to convert prisoners’ sentences into their period of investment in human beings.

-The opening of the correction and rehabilitation centers in Wadi al-Natrun and Badr City confirms the state’s seriousness in protecting prisoners’ rights and its keenness to reform the penal system.

-Rehabilitation and reform centers have become suitable places of detention, providing projects and handicrafts and providing education and literacy for inmates. The two centers have been built according to the finest architectural systems and the use of modern technology.

-The Human Rights Council of Egypt emphasizes that these correctional centres are part of a gradual process of closing old prisons and building modern correction and rehabilitation centres that conform to international standards. The opening of these centres constitutes the first stage in the process of comprehensive change of the concept of penal institutions in Egypt.

-It should also be noted that there are continuous visits by human rights delegations, representatives of foreign agencies and international newspapers to Egyptian prisons, in coordination with the community protection sector, to monitor the conditions of prisoners and inspect aspects of care provided to them. These visits come in an attempt by the Ministry of Interior to respond to the allegations and skepticism campaigns that are issued by some Western media outlets against the situation of prisoners in Egypt.

5- Activation of the Presidential Pardon

-In the”Egyptian family Iftar “on April 26 2022,  the president Sisi reactivated the ‘Presidential Pardon Committee’ which was formed as one of the outcomes of the National Youth conference in 2016, as it will expand its cooperation with the competent agencies and civil society.

-The re-activated committee communicated with various political parties and forces and prepared an urgent list of prisoners proposed for release, announcing that no one would be excluded except those whose killed the Egyptians, or those accused in cases of corruption, sabotage and violence against the sons and people of Egypt, provided that it expands its work base in cooperation with the competent agencies and organizations concerned civil society.

-the Ministry of the Interior announced the release of 46,000 prisoners under a presidential pardon during the period from 2014 to 2018, and 54,000 prisoners were released during the same period by the pardon of the police, and the number of prisoners released, whether by presidential or police pardon, in 2019 was 34,490 prisoners.

-in 2020 and 2021, more than 45,000 prisoners were released on various occasions and holidays, and in 2022, a presidential pardon was granted to 3,273 prisoners.

6- The president’s initiative “Prisons without debtors”

-The initiative was established under the direction of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi in 2018, and” the Long Live Egypt” Fund paid special attention to this issue, working on: social support, health care, economic empowerment, and education and training support for those groups most in need.

-Nearly 42million pounds have been allocated to implement this initiative, in addition to the release of 6,400 cases from various prisons until 2019.

National Committee for the Welfare of Debtors

The committee was formed upon the assignment of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi amid concerns to emphasize the governance of debt repayment, and to take preventive measures to protect citizens who are unable to borrow.

The committee also aims to unify the efforts of civil and religious associations working to pay off the debts, and to prepare awareness campaigns to promote a culture of rational consumption.

On April 17 2022, President Abdel Fattah El Sisi directed the government to make a list of debtors in prisons and the provision of complete databases about them that include their geographical distribution and the reasons for the fine to determine the beneficiaries and the provision of safe mechanisms for debt, which reflects the state’s determination to find a radical solution to this phenomenon.

7- Projects and initiatives to support and protect prisoners’ families

-The Ministry of Social Solidarity attaches special importance to caring for the families of prison inmates and the released with the aim of helping them to face their economic and social problems, as well as the aftercare of the released in order to help them financially and morally to restore their status and integrate into the community framework, as well as reduce any criminal danger they may pose to the surrounding community.

-In this context, the Ministry of Social Solidarity is implementing a project to support and protect families at risk “SANAD”, which aims to provide psychological support, social rehabilitation and economic empowerment for the families of prisoners and those released with a presidential pardon through financing small or micro projects with large credit facilities.

-The “Sanad” project provides prisoners’ families with health services, in addition to exempting children from school expenses and giving them priority in obtaining cash support from the “Takafel and Karama” program implemented by the Ministry of Solidarity since 2015.

-in addition, many initiatives have been launched that enable the family to find a suitable income for it that protects it from falling into debt, such as the “Dokan Al Farha” initiative to equip the first girls with care, and lift the burden on their mothers, and the “Mastoura” program for single women and girls from the age of 21 to 60 years, where financing programs are provided to women through Nasser Social Bank to establish small projects that contribute to transforming them from receiving support, into an effective component and productive energy.

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