October 2016 Issue by AUC Times

Deconstructing Authority October 2016

Editorial Note In a land far, far away to the “East” there lies a sovereign state called Burma, with a significant number of minority ethnic Rohingya Muslims populating its Rakhine region. For more than half a century this group has been persecuted, sometimes massacred & ethnic cleansing exercised upon them; it seems the international community is satisfied to label their predicament as anything short of genocide. Perhaps it is not unusual for them not to receive proper attention on the international plane, for it is a much politicized arena with many factors conditioning what is to be or not to be discussed. What is more telling, however, is how very unfamiliar most of us as individual are of the Rohingya Muslims’ plight. We don’t know who they are, where they are or what they suffer, and if we have heard of them we rarely speak of them for they are perhaps “uninteresting to us”. What this highlights is how we, as individuals, are also political: how we think, what we think of and what we wish to disregard is subject to assumptions, biases, and beliefs. Power relations and politics cannot be isolated from the individual and his/er identity. Do we not contemplate their situation because of geography? Too far to the East, an area too isolated from us both physically and in our imaginary? Is it because there are just too many oppressed and persecuted minorities “out there” that we normalize in our minds and our reactions the inhumane? Is it possibly because some Muslims amongst us in the MENA region feel more closely affiliated with the Syrian crisis, or have a particular bias for Arab Muslims as opposed to non-Arab Muslims? Or is it because it has become so globally convenient to view the Muslim as the dangerous, terrorist Other, to view Islam as the religion of fear, oppression & war? Has this become the global rhetoric suiting nations, that we can no longer conceive Muslims as constituting a minority, or being oppressed? We try to answer these questions in this issue that is not so much about the principles of one religion or another, but of how we as individuals, groups or the state, interact with, interpret, and even use religion. And let this be an appeal to all, to remember the Rohingya, and perhaps and perhaps go a step further than just that.

Aseel

Crew

Copyrights

Editor in chief Aseel

Photography Head Sally El-Fishawy

English Managing Editor Roxanne Vigil

Comic Artist Mahmoud Shaltout

English Associate Managing Editor Farah Elkholy

OC & Logistics Head Mohanad El-Tantawy

English Editors Lauren K. Clark Aya Shaaban Yasmin Helmy Noha ElTawil Hady Nabil Doaa Magdy Bahira Amin Fatimah Badawy Mostafa Sadek

Fundraising Head Arsani Sinout

Disclaimer

Fundraising Head Assistant Ahmed Ismail

AUC Times is a student publication. All opinions expressed in the publication are the writers' own and do not reflect those of the magazine or the AUC administration

Copy Editors Aya Shaaban Sarah Ahmed Amal Idheileh Academic Supervisor Rami Aly

PR & Marketing head Mohamed El-Begirmy PR & Marketing Associate Jaydaa Shaalan Financial Coordinator Dunya ElMagrabi Financial Coordinator Assistant Hussam Ashraf HR Head Nour Beshir

All uncredited photography and/or artwork is either used upon permission or licenced for noncommercial use.

What’s in the Online version ? Egyptian Minorities: The Rise of the Shi’a, and the Story of the Last-Living Egyptian Jews

Ahmed Naser Fayed

Entering the Gardens of Sufi-Rock: The Performance of Random House

Lauren Clark

The Marriage That Could: The Booming Culture of Chinese Muslims in Cairo, Egypt

Lauren Clark

Religious Censorship in the AUC

Amr Mohamed Helmy

Allah vs. The Muslim Inquisition

Amina Abdel-Halim

From Capitalism With Love

Mariam El Ashmawi

The Scientist, The Economist, The Existentialist

Malak Afifi

The Savvy Diplomacy of Pope Francis

Roxanne Vigil

What it means to be Halal

Merna Ahmed

What Does It Mean To Be Born Into A Religion

Mariam Salem

It’s Gonna’ Be the Women!

Lauren Clark

Can we compare modern day Islamophobia with pre-WW2 Anti-Semitism?

Dalia Abushady

Trapped in the Liberty Land

Yasmin Helmy

Photography: Georgenia Bassily

Politics Behind Religious Curricula Hassan Adel Ismail From the age of six, Egyptian children learn either Islamic, or Christian curriculum as a part of their general education, and it is not the choice of their parents, but the school institutions that socially construct this type of obedience. Families in Egypt generally teach their children the creeds of their own religion before their first years of school. Generally speaking, because religion is taught in the home, the family’s intention for sending their children to school is to give them the chance to explore and develop their own personal skills and potentials. Many families send their children to school with the idea that school is for personal development, and not religious indoctrination where they would learn to be religious rather than critical of the world around them. But schools in Egypt and some other countries have different intentions. These educational institutions adopt religious curricula for specific political purposes. They serve as a political tool to teach young people in the way of obedience. At its foundation, religion is not condensed to monotonous repetition of words that people memorize and repeat over and over again. Religion is a major element in a lot of people’s lives. It influences the way Egyptians live and the way they behave; it affects how they think and how they react. It shapes their identity. And although religion is greatly marginalized in some countries, the authorities of Middle East countries, in which religion holds a significant value on the conduct of its people’s daily routine, especially Egypt and Tunisia, have found a way to affect how their people think through religion. In Egypt, religious education is not only a separate course of study; it is also integrated in some other courses such as the Arabic language curriculum. Most of the themes that are represented in religious textbooks target the issue of the importance of establishing a good relationship between a leader and his subjects, which drives the Egyptians to obey their president. Consequently, it becomes easier to convince Egyptians with the major decisions that the president takes. That is why having religious curricula in Egypt is something of great importance because it is not just about teaching religious creeds; it is about constructing political beliefs. Religious curricula tend to be used by political parties as a way to make people see what they want them to see. They are used as a way of convincing and justifying. It is like following the Machiavellian dictum, “it is not important to be just, it is important to be seen to be just.” Over the last decade, most of the political parties in Egypt - such as the Muslim Brotherhood - have

thought that religious discourse can affect Egyptians considerably. O’Connell argued “When opinion is falling, when a presidency is threatened, when the country’s fate seems to rest on the resolution of a problem, that is when we see instrumental religious rhetoric appear.” In the same manner, the Muslim Brotherhood dealt with Egyptians during their presidency. They tried to address every single issue from the perspective of religion as an easy way to convince people and distract them from their mistakes. Hence, authoritarians and politicians try to emerge between political discourse and religious discourse in formulating these religious curricula to legitimize their goals and strategies. Sometimes, it goes beyond just convincing and justifying. Sometimes, religious curricula serve as a method of controlling people. This is exactly what extremist groups like ISIS do within their communities when they are trying to recruit to their ideology. They deliver their moral structure, defining what is wrong and right, what should be prohibited to be an abiding religious person through such a religious educational structure. By doing so, they are able to construct atrocious beliefs in students’ minds to which they become indoctrinated within the religious system rather than developing the capacity to be a critical observer of those ideas they learn. Without the critical foundation, these children are raised to be absolutely obedient to their leaders so that they can have them under their control to use them in achieving their political goals. Some would argue that the Israeli Jewish State also controls its people using the same approach. In Israel, the religious curricula are formulated in such a way that convinces students that they are the God’s Chosen People, which provokes their religious sentiments and makes them fight under a mentality of patriotism. In the end, the educational system that focuses on religious indoctrination as opposed to teaching children to be critical of the ideas learned in school is a control mechanism that is an effective way to make a society comply with the political agenda of the nation-state. The idea of religious curricula as it is used in today’s environment is that religious curricula are not set just to allow students to learn about their religion, but rather as a method of compliance to the political motivations of the regime they serve. Whether it is the way they are formulated, the content they possess, everything has some political purposes whose content and logic may be ambiguous to us but nevertheless extremely effective.

Politics & History

Edit: Lina Gado

Is Eve to Blame? Norhan Ahmed Fahmy

It is only fitting that when we talk about women, we have to mention Eve. Everyone knows that Eve was the first female to be created; however, it is not common knowledge that Eve is supposedly the reason for the negative general image women have acquired over the years, or is she? Genesis 2:4-3:24 tells the story of Adam and Eve from the Judeo-Christian perspective. It all started when God prohibited Adam and Eve from eating from the forbidden tree. Nonetheless, Eve was seduced by the serpent to disobey God’s orders which led to her seducing Adam in turn to join her. In the sequence of events, it is suggested that when God reprimanded Adam, he blamed Eve. Consequently, God said to Eve: “I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband and he will rule over you.” To Adam He said: “Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree .... cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life...”

On the other hand, Islam tells a different story; “So by deceit he brought them to their fall: when they tasted the tree their shame became manifest to them and they began to sew together the leaves of the Garden over their bodies. And their Lord called unto them: ‘Did I not forbid you that tree and tell you that Satan was your avowed enemy?’ They said: ‘Our Lord we have wronged our own souls and if You forgive us not and bestow not upon us Your Mercy, we shall certainly be lost’ “ (7:22). The previous verse therefore makes it clear that Islam equally blames both Adam and Eve and doesn’t condemn only Eve for eating from the tree first or seducing Adam into eating the fruit. However, some Islamic interpretations do agree with the JudeoChristian view, although this is not the predominant

notion, especially since there is no explicit statement in the Qur’an that supports this argument. As a result of the Judeo-Christian story, women were believed to have inherited their Biblical Mother Eve’s guilt and wickedness. “Temptress Eve” was blamed solely for the “original sin” so much that it was named after her, and became known as “Eve’s sin.” Perhaps this was the unfortunate root of the suffering of all women, and maybe this is why we live in a patriarchal society. Whether this story was misinterpreted, making Eve the reason for all humanity’s suffering, or whether Eve really did eat from the tree first, there is no reason why she should be solely blamed since Adam was not forced into sinning. Each Religion accordingly has its views about women, their function, and purpose; the birth of a female was always seen as a burden, an inconvenience, or simply a shame: “The birth of a daughter is a loss” (Ecclesiasticus 22:3). “Keep a headstrong daughter under firm control, or she will abuse any indulgence she receives. Keep a strict watch on her shameless eye, do not be surprised if she disgraces you” (Ecclesiasticus 26:10-11). Daughters being seen as a source of shame led pagan Arabs before Islam to practice female infanticide, which is the burying of a female child alive. Thus, the Qur’an strictly prohibited this inhumane act. “To Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth. He creates what He wills. He bestows female children to whomever He wills and bestows male children to whomever He wills” (42:49). If a female was lucky enough to escape death, she was then stripped of her right to be educated, not even on her own religion as some Jewish Rabbis firmly declared: “Let the words of Torah rather be destroyed by fire than imparted to women”, and “Whoever teaches his daughter Torah is as though he taught her obscenity” As for Christians, this is how St. Paul expressed it: “As in all the congregations of the saints, women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission as the law says. If they want to inquire about something, they should ask their own husbands at home; for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church.” (I Corinthians 14:34-35) The Quran again contradicts Judaism and Christianity and in one full chapter (Chapter 58) of the Quran of which the title is “Almujadilah” or “The woman who is arguing.” The chapter or “Surah” was named after the incident of a woman called Khawlah who went to the prophet Muhammed (pbuh) and negotiated with him. This shows that a woman is allowed freedom of speech and has the right to ask and speculate as she pleases. Up until this very moment, women have been murdered as infants, stripped of their right to speak, speculate, and let alone learn, but it doesn’t stop here. Women have been called dirty and unclean because of their monthly menstrual cycle. The purpose of this monthly blood flow is to prepare the uterus for pregnancy and even though women were seen as baby making machines, they were still criticized for how their body functions in order to make that happen. The

Talmud considers a menstruating woman “fatal” even without any physical contact: “Our Rabbis taught: if a menstruant woman passes between two (men), if it is at the beginning of her menses she will slay one of them, and if it is at the end of her menses she will cause strife between them” (BPes. 111a.) Moreover, menstruating women were seen as “contagious” and so husbands of Jewish females would leave the house until their wives were finished with their cycles This stemmed from the belief that the husband would have been considered “unclean” if he were to use any of the things his menstruating wife used. On the other hand, ‘Aisha (one of prophet Muhammad’s wives) narrated: The Prophet used to lean on my lap and recite Qur’an while I was in menses. Anything you can think of, women were most likely not allowed to do: get divorced, bear witness, get inheritance, keep their money from work or as inheritance from their father (on the off chance they did) not even get respect. St. Augustine (writer and philosopher whose writings influenced the development of western Christianity) said: “What is the difference whether it is in a wife or a mother, it is still Eve the temptress that we must beware of in any woman...I fail to see what use woman can be to man, if one excludes the function of bearing children.” In another part of the Hebrew literature which is found in the Catholic Bible: “No wickedness comes anywhere near the wickedness of a woman.... Sin began with a woman and thanks to her we all must die” (Ecclesiasticus 25:19,24). The Quran says differently and equates the female with her male counterpart; “Whoever works righteousness, man or woman, and has faith, verily to him/her we will give a new life that is good and pure, and we will bestow on such their reward according to the best of their actions” (16:97). Although things nowadays have changed, and women have started to take a stand, we are still far from equality. It is important to remember, however, that although religions are translated to us through holy books that we should wholeheartedly have faith in, it remains a possibility that certain groups of peoples will interpret things differently to satisfy their own preexisting beliefs, or agendas. The idea is to not let those people, no matter how credible they seem, deceive you or convince you that you are inferior or superior to another sex or race. We were all created equal and that’s how it should be. To all the women out there: don’t ever let anyone tell you that you are not strong enough, smart enough, or pretty enough. You are more than enough and you will do great things. And to all the men who don’t respect women: respect us, not because we are your mothers, wives, sisters or daughters, but simply because we are humans who deserve to be treated with dignity.

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The Socialization of Religion: On the Faculty of Spirituality

Ahmed Ibrahim

Contrary to common, often dogmatic conception, religion, when analyzed from the scope of objectivity, is a social institution that holds its authority in our society due to its functionality, in the sense that it serves certain functions that can be isolated and studied rather than just resigning to be regarded as an inherent spiritual necessity that is natural. Though one of those functions does fall under the umbrella of spirituality (i.e. the emotional support that is offered from subscribing to a religion), it must be understood that religion, or religious morality, which we will come to discuss, is instilled in us, as individuals, from an early age through a variety of vehicles, much like any societal norm, and is perpetually reinforced by said vehicles unto our adult lives. Before I continue, I would like to note that, considering that I will be using Egypt and Islam as points of reference, this is neither an attack on religion, nor an expression of my opinion, rather it is an exploration of how we come to be religious, through the lens of sociological analysis â&#x20AC;&#x201C; my intention is not, and never will be, to ridicule or criticize anyoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s belief system, or offer my own as superior.

Due to the ubiquitous nature of religion, it is difficult to discern what aspects of our worldview can be attributed to our religious socialization versus our individual, or rational, choice. First, however, let us venture into the process of socialization itself. Without getting into complex, though fascinating, sociological/ psychological theories, socialization can be understood as the process by which children, as well as adults in certain cases, learn from others, whether directly or indirectly, as per social scientist and theorist Albert Bandura. This social learning comprises a number of things: acceptable behavior, roles, norms, et cetera. In order for these norms and practices to instill themselves in the minds of individuals, they are manifested

through, as mentioned above, vehicles, or agents. For the purposes of this article, we will be addressing three of these agents: the family, the school, and peers. Have you ever stopped and asked yourself why you do/choose to do certain things? The answer, though multifaceted, is partly dependent on how you were raised, or socialized. Think back to your childhood for a moment; specifically, the role your parents had in your childhood. Whether knowingly or not, your parentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; attitudes and inclinations towards certain behaviors or ideologies have had a profound efficacy on your individual attitudes and inclinations. Take, for example, religious participation at home.

Were you encouraged to observe certain rituals? Did you go to your local mosque/church regularly? Did your parents enroll you any sort of religious schooling, whether formal or informal? Did they enlist the help of a sheikh/ priest? According to your answers, your parents exposed you to different scenarios, and, in so doing, shaped your religiosity. Now, aside from the observation of overtly religious practices, think about how your parents approached the question of piety, not religious piety, rather, familial and social piety. Irrespective of which, if any, that you subscribe to, organized religions generally tackle morality, or knowing “right” from “wrong.” Whether through allegorical accounts, promises of rewards, or warnings of punishment, there are some universal do’s and don’t’s that are continually being propagated. Considering that your parents are the first human beings you interact with for extended periods of time after birth, they will have the most agency with regards to your learning, and what you learn. And it is important to note that this serves a role in the “bigger picture” of society. In order to groom you to be a productive member of society, the family, as an institution, has the duty of teaching you what you need to know. The question here is: is what they are trying to teach you – think of all the “3eib keda”s and “Rabena yez3al menak/ik”s – rendering you inherently more religious? It is no secret that a lot of our cultural peculiarities, as Egyptians, take their roots in our religious affiliation - though our here predominantly recognizes Islam alone. From major societal conceptions of modesty, to minute reverent greetings reserved for elders, it is fair to say that the aforementioned manners that you acquire through your parents are, largely, of spiritual origin. In order to understand that however, we need to look at another agent of socialization, the school. If you have been exposed to national Arabic, Arabic Social Studies, or Religion textbooks and curricula, then you have come across the very thinly veiled attempts of the Egyptian educational system to reinforce religion and religious morality. In terms of functionality, schools are tasked with perpetuating the efforts of your parents in cultivating socially acceptable behavior, in order to maintain the fabric of society. When teachers or textbooks, possessing a certain authority as the perceived proprietors of knowledge, use examples from religious texts, as opposed to “ketaty gamila,” in their lessons, they are elaborating on the pivotal role religion plays in your life, and, more importantly, that it cannot be overlooked.

Finally, after having received all of this social information about religion and its role in your life, the next determining factor in one’s own religiosity is their peergroup. Adults like to advise us wild, malleable, youths to steer clear from bad company, or “so7ab soo2,” for a number of reasons, perhaps the most evident of which is their ability to pressure your decision making. Though we love to proclaim to them how we have such formidable character and morals, insurmountable to the powers of those bad apples, they are partially right, and we know it. Our friends, as well as their relative religiosity, do hold an extent of faculty in how we view religion. Similarly, if my friends discourage me from praying, and I am susceptible to their peerpressure, I might begin to gradually forego prayer, and possibly other things altogether, thereby becoming less religious. What all of this can offer us, not only about the nature of religion and how it is socialized, but also about ourselves, is that there is talk to be had over the extent of our own agency in our choices. Can such personal/spiritual/seemingly rational choices truly be our own, or are there other powers at work that construe our rationality and experience?

Photography: Sally El Fishawy

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De v i l Worshi ppe rs: t he Va ni shi ng Yazi di s

Roba Mazroua

The Yazidis are a Kurdish-speaking religious minority commonly associated with Iraq, despite their presence in Germany, Turkey, Syria, Russia, Georgia, and Armenia. The history of the Yazidi people is riddled with persecution and genocide. Today, Yazidis are under attack by the Islamic State (ISIS). Families are separated, populations placed under siege, and women sold as slaves. The Yazidi or Yezidi has controversial derivatives; some translate the word as “followers of true path,” while others link it to the Persian-Zoroastrian word Yazdan meaning “God.” Furthermore, the word Yazada in the Persian dictionary means “Divine or Angelic being.” Hence, some scholars commonly associate origins of Yazidis with the ancient Persian civilization. Yazidism is an orally transmitted religion, with beliefs codified in hymns and texts such as Kitab al-Jilwa (The Book of Revelation). Many of Yazidi cultural elements can draw direct links to other religions, such as Islam, Christianity, and Zoroastrianism, the ancient Iranian religion. Yazidism is a monotheistic religion. The misconception that its followers are “Devil Worshippers” stems from their veneration of the Peacock Angel or Malak Tawus, one of seven angels that play integral roles in the Yazidi belief system. The Angel’s story roughly equates to that of the Judeo-Christian and Muslim devil or Shaytan, hence the unfair association between the Yazidis and devil worship.

Malak Tawus is the head of all Yazidi spiritual traditions. It is the first angel, created from light. Yazidis therefore believe that it is the chief of the six angels formed after it, whom God created to assist in building the universe. Malak Tawus is associated with the color blue, the color of the sky and heavens. The Black Book dedicates a whole passage associating the seven days of creation with the seven great angels. After the initial creation, intense earthquakes and volcanoes shook the earth. God sent Malak Tawus to sedate Earth’s situation. It flew around the globe to sanctify every part of it, and landed in northern Iraq at Lalish, which would become the holy land for the Yazidi people. Yazidis also believe that Malak Tawus blew the breath of life to the first created human being, Adam. The angel then informed Adam that he and his fellow descendants have to be righteous to meet God. Hereafter, Malak Tawus would be his teacher and protector.

Abrahamic religions have a similar story of Lucifer and Satan that does not include the fallen angel’s redemption, thus the misconception of Yazidis as “devil worshippers.”

In the Yazidi creation story, Malak Tawus rebelled against God and was cast into fire. The angel spent 40,000 years weeping, until its tears put out the flames. Malak Tawus was therefore redeemed and reconciled with God. Yazidis believe that Tawus contains both good and evil, light and darkness. Other

Yazidism can also draw links to other religions, which has prompted their misrepresentation as a sect of Islam. Like Muslims and Jews, Yazidis are prohibited from eating pork and wearing pig skin. They do not tend to perform marriage ceremonies in April due to the fifty days of Lent that precede Easter, similar to the

The Sufi Sheikh Adi, who lived in the 12th century under the Umayyad Caliphate, is considered not only the main founder of Yazidism, but also an incarnation of Malak Tawus. He introduced the word “Sheikh,” and subsequently the caste system, to the people. The Sheikh is the leader and holy man of the tribe. The caste system of Yazidism displays Baba Al Sheikh as the spiritual head of Yazidi tribe and Mir as the temporal religious leader who represents his minority at all national and international conferences. The vital existence of Sheikh Adi to their religion has made his tomb at Lalish in Iraq a focal point for annual pilgrimage.

practice of Orthodox Christians. Furthermore, Yazidis emphasize the use of the color red in decorating their houses and family graves, parallel to the Eastern Orthodox preference of the color in dying their eggs during spring festival. Yazidis are conservative in their practice, traditions, and society. Marrying a non-Yazidi, for example, is prohibited and the person automatically converts to their partner’s religion. One can only be born into Yazidism; converting is impossible. The connection betweenYazidis and persecution is well-recorded. So inextricable are the two that it has become one documented sentence. Over 700 years, 23 million Yezidis were murdered in 72 major attacks to their small community. Mongol, Persian, Ottoman, and Iraqi leaders have continuously committed crimes against this rapidly shrinking civilization. Over centuries, Ottoman leaders led intermittent attacks on Yazidis communities and villages in Sinjar, eventually isolating them to a number of settlements. Saddam Hussein launched brutal arabization campaigns against Yazidis by labeling them “devil worshippers.” His regime razed Yazidi villages, forced them to settle in urban

centers, confiscated farmland, and denied them access to employment and medicine. Over the past two years, the Yazidis have become a target of the Islamic State (ISIS). They are slaughtered and displaced from their homes. Yazidi women are held captive and sold as slaves for ISIS fighters, while young Yazidi boys are armed and forced to fight for the state. The minority’s families are trapped in the Iraqi Sinjar Mountain unable to access basic resources, food, and water. In 2014, the United Nations (UN) provided estimates of 40,000 people they claimed had taken refuge in nine locations on the mountain. The UN has also given estimates of at least 5000 Yazidi unarmed men killed by ISIS fighters, with numbers still rising. Yazidis are unique in their incorporation of ancient beliefs and recent practices. The globalized misconception of Yazidis as “devil worshippers” has been a justification for political and religious persecution and genocide. Yazidis are neither Jews nor Christians. They are neither a heretical sect of Islam nor followers of dominant religions with massive followings. For how long then, will this vanishing minority continue to be the subject of persecution?

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Let Me Judge You in 6 Seconds Samar Saadallah People always say first impressions are everything. In contemporary Egyptian society some seem to be taking this notion a step further by deciding that they know everything about a person based upon the very first glance. They have ready-made labels, stemming out of baseless beliefs that they themselves have produced and nurtured, and carry around with them as if they are undeniable truths. One of the most infamous ways upon which we may choose to base our impressions is whether or not a person’s appearance contains any religious symbols or lack thereof. In a relatively religious society, it could be said that oftentimes it has been cultivated within us to notice these symbols, but what happens when we go beyond that point, and begin to judge? In today’s Egyptian society there exists quite a peculiar phenomenon and it is directly relating an element of physical appearance to a supposed element in an individual’s inner character or personality. Some people link a hijab to a lack of “open-mindedness”, and to “unfriendliness”; on the other hand it is also often linked to “virtue” and “goodness”. In contrast, the opposite impression is sometimes associated with girls that do not wear the hijab. We could even go a step further and list more of the negative associations that people tend to make, for instance linking hijabis with “backwardness”, and “oppression”, or non-hijabis with being “easy” or “misguided” and the two lists go on and on parallel to each other. It even often appears that first impressions about men follow a similar pattern when it comes to a bearded man versus one that is not. This system of judgment is also implemented in inter-religious encounters by some. Two girls meet, one has a necklace that says “Allah” and the other’s is a cross for example, and immediately all these perceptions are formed the more prominent one being “different”. But where do all these associations come from? Does open mindedness correlate with how short a woman’s skirt or a man’s beard is? Does the opposite determine the degree of a person’s virtue? Overlook all these details, overlook the hijab, or the exposed hair, the beard and the cross, and what you are left with is a person; a person who could have whatever quality or character trait in the world and what determines that is found only within. The hidden and unfortunate truth is that this perception we form based on religious symbols is not free of consequences. We may believe that forming this deceptively simple judgment, an extra security check at the airport, or banning a certain dress code altogether (such as the recent burkini ban in France) are three very different things, but are they really? They may vary in degree of extremity but in essence, they are all the same. It starts with the very first step, forming a direct connection between certain religious symbols or their absence, with an idea about the individual, and it all takes off

from there. For example, in reference to France’s burkini ban mentioned above, the prime minister of France said that the burkini was “the affirmation of political Islam in the public space” in a written statement on Facebook. Instead of viewing it as a simple outfit people seem to associate a whole political issue with anyone who wears it. The ban was later lifted after a ruling from the state council as stated in an article by The Guardian but not all mayors have accepted it. Bans of certain dress codes seem to have been happening in Egypt as well, for instance Cairo University banned its academic staff from wearing the niqab in classrooms, as well as its nurses and doctors in medical schools and teaching hospitals reports according to the Independent UK. In addition, a bill has been drafted to ban the niqab in public spaces altogether. Other segments are also no strangers to discrimination. It is no secret that women that choose not to wear the veil in Egypt become recipients of hurtful words and dirty looks from members of the public at large because; some believing a lack of cover directly means absence of morality. An article by Ahram Online “Veil or No Veil, Egyptian Women are Often Stigmatised, or Worse” cites an extreme example of this; the case of a young woman who claimed to have been physically assaulted when she decided to stop wearing the veil. In addition, there are venues, such as certain restaurants and clubs, that ban hijabis from entering for reasons beyond choosing to wear a simple piece of cloth around their heads. Their owners perhaps associate the hijab with a certain mentality and or a quality of self-righteousness that they think would drive other customers away. This is an issue debated about in many articles including Egypt Independent’s “Hijab-free Zones?” piece, which discusses cases of women who were denied entry to restaurants and clubs because of their hijabs, among them one who was asked if she wore it in a Spanish style as if a scarf tied behind her neck indicates that she is “more relaxed” about her religion. This article was published in 2009 which proves that this discrimination, contrary to what some may believe, is not a recent occurrence but has been happening for a long time. We are all guilty of judgment at least at one point in our lives. The problem is that we underestimate what a simple act of labeling can possibly mutate into. No one segment or group alone is guilty of this issue, it often seems that we are a society that practices judgment as much as we eat Koshari and the after effects are showing. At the very least it is simply an impression, at most discrimination and hate. It all starts with the simple notion of let me judge you in 6 seconds.

Photography: Sherien Shatta

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Photography: Lamees Abdelaziz

Ramadan iS Dead Chadi Ben Ghanem 213 years ago, one of the world’s most renowned philosophers claimed “God is dead.” It meant not that God died in the literal sense, but that societies of the post-Enlightenment Era began to move away from God, for they “have killed him.” His intention, however, was not blasphemy, but awakening. His goal was to announce that the death of religion was inevitable. An idea shared by many philosophers, like Friedrich Hegel who had “the feeling that God Himself is dead.”

How does that relate to our world today? Is this prophecy being fulfilled? A study conducted by Duke University and University College London proved that religious affiliation in the United States has dropped by 23% between those born before 1935 and those born after 1975. They concluded that “If you break it down over five-year chunks, each age group is a little less religious than the

one before it.” This phenomenon isn’t restricted to the US. Despite our claims of being a very religious region that takes pride in its spirituality, we can no longer hold this title without reviewing our current behavior. One could argue that Ramadan, along with Hajj, is the epitome of Muslim spirituality. Despite the honorable status that Ramadan has in the soul of every Muslim, it has changed in many ways and in many regions of the Muslim world. I make this claim since I have had the opportunity of spending Ramadan in three Arab and Muslim-majority countries, Tunisia, UAE and Egypt. Perhaps the most important reason that Ramadan has undergone this radical metamorphosis is due to the introduction of Ramadan series; a full fledged media war between television channels that compete over the viewership of this holy month. By the end of the month they recite their respective viewer counts as though it was the Oscars transforming the month into nothing more than a business opportunity. It is also particularly interesting to state that it’s during Ramadan that commercial TV channels get their highest ratings of the year. For example, a record 85 million Arab viewers tuned in on the 30th of August of 2008 to watch the final episode of Nour according to MBC figures. As a result of this flood of Ramadan TV series (more than 100 series available across a multitude of channels), from my experience, I have noticed that iftar discussions have shifted from those centred around faith and tradition, towards more trivial matters such as recent developments on a particular television series. Thus, we see websites posting headlines like“25 Ramadan Series You Can’t Miss This Year,” and “Ramadan’s coming; grab your konafa bel eshta and munch on it while watching some of this year’s exciting mosalsalat,” with content that includes “Somewhere beyond the fasting, iftar with the family, and the religious aspects of Ramadan are nights full of grabbing a plate, creating a mountain of food (or basboosa), and staring at the TV for hours watching different shows and series. It’s one of things we look forward to most about the season, but with countless different shows it’s hard to keep up!” Some may argue that these gatherings bring the family together, since it is at this time that the parents, tired from a day of fasting and work, get to relax in the living room with their children appreciating each other’s company. So Ramadan has become so commercialized to the point that, I believe, it has almost undergone the same transformation that Christmas in the US underwent. By the introduction of Ramadan centric products like the Red Velvet konafa, the Ramadan deals, and McDonald’s sohour, not only have the TV outlets abused the holy month, but the food outlets well. Thus, transforming it into a fast food extravaganza. Furthermore, the spirit of Ramadan appears to be dying because the habits followed by most Muslims during

the holy month undermine its very goals. The most important of these is without a doubt the habit of overeating after breaking the fast. This phenomenon is visible through the fact that hundreds of people have been admitted to emergency rooms in the UAE in the Ramadan of 2015. Not only is the amount of food on the table at iftar considerably bigger than any regular meal one would have in a regular day, but also the habit of binge eating until sohour completely beats the purpose of the month. Thus, Muslims, who were supposed to be empathising with the poor by minimising their food and water intake end up gaining more weight at the end of the month. For example the Ahram Weekly reported that “according to the National Centre for Social and Criminal Research (NCSCR), 83 per cent of Egyptian families alter their food consumption habits during Ramadan in a way that augments their food bill for this month by 50 to 100 per cent”. This is directly related to another unhealthy habit common amongst young adults: sleeping all day and waking at the sound of the athan. With the religious implications of this act aside, and from a very objective vantage point, it seems hypocritical to claim fasting after having spent the whole day at a minimal metabolism and effort. Moreover, one could argue that the rise of systematized charity has had a hand in the desensibilization of the upper and uppermiddle class towards the poor and economically disadvantaged. Since the act of giving is conducted by an intermediary, it is easier to feel detached from the cause on a personal level. The simplicity of zakat has, in such a matter, caused it to lose its value. This systematized approach, however, has made it much easier to reach those in need and thus the goal of zakat is better achieved through charity associations. Another extremely dangerous phenomenon is the withdrawal syndrome due to abstaining from smoking. Given that over one billion people are smokers, the prevalence of withdrawal symptoms has become a major problem in Muslim homes where at least one member of the family is a smoker. We have all seen or heard of those horrid symptoms that include anger, anxiety, insomnia, and depression. Thus, acts that oppose the essence of the month are committed, for “experts claimed that increases in blood crimes (+1.5%) and theft (+3.5%) are mainly the result of abstinence from smoking.” With all that has been said in mind, where does the Muslim world go next? Will it acknowledge that change is part of any custom? Will it preserve it by conserving its original form? Or is the aforementioned prophecy being fulfilled?

c u lt u r e

The Life of Difference:

A Personal Account of a Copt in Egypt Viola George

One time at school, a Muslim friend came to me and said, “you’re too nice. I don’t want you to die in Hell.” At the same age, my grandma told me that Youssef Chahine is already going to Hell for requesting his funeral prayers to be held at a mosque after those of the church are done. It seemed that everyone’s idea about the afterlife is different. But I do not want to talk about the afterlife. I want to talk about life itself. The life of difference.

Growing up, I became accustomed to a specific scene in virtually all Christian homes. Whenever it was Athan time, someone would turn the television’s volume down. I then did the same. My mum once stopped me and said, “Why? Try to listen to it instead.” She then taught me that it was only different lyrics to the prayers I perform myself. I never turned the Athan off ever since. My mum is also a fan of Al Nakshabandi, particularly his hymn “Mawlai” because it reminds her of school mornings when it was played on radios. One of my Muslim friends would ask Christians to bring her holy bread from church every Sunday. She loved how it tasted. Something seemed right about all of this.

But a greater number of things seem wrong. I know some think that getting drunk is accepted in Christianity. I wish they knew that the Bible says “Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the spirit.” (Ephesians 5:18) and that “Wine is a mocker and beer a brawler; whoever is led astray by them is not wise.” (Proverbs 20:1). I wish my friends knew that we have fastings similar to those of Ramadan, cutting food and water for an almost equal number of hours. Noteworthy too, Christians have seven prayers a day. Photography: Georgenia Bassily

The dogmatic perceptions assigned to Islam frustrate me too. My aunt thinks Islam dictates violence through conquests. I tried to explain to her that freedom of religion was granted for Christians and Jews if so they chose. But she would not listen. The same way the greater number of terrorist groups operating globally have no association with Islam, Christianity has also been used within terrorist organizations, such as the Ku Klux Klan (KKK). The KKK would utilize cross burnings as a foreshadow for lynchings, church bombings, and other horrendous acts against Black American communities. The Catholic Church in medieval Europe practiced direct intervention in the politics of the state, and a struggle of power between the Pope and the king was a norm. Yet, right now, whenever one hears the words “politics” and “religion” next to one another, one solely envisions galabias, beards, and sandals. But I can not lie and say that I have always been that peaceful in my heart. There was that very night. The Christmas Eve of the 31st of December 2010 in Alexandria. Envision you are standing in church praying hymns and happy songs. The church’s entire building shakes like an earthquake is nigh. Everyone screams and runs out of the church hall. Fire. Blood. Corpses. Limbs. A girl at the church’s entrance at the time of the bombing witnessed another just disappearing at one second. She vaporized. A friend of mine could not find his mum. He had to remove the newspapers covering the dead to see if she was among them. How slaughtering this very moment is. The moment when your eyes fall on the distorted face of a corpse. And you recognize it. It is your mum. Or your dad. Or anyone you know. And your mind whispers to you a thousand times a second that this did not just happen. One man had his wife and his two daughters die on that night. 23 people killed. 97 were injured, burnt or distorted. And there they went, the christmas trees with their lights off. The gifts under them forever unreceived. The dinner cold. The hearts broken. The homes torn apart. Merry Christmas.

how can there be an atomic bomb in my heart and that the world wasn’t stopping. For the first time ever, I felt like a stranger, like a minority. But then, on that very day, as I was telling my Muslim best friend the story, she cried before me. I looked at those eyes and found all the security in the world. I was never scared again. A week later, after the bombing, my family somehow got the guts to go to church again. The walls were still covered in dry blood. Around my church, in the cold, stood circles of Muslims who carried candles in condolence. And it truly was a Merry Christmas. An unprecedentedly warm one.

I now understand that the demography of minority is not monopolized by my family. My mum has a cross that was given to our neighbor by a Muslim friend during the sectarian civil war in Lebanon. The guy wore the cross in camouflage, and it saved him from death in the area where he lived, which was dominated by Maronite Christians who killed the Muslims they discovered. I always heard stories of Christian college students who had to take off their crosses during oral exams with fanatical professors. As it turned out, not only were some people obligated to take off their crosses, some people were obligated to wear them. There were all those years of my life in which my world dealt with difference as something that needs to be calmed and contained. But I then realized that science is only made up to date through continuous research and revision. Art kindles a sense of both the unity of the human element and the diversity of individual expression. When different views arise about something, it guarantees its survival. It saves it from oblivion. If the idea of God is not worthy of being in disagreement and being constantly sought, then what is? I remember a professor once told the class that diversity is indispensable for nations to survive. One only becomes aware of his own identity through the concept of his difference from the other. Had we all been the same model, then life would have been a platform of meaninglessness. In that sense, life starts from difference. But I know some sensitivities will not just disappear. I know people who dislike the sound of church bells. And people closing the windows when it is Athan time. There will still be people thinking that what Christian women wear to church on Christmas is inappropriate. And people believing that Taraweeh prayers in Ramadan obstruct labour. There will still be someone giving me discomforting looks at the metro because I am not veiled. And someone giving another girl in another country discomforting looks at the metro but because she is veiled. People will be passing by Drinkies and cursing the coptic habits. And my aunt will still think Islam is synonymous with violence. My mum will still be a fan of Al Nakshabandi. And I think my grandma still thinks Youssef Chahine is burning in Hell now. My school friend will still eat Holy bread. And I will pray everyone sees beyond all that. I hope one day they see, that life does not stop at difference. It emanates from it.

The next day at school, I kept looking at everyone around me laughing and going about their lives very normally. I could not understand

C r e at i v e w r i t i n g

Dear Hu man Nadin e ElHadidy I am here. I am around. I exist.

I am darkness, yet I exist in the brightest of light. I am coldness, yet fire burns in my core. I am here. I am around. I exist. Except you already know that. You have already seen me take people you love. It is not a question of belief here; I am the one truth the whole world has agreed on. Yet, deep in your heart, you still donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t accept. Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re still not in touch with the idea of me, the idea that one day, maybe even today, we will meet. Somehow, you do not grasp me; but human, you are not immune to me. No one is.

No one accepts that one day; all they are, all they were, all they could have been, will scatter to the wind. All of what there was, will swim in a sea of nothingness. The delusional bubble you all live in will pop and its sound will echo in a vacuum of the world.

Photography:

Sherien Shatta

Dearest human, I am coming. I don’t know when, I don’t know how. But I know I am coming. Do not fear me, do not dread me, release the weight you’re carrying. Release the weight that’s holding you back, as when you finally make peace with me, nothing will stop you.

Accept me. Let the idea of me in, and it will set you free.

Whoever has done you wrong, find it in your heart to forgive them. Know that it’s not worth it, none of the bad blood is. Realize that the world is bigger than all of us. It is bigger than your little disputes. If you believe I’m on my way, how could you possibly care about such meaningless things? Focus on those things in life that matter. The things that make you truly happy. That things that will make you feel fulfilled when it’s our time to convene.

Whatever is making you glum, learn to overcome it. Learn to move on, to welcome whatever shortcoming may come your way, as you will get past it all.

Whenever you’re feeling lonely, go back to a higher power. Know that no matter how alone you are, you are never really alone. Whatever it is you believe in, let it protect you. Whether it’s religion or science, accepting me will help you get closer to it. Let it remind you to form a bond with your belief, as your belief is what will help you greet me with open arms. Get close to whatever you call your religion and our encounter will come to you as a pleasant meeting. You will be ready. You will be complete and at peace, and maybe even look for me.

I’m not darkness. I am not despondency.

I am merely the end, and what is anything without an end? It is the end that makes life so valuable, it is what makes it worth living. If all this was eternal, where would the value lie?

Be on the look out, for I am near. Attend to what is meaningful, the end might be closer than you think. Get in touch with your belief, with your protectant; it’s an armor that will help you get through. Be ready, for I am on my way. Be ready, for I can appear at any moment. I am coming, for you, for your friends, for humanity. I am here. I am around. I exist. I am death, yet I am very much alive.

c r e at i v e w r i t i n g

ISIS & Toxic Masculinity Dalia Abushady & Mostafa Sadek

“I’m a real man now.”The story of Ahmed, a very manly ISIS member.

Ahmed woke up one day and decided to join ISIS. Ahmed wasn’t the most religious of Muslims out there, matter of fact he hasn’t picked up a Quran since…well, ever, but that doesn’t really matter does it? Ahmed lived in Belgium, he was pretty well-off, well-educated and the like. As he read the online brochure for ISIS, the voice of his friend Sarah echoed inside his head. ‘These are real men,’ ‘strong men,’ ‘the real men of society,’ ‘why can’t you be more like them,’ ‘oh, how I wish to be loved right by one of them for a change.’ And so, he was motivated. ‘It is the duty of every Muslim, no, every Man, to defend the Ummah.’ Ahmed thought to himself, he couldn’t really care less about the fight for the “Ummah” but he thought maybe if he went, just maybe, he’d finally be a fearless real man. ‘That’ll show Sarah.’ One day he and his friends decided to go to Friday prayer. The sheikh was giving a khodba saying, “Any girl showing her hair, is a prostitute; any girl wearing makeup, is a whore. They are no longer your sisters and mothers. They are now all sluts and whores.

It is permissible, according to the Allah to rape her. Her blood is not pure, she is not pure.” Ahmed was interested. “If you rape her, you are helping purify them, you are punishing them in this life rather than the next.” Ahmed never knew this, he was in awe. The thought of penetrating these kuffar (unbelievers) and purifying them of all their past sins, made him skip a beat, and kind of got him a little stimulated. “And don’t worry my little warriors, if you fight in the name of Allah and die martyrs, you will have one thousand virgins waiting for you in heaven.” As the sheikh completed his khodba, the mosque thundered with laughter and applause. Ahmed was excited, now he couldn’t wait to join the fight for the great Ummah. As the khodba finished, he and his friends sat in the corner of the street, like they do everyday, staring up girls’ skirts, slapping their derrières, and grabbing their bosoms as they pass by. But after attending this khodba, Ahmed and his friends referred to these girls as whores, and kuffar. That wouldn’t stop them from looking of course, he is a real man now after all, right? And this is what they do, right? Ahmed made his way to Syria, there he saw the true essence of pure masculinity just dripping off of the men. Sarah was right, these are real

He went up to her, tore off her hijab, and purified her, he purified her one hundred times. Finally, Ahmed received a phone call from home. It was his dad. Ahmed was wondering what his father’s reaction would be, since he hadn’t told anyone about his flight. “Ahmed my son, I am so proud of you, I always thought you would have no future, but now you will make me and your mother proud. You are fighting for all Muslims, you are a hero. And of course you know what your reward will be, right my son?” “What baba?” “70 untouched virgins waiting for you in paradise,” whispered his father. Ahmed was ecstatic, a tear trickled down his face. “Thank you baba! InshaAllah- God willing!” “Take care, my son, you turned out to be a great man. MashaAllah. A real man.

Source: Wikipedia

men. They carried big guns, effortlessly chopping off the heads of kuffar, and any female that disobeyed them was to be raped and killed. It was incredible. Ahmed was in awe. He wanted to be just like these real men fighting for the cause of our great Ummah. If the Ummah is under the power of these men, the world will be reborn, pure men ruling under the name of God. One day, Ahmed received a phone call, it was from his friend Fareed in Belgium, one of the few of his friends who didn’t join ISIS. Ahmed thought Fareed was a hypocrite, he would pray everyday, read Quran, but when it came to fighting for the Ummah alongside our ISIS brothers, he refused. Coward. Fareed called to convince Ahmed to come back, that what he is doing, isn’t what Islam teaches. Ahmed responded, “I am fighting for our religion and putting my life at risk while you are sitting at home praying like a pussy.” He hung up. What an infidel. What a pussy infidel. Ahmed was walking around the streets of the base, until he saw a veiled girl wearing a black abaya, with her hairline showing. She was clearly the new neighbourhood whore. How could she show her hair to the public? And she’s Muslim! ‘I therefore took to my Halal duty and decided to teach her a lesson and help her before she reaches hellfire for what she is doing,’ thought Ahmed.

Those words made Ahmed’s heart soften. He was finally a real man. He proved himself. He felt strong and protective, he could do anything now. Everyone would fear him. That night, Ahmed celebrated his new fearless masculinity by chopping off the heads of 10 kuffar. This is what ‘real men’ do. “Real men” do this.

“It’s not Muslims or people with mental health problems who are most likely to kill you in a terrorist attack- it’s men.” (The Independent).

reviews

Man’s Search for Meaning Khaled Salaheldin

“If there is meaning in life at all, then there must be meaning in suffering.” - Viktor Frankl

Written by celebrated Austrian psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl, “Man’s Search for Meaning,” was first published in 1946 in German under the title: trotzdem Ja zum Leben sagen: Ein Psychologe erlebt das Konzentrationslager, which roughly translates to “Nevertheless saying ‘yes’ to life: A Psychologist Experiences the Concentration Camps.” Frankl’s memoir is a meditation of his experiences in Nazi Germany highlighting what the gruesome experience of Auschwitz taught him about the purpose of life: the pursuit of meaning, which was what sustained the survivors. Frankl wrote Man’s Search for Meaning a year before The Diary of Anne Frank came out and three years before Orwell’s 1984. Although as somber as any book from that era, it is a strangely hopeful one. Frankl spent three years in Auschwitz and Dachau concentration camps during the Holocaust. hence, the theme of survival being of central importance in the book. Despite witnessing the horrors of death camps, Man’s Search for Meaning focuses less on his own struggles in the death camps, and more on how his imprisonment during Nazi Germany showed him the human capability of surviving and enduring the toughest of situations. The first part attempts to find the answer to how everyday life in a concentration camp impacts the mind of the average detainee. Frankl goes on to refer to people who found hope and the willpower to keep going even under the worst of conditions as an example. This again confirms to Frankl that finding meaning in suffering is essential, regardless of the situation one might be in. He later came to realize that no amount of harsh conditions can keep a person from leading a fulfilling life, if only they had three elements working for them: a project in which they could contribute, a person to love, and a worthy explanation for their suffering. Herein lies the relationship between psychology and religion. What makes Frankl’s argument relevant to religion is its invitation to suffer for the sake of God to suffer for something worthwhile - thus providing a sense of meaning to life. Meaning in suffering is both curious and understandable when it is seen as pain that leads to enlightenment. It is worth noting that many religions are founded on the suffering of its prophet, and that romanticized image of sacrifice is what makes people think as though suffering for your religion, just as your prophet did, is a way to suffer in a meaningful way. A key aspect is that, with an apparent loss of outer freedom, we often turn inwards to find meaning in places where the external cruelties cannot get to. Another instance of how religion could be applied to Frankl’s argument is praying. It

is in a sense a “project,” by which people could contribute and how it is applied surely varies depending on the religion. Despite the fact that Frankl mentions meaning as a “source of life,” he fails to touch upon the idea that it could also be a source of death. One could argue that the Nazi movement could be described as adopting a “Religion of War.” The Nazis found purpose in life in a way that resulted in the death and destruction of entire societies. Nonetheless, humans cannot avoid the quest for meaning, regardless of whether it turns us into saints or demons. This is often reflected in our current responses to the Islamic State’s efforts of global recruitment. It is not only a lack of social integration, access to education, and the lack of jobs that motivates young muslims to join ISIS, but it is also the quest for meaning and a sense of belonging. Joining such a group often indicates that they have a purpose in life, and what could be more spiritually and morally satisfying? This can also be said about those who were convinced with the Nazi movement. The second half presents Frankl’s unique style of existential analysis, to which he coined the term “logotherapy” — a method of healing the soul by cultivating the

capacity to find a meaningful life. In a time where Freud’s psychoanalytic school was the dominant influence in European countries, looking at meaning as man’s primary desire was a refreshing thought. Frankl was a pioneer due to the fact that he opened the spiritual and philosophical dimensions of the human experience in his psychotherapy, aspects that weren’t considered by Freud’s psychoanalytic perspective. Logotherapy has the sole intention of focusing on the the meaning of human existence as well as man’s pursuit of said meaning. In other words, humans cannot steer clear of suffering, but they can derive meaning from it. Frankl offers this framework of thinking whereby the person does the best they can with the hand they’ve been dealt and aspire to find their life’s purpose, no matter how small or absurd, and therefore quotes Nietzsche throughout his book; the quote most congruent with his message being “He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how.” This framework itself gives people a why, or an aim for their lives, in order to empower them to bear the terrible how of their existence.

Book Cover

“Man’s Search for Meaning” is not a difficult read; its truths are easily comprehensible. It acknowledges life’s adversities. It does not diminish the struggle that is the process of living. It also gives an all-important model for adjusting the perspective of the sufferer at one point or another. By applying this model, the one who struggles understands that they have the tools within themselves to be happy, to be free. This book does not provide a single meaning that is “one size fits all,” but it does give everyone the tools and inspiration to find the meaning in life. And it is these interwoven themes of psychology and spirituality that make this book stand out and attracts readers from all walks of life, regardless of their age, profession, culture, language, or religion.

science

Between Two Faces of the Same Coin:

Scientific Secularism

Yumna Moussa

The relationship between science and religion has often been characterized as one of deep antagonism, an antagonism that does not differentiate between the different shapes that religion may undertake and thus deems all forms of religiosity as conflicting with science. Nonetheless, to better understand such a conflict, it is imperative to trace the origins of the clash. History is full of watersheds that clearly demonstrate the dilemmas generated along the interface where science and religion meet. One of the most characteristic crises between science and religion is highlighted in the infamous position the Catholic Church took against scientists like Galileo when scientific discoveries were revealed that exposed the derisory and ludicrous nature of myths advertized under religion. With evident change in the state of human existence, and the demand for scientific knowledge to ignite development, there came a conflict within the minds of the masses that strongly â&#x20AC;&#x153;suggestedâ&#x20AC;? that the Catholic Church and science cannot both be right at the same time. Consequently, three groups were formed: those who see that religion is absolutely right and science absolutely wrong (religious extremists), those who see that science is right and religion absolutely wrong (atheists), and those who see that both might be right but can

each handle different subjects and must not handle the same topic (secularists). In a sense, secularism and atheism can somewhat be considered as reactions to conflict between the Catholic Church and science. Religion and atheism are seem as two polarities. Yet, could their relationship to science be similar? Religion and science are not always antagonistic. Such a statement might seem less outrageous to some people if science and religion are looked upon as complementary rather than contrasting. Each has its own domain and thus cannot be the only paradigm for understanding the world. Science deals only with observable phenomena; anything beyond human observation cannot be tested or studied under science. As a matter of fact, many scientists deem this quality as a limitation of science, for science, contrary to popular belief, does have its boundaries. Many scientists admit that there are a lot of areas science cannot dictate, such

Background: Raphael’s “School of Athens”

as ethical and moral judgment, and how to use scientific knowledge. Although many may insist that such areas are less important than science, moral judgment, aestheticism, and spiritual beliefs are integral parts of human nature and life; humanity wouldn’t function correctly without every single one of these domains. Science is not there for the sake of blind human development nor “development for the sake of development”. It is there to serve a purpose which is tightly connected to morality, the meaning of life and death, et cetera; all of which are beyond the scope of science, and may be under the scope of religion. On the other end of the spectrum lies the connection of atheism to science. Quite a significant number of atheists base most of their beliefs on scientific discoveries and subjects. They somehow treat science as their religion. According to many atheists, if science has not verified it, it does not exist. They identify the existence of things as tantamount to its observability. More often than not, humans tend to always follow a certain form of control over the way they lead their lives. For religious people, their religion dictates their interactions with their surroundings including their interaction with areas related to science. The same goes for atheists who prefer to follow science and nature. Thus, a notable similarity between atheism and religion is that they are more or less forms of behavioral control towards the human lifestyle. Another area of similarity is the tendency of atheism and religion to interfere with science. Science often is marketed to many as religion. When the Big Bang Theory gained widespread popularity more than a decade ago, a number of Islamic Sheikhs tried to sell the Big Bang as something

that was already mentioned in the Quran. Whether they are right or wrong to have done so will not be discussed here, but it is nevertheless evident how science can be advertised as religion and vice versa. Atheism, as well, has been promoted as science (and vice versa) by people such as Richard Dawkins. The fact that both religion and atheism can interfere with science urges us to ask ourselves whether science is really as secular as claimed. In the largest survey done on scientists’ religious beliefs, researchers at Rice University have found that the majority of scientists are religious, and not as atheistic as widely thought. Furthermore, many have admitted that their belief system almost always inadvertently interferes with their work, not because they are lower-grade subjective scientists, but because they are humans, and both science and religious belief/disbelief constitute an integral part of human existence. The relationship between science, religion, and atheism is far more complicated than a few lines could explain. However, it seems that all three categories hold an affinity to one another, the extent of which exceeds what the followers of each category would like to admit. After all, the seemingly non-secular nature of science and the similar analyses, yet different approaches, of religion and atheism suggest that we may be dealing with two sides of the same coin. Whether you believe they are similar or polar opposites, it is fair to say that be it science, religion, or atheism, each is looking for a way to explain existence, and in doing so has proven that it is at least worthwhile.

interview

Mi ri a m Ge orge

Two Re li gi ons: A Fa mi l y D i c hoto my

Religion is a taboo topic. And it’ll always remain a taboo topic, especially in societies that value it as an integral component in their functioning. The divide between different religions, though, has always been a source of trouble; and although the divisions are seldom clear-cut, the very existence of several religions within the context of one society has proven to create tension. One such example is that of interreligious marriages. Below, M.R. tells us the story of his family and how they’ve learned to cope with inter religiousity. Although M’s dad converted to Islam, his Christian upbringing still continues to play a role in shaping his identity. In this interview, M. opens up about his family, any obstacles they may have faced, and some light-hearted, day-to-day accounts.

Photography: Lamees Abdelaziz

Growing up, did your parents’ relationship make you feel different in any way?

me, “whenever you feel like you want me to teach you prayer, let me know,” and there’s your answer.

No. I think it’s because my parents always made sure that it was a norm, that it wasn’t a big deal. Because it isn’t, it really isn’t. My family functions fine, my grandparents from both sides love each other. There is no division. So, even amongst my friends, I was nothing special. I was just that person with the random Christian grandmother.

Have you ever felt the need to hide that part of your identity?

“ I do believe in God, I do. But whether I believe in God through Islam or through Christianity is a whole different story. ” Are you closer with one side of the family than the other? If so, do you think that religion plays a role in this? No, it’s exactly the same. Actually, my Christian grandma, Vicky, she’ll have pictures of Jesus in her wallet, or church brochures, and I’ll look at them and ask her.. and a lot of the time she’ll be kind of reluctant. I think she’s afraid [laughs] she’s afraid that she’ll convert us back to Christianity. Walk us through holiday season in your family; what’s it like for you to celebrate one holiday or the other? So, basically, in Ramadan and Eid we’re all included. My Christian grandmother, my Muslim grandmother, my dad, etc. On Christmas.. it’s usually just my Christian grandmother, I don’t know why. It’s just the way it is, I guess. But for me, holiday season is always spent between the two. Maybe with Muslim holidays, because my mom is Muslim, my dad is Muslim, it’s more concrete. Christmas isn’t exactly a thing in our family. But that doesn’t mean we don’t get to go to my grandma’s house and celebrate. For me, the holidays are a mix of both. Has the diversity in your family allowed you more room to make decisions about what you believe in? By name, I’m considered Muslim, correct? Whether that is actually what I believe in is a whole different question. So, if your question is whether having both Christian and Muslim relatives has given me more freedom to make decisions about what I believe in, then my answer is that it’s irrelevant. That conversation never comes up in the house, no, it’s kind of a given that I’m Muslim. But my own personal beliefs aren’t affected by this, because I feel like, if I’m going to believe a certain thing, then it’s going to come on its own, regardless. I do believe in God, I do. But whether I believe in God through Islam or through Christianity is a whole different story. And I feel that, because my parents know I feel this way, they don’t have to push anything down my throat. Actually, my dad once told

So, Vicky, my grandmother, she has a sister, she died not so long ago. And whenever we’d go visit, and their neighbors would be there, we are known as Christians. They don’t know, and it’s not like we don’t want them to know, but my grandmother doesn’t want them to know. But personally, I don’t care. I don’t think my parents care, either. Would you consider a person’s religion as a factor before you get involved with them romantically? No, never. Without a question. I don’t care. Because, to me, it only comes down to the person’s morals, their personality. That’s what I care about the most. Do you think that interreligious relationships in general can be problematic? Why/why not? Right now, for us, it’s not. Maybe at first - my grandmother didn’t go to my parents’ wedding. She never really said she was against it, but she was mostly afraid, a bit sad, maybe. It’s a big thing, especially in a place like here. But my grandmother from my dad’s side, she’s always loved my mom, even before she and my dad got married. My grandfather from my dad’s side, now, he was the problem. When his side of the family found out about my dad, they completely cut him off. I don’t even know who they are. Even though your dad identifies as Muslim, do you feel like he’s ever treated/looked at differently by the rest of your family? Look, my mom drinks, my dad who’s always been Christian and converted to Islam drinks. Me and my sister drink. I can drink in front of my grandmother, Vicky. But my other grandma, she always tells me, “Don’t be like your father, see, he was brought up to be Christian so he’s used to it.” It’s funny that this counts as an excuse. Do you regard your family’s situation as a unique one in the sense that is has taught you certain lessons that you carry with you? I’ll tell you a story. When I was still in school, my bus matron was Christian, and she’d always say things ‫” “ربنا‬, ‫نشكر‬ like and I had no idea that there was such a thing as “Christian lingo” and “Muslim lingo”. Like, for ‫ السالم عليكم‬is a “Muslim” thing to say, but, example, “ ” growing up, I could never tell the difference between certain things because, to me, I always saw them as the same. It was a given. I’m happy with my family the way it is, like, if anything, it gave me so much awareness. And I was taught to never discriminate against people. You never even have to think about it, you just have to respect everyone equally.

OPINION

NADA NABIL

Hijab and Pr ej u di c e AUC and th e Veil

Photography: Fatma A . Farrag

I am a third year student who has only now become disillusioned with her idealization of “the university”. It took two whole years of worker strikes, mediocre professors, and wasted club meetings for me to realize it isn’t the intellectually sublime place where the theatre students sing the epics of the literature department, as the social scientists deconstruct our sorrows, and the engineers construct our future. It isn’t the inclusive bliss of students who will together help redeem the country’s fate by their entrepreneurship, liberal education, and community engagement requirement as they all give each other one big hug. I learned this when I realized I probably could not sing those epics on stage, because of my dress, or when I was told that some girls in my major probably avoid me because they think I’m “too conservative”. I learned this when I was told that the independent art scene in Egypt thrives because it has “less modest women”, and when the scarf on my head felt like it determined the ideas in it. No one is safe from such forces of “stigma”; we are all boxed somehow, only comforted by our will power and others’ empathy. But what happens when this empathy is denied through claims of absence of a problem? What happens when your majority privilege outside campus stifles your right to speak of an undermined position inside it? The following accounts testify to highlight the usually unspoken instances of prejudice against Hijabi girls at AUC.

OPINION “Professors with certain opinions attack students and not ideas, assuming the student is an embodiment of that idea. The common victims are the women who wear Hijab.” The classroom, allegedly a place where ideas freely circulate and are processed through intellect, is the first potential pressure space for Hijabis. Many feel invited to presume ideologies or opinions of veiled girls in classes. POLS graduate Safaa Magdy states, “Whenever religion is brought up in class, I’m suddenly regarded as the state’s Mufti whose verdict they wait for, not to mention the political assumptions made about me in 2012.” Alaa Abu Naji, also a POLS graduate, narrates a story of a professor who wanted to pick a pretend president for the class. “She pointed at the only veiled girl and dismissed her by saying, ‘You are veiled and you don’t represent Egyptian women’.” After a discussion with her male colleague, an architecture junior cited his claim, “The Hijab limits the intellect of a woman to the boundaries of haram and halal.” Asmaa Yusuf, Economics junior, also adds, “In class scenarios, there is no middle, if you’re usually silent, ‘cause [sic] you’re not into participation, they’ll [the students/professors] add the Hijab to it and make their own idea and story.” Mariam Ghorab, Arab Studies junior, claims, “I don’t wear Hijab and I still notice it! That’s how in-your-face it is. AUC prides itself on academic freedom, but professors with certain opinions attack students and not ideas, assuming the student is an embodiment of that idea. The common victims are the women who wear Hijab. And it must be devastating because it splits the class. It’s like ‘us’ vs ‘her’. Seriously, back off. And then hypocritically the professor continues his/her rant on identity.” It is needless to say how much this hinders a just intellectual exchange of any sort, one that is fueled by reason and curiosity, rather than oppressing expectations. “They simply do not take my choice into account, and those who do would then undermine my intelligence because I’ve made such a decision.” Outside the classroom, the veil continues to be given major weight by friends and colleagues. Aseel Azab, POLS junior, states, “I don’t think of myself as veiled or not I just act the way I am...but at AUC I became aware of a number of things. I don’t fit the ‘HUSS girl’ stereotype; Westernized, liberated from all society’s norms, wears brands, and is condescending to people of different mentalities. This stereotype honestly influences me in that it makes me conscious of how girls in my building would look at me and judge me.” Describing how the Hijab affects her social life, BEC senior N.E. answers, “When I moved abroad, my friends had made a bet of when I will remove the veil because they thought I was ‘too intellectual’ to hold on to it. They simply do not take my choice into account, and those who do would then undermine my intelligence because I’ve made such a decision. Despite many discriminating individuals there, I was much more comfortable with my veil abroad than at AUC.”

N.E. further adds, “I have faced the label of ‘open minded Hijabi’ and it had different expectations I am torn between. There are those who expect me to dress tightly and have ‘non veiled’ friends, and those who expect the ‘open minded but respectful’ embodiment since I do not smoke, date, but on the other hand dress colorfully, speak openly to guys, and am willing to discuss topics like religion or sexuality. They just want to classify us.” It is important to remember that religion-wise, the veil does have implications that it should convey to others. N.E. says, “There’s a fine line, however, between being treated according to the moral codes you choose to show and being discriminated against in social or academic environments. I don’t mind not being invited to your Sahel trip or your party, but I don’t like you avoiding me in class until I’ve proven to be top of class so you would then want me in.” “And by the way, you will never feel it unless you’re a fan of throwing yourself in places where you don’t ‘belong.’” AUC is thought to have a “club for everyone”, and socially, the veil might declare what is for you. Nada Hafez, Accounting senior, said, “I am always stereotyped to be in a certain club. Even by people I know! “Are you sure you’re not a Help member? I thought you were for some reason,” then try to hide that it is because of what I wear. I love my friends from that club but it pisses me off sometimes.” Fatma Eita, Electronics Engineering junior, from Help Club asserts, “I was told my appearance does not fit that club. I just don’t look like one of ‘them’.” The art and culture scene is infested with this othering of veiled women. Graduating senior Nouran Osama narrates, “I want to act. I really like theater and I am really into it. Several times have I applied for auditions inside and outside of AUC and didn’t get accepted. Sometimes it is said clearly that this role is

not open for Hijabis and sometimes lame excuses are given. Last year, I got lucky and there were no auditions, the director (from outside AUC) was ready to work with whomever he gets. One day we had a fight because my voice became loud as we argued. I went to apologize and then he said, ‘There are other directors who wouldn’t allow veiled girls on stage; I could have asked you to take it off.’ It was actually relieving, knowing that it isn’t a talent issue but that of what I wear.

During my own two year stay at AUC, I am grateful to not have faced anything as concrete as the above situations. I even wondered whether there might be such clear situations to evidence a problem. Nouran says that such situations, “are not spoken of because they are not tangible. Like I can’t say someone gave me a bad look when I entered an audition wearing Hijab.” But it turns out they might manifest in our lives in very concrete ways.

“Sometimes, I am understanding,” she continues. “Like, I get that if I am a director, I will choose whoever fits my part. But isn’t it very strange how in a country where the majority are veiled people, none of the actresses are?” Like N.E., Nouran talks about the endless times colleagues and even professors have shared photographs of 1960s Egyptian women, and the days that were of “progress” because the women wore short skirts. “And by the way,” Nouran adds, “you will never feel the prejudice unless you are a fan of throwing yourself in places where you don’t ‘belong’. If I was a member of a clique that is like me I wouldn’t have felt anything. If I didn’t take my classes with that professor who is known for being relatively insane I wouldn’t have had to hear comments about my veil.”

I say “our lives” because no one benefits from this. The placing of so much weight into the scarf also places a lot of weight on the lack of it, and we recreate a cycle of unnecessary unjust treatment in general. “I feel that to deal with this, we need to use “women reinforcement”. Next time a woman wearing Hijab in class is discriminated against by ANYONE, all of her fellow women need to back her up.” Perhaps it isn’t too late to take notice of what unsound social, discriminating expectations implicate, and perhaps we might then develop a sentiment of a will to change them, a sentiment expressed by Mariam’s above statement.

***

Special thanks to artist and model Nouran Osama for letting me use her thesis project (Rabena m3aky!) as test subjects. - Fatma A . Farrag

opinion

What is Religious Freedom?

Fatimah Badawy

It is of a hapless truth that only an exiguous portion of society today understands what is meant by a freedom that exists within an enslavement. Today, we define freedom as a “liberation from slavery or restraint or from the power of another”, and that particular perspective seems to almost run through us like some axiom – that the only way to achieve freedom is to be cut loose from all governing surroundings; humanly governing surroundings. Recognizing the ‘human’ aspect of this definition is imperative if you wish to comprehend the unheeded meaning behind it. There is a cloaked maxim that lies behind our desire for love and existential purpose always coveted in acts like painting or singing or writing. We are relentlessly defeated and being defeated by our own selves in a conflict to unearth the reason for our existence – religion has come to remind us that our journeys should not be so exhausting. Once the concept of freedom is redefined as a perspective inside of us rather than an outcome created for us, much of our world will return into our control. There is a tranquilizing meaning in religion’s requirement of servitude. It does not ask for a worship of another facile human like us, one who faults and errs. It does not request a debt to be recompensed after providing us with a guide so immaculate and so pristine. It commands the worship of God, the one who created and the one who perpetuated. Your

freedom in religion opposes any meaning of enslavement on earth, because you are a slave of no one but the one who created you. And how couldn’t you be? If there lies a consensus that no mind is alike, and that no mind is capable of the best, how is it fair to our souls that we choose for it its path? We used to hate it when our parents would give us that detrimental glare after we would refuse to scoff a lettuce leaf down our throats because it wasn’t as palatable as a French fry. But when our bones grew and when our minds comprehended, our satiation became impossible without that lettuce leaf. Worship is the same. The freedom in worship is the lettuce leaf that looks like it should be left at the end of the meal when it is the nutrition that carries all the benefits our souls crave every day. There is another notion that lives inside of religion that mustn’t remain remiss. Religion is no restriction when it is understood as protection. For proper expatiation, certain epistemological theories are required. If one is to delve into the Tabula Rasa approach that argues humans have originated as a blank slate without any built in material and that they are only made up of their experiences, then religion is the key to inundating the white soul with righteousness. Without knowledge of anything, how else would we know right from wrong? What would morality even mean? It would all be trial and error without boundary

until a governing force would put us into place. Not a humanly governing force – remember, humans don’t know anything. Take Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s ideology concerning the origin of human character where he claims we are naturally good, but corrupted by the society we have created. If this is the case, religion continues to assert itself as the domineering impetus steering the corrupt back into their hubs of ‘good’ and safety. It continues to guide until it becomes the shield that pushes for certain decisions and diminishes others. One of the key corrupters that, Rousseau argues, has destroyed humanity is private property. Religion combats this evil and commands us to give alms to the poor. It requires us to quit being so attached to our world which we will leave one day. It forces us to understand the value of today and the greater value of the hereafter. What if some decisions shouldn’t be as restricted as they are, you ask? We can’t know that anymore – society has corrupted us. To find our goodness would be to reach into our souls, and to reach into our souls would be to spiritually connect with the Divine. There is a final perspective asserted in both Islam and Christianity that needs to also be addressed – and that is that humans are born in sin. Religion reverses that truth, and our hedonistic self that covets lust and pleasure grows feebler until righteousness prevails. Religion

We have created a society for ourselves that has acquired so much power, sometimes it is easy to miss what happens in the blink of an eye.

remedies it all; whether it is from rendering the perfect guide to sheltering from existing evils, it remains the only entity above all of us because it did not come from us. Life without God and His religion is not freedom; life without God is fear and confusion. We have created a society for ourselves that has acquired so much power, sometimes it is easy to miss what happens in the blink of an eye. As social creatures, it is no secret that we crave a social identification for a physical and emotional stability, and without really paying attention, we have slid down this journey to find identity in human-made things. We wear certain brands, and watch certain television shows, and eat at certain restaurants, all to form our own identities within these communities until we become so engrossed into their gilded cages of ‘possibilities.’ There is already a paradox in the notion of too much choice, and there is a blatant stupidity in defying the concept of freedom by identifying, but what can we do? We’re humans, we can’t help it.

Photography: Mostafa Naguib Edit: Hatem Hassan

The beauty of religious freedom is in its borderless identification. You are not a part of a certain SES (socioeconomic status) to join, you do not look a certain way to participate, and you definitely don’t come from a specific place to contribute. We are all the same in religion, and our identity comes from something completely above us. It comes from what is not manipulated the way we are. If two lovers broadcast their blinded passion for each other, how is it that they are appreciated and smiled at? When someone is attached to their pet, their relationship is applauded and encouraged. Why is it then, when someone attaches themselves in a blinded passion to God, the same way all these other people have, they are criticized and deemed of lesser intelligence? How is someone who has become certain of their purpose lesser than a confused skeptic who doesn’t believe they really exist? I present to you those questions to ponder, because it really is a little baffling. We live in a world that has flipped freedom with incarceration and intelligence with vacuousness. The truth is not in that world we live in. The truth is in religion.

If two lovers broadcast their blinded passion for each other, how is it that they are appreciated and smiled at?

OPINION

Al Watan , Allah Anonymous

A rudiment of society in Egypt is religion. It is the subject matter that most affects people’s minds and tends to govern the ways in which they live. Social dynamics and personal identity are highly determined by religious association. Egyptian politics has been an important realm in which friction between the major religions has been found. A lot has been written and discussed on Christian-Muslim relations in Egypt over the past fourteen centuries of their interaction. Putting aside their similarities of common dos and don’ts, this article will examine a noteworthy concern of faith. As is a noticeable tendency in various forms of discussion on religion, Muslims and Christians alike tend to clump their theological beliefs together and claim that both religions are monotheistic and therefore, that their respective followers believe in the same “one God.” But, do they really? Islam and Christianity are exclusivist religions. Exclusivism, religiously speaking, is defined in Paul f. Knitter’s book Islam and Christianity: Sibling Rivalries and Sibling Possibilities, as, “The uniqueness that arises from the belief that one’s religion has been chosen by God...” This is not at all necessary arrogance towards the Other or something to brag about. But still, both religions have God choosing them and just them. Had it been easy - or at least acceptable - to convert effortlessly back and forth between the two without any kind of discrepancy, judgment, or even question, it would have been believable that the faiths were essentially the same. Thus, it is really quite suspicious to see an interfaith Facebook dispute over a secondary religious difference of some sort diffused by a comment stipulating that both beliefs have “one God.” This is almost as bland as saying that you “do not see colour” to avoid disputes between people of colour and white people. The colours are real. The drastic discordance between the God of Islam and the God of Christianity exists, in such a high contrast as black and white. This article’s argument of the non-equivalence of theological beliefs of Islam and Christianity is only one aspect of it but is also the most basic. Christianity believes in the Trinitarian One God: ‘Father, Son and Holy Spirit’. “For there are three that bear witness in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit: and these three are one.” (1 John 5:7). Islam refutes it and believes in only ‘Allah’. “They have certainly disbelieved who say, ‘Allah is the third of the three’ and there is no God except one God.” (sūrat l-māidah 5:73). To Islam, Jesus is a prophet. “Christ Jesus the son of Mary was (no more than) a messenger of Allah” (sūrat l-nisāa 4:171). To Christianity, Jesus is God. “I and the Father

are one.” (John 10:30). The two notions of God are not reconcilable and are a fundamental of belief in both religions. “‘Pluralism’ can [also] be a description of a social or legal system that works with diverse communities of conviction but does not identify with any one of them,” according to Rowan Williams’ book Islam, Christianity, and Pluralism. It may be hard to admit, or agree, that Islam and Christianity are so fundamentally different at the theological core. However, the reason behind refraining from doing so is to strengthen the diplomatic/ political ties between the followers of the two major religions in the country, and to provide a false sense of unity in belief to be able to sustain the unity of nation, culture, and tradition. That is the easy way to accept each other without sectarian strife, and to be deemed loyal to the country and its culture. In Egypt, this may be because of the painful history Coptic Christianity has shared with Islam at the beginning of their encounter. Now, an equation of Islam and Christianity is seen as sadly necessary to prevent the prejudice of difference. In Egypt, the state is made to yield to religion. Hence, the religion of the state is Islam. Religious loyalty that comes before nationalism is a concept embodied in Morocco, adopting what sounds as a Hollywood sign of, ‘Allah, Al Watan (the Nation), Al Malik (the King),’ with Allah being atop the other two. It is generally believed that for a serious and committed religious and theistic person, religious loyalty would be above the loyalty they have for their country. In the case of affiliation with one of Egypt’s major two religions, staying true to your religion’s fundamentals includes not readily believing in the Other religion’s concept and manifestation of God. Muslim and Christian pluralists must evaluate their stance on the concept of God after setting aside the need to be in religious unity for the sake of Egyptian nationalism. Difference in belief does not undermine the sameness in patriotism. Tolerance by one sub-community towards the Other is crucial for harmony. Absorbing the aforementioned fundamental theological difference would, among tolerant and actually open-minded individuals, create discussion. Should your primary concern be searching for Truth, as a believer of the First Cause (God), you are urged to look into the differences of religions. Thus, the encounter with the Other would be fruitful, eye-opening, and open more doors in ourselves that we would not have been aware of otherwise.

Photography: Sherien Shatta

Psychology

T h e p sy c h o lo gy behind believing

A Freudian vs a Rogerian search for answers Doaa Morsy Religion has always been inextricably tied to the human experience. For over 100,000 years, humans in every culture turned their pleas to higher beings and used prayers and rituals to deal with life and its realities. Why? Why do humans need religion? Is it good or bad to be religious? The answers to these quintessential questions might reside in psychologists who, as investigators of human experience, have closely studied both religion and spirituality.

One of the most influential psychologists is Sigmund Freud, an Austrian neurologist and the renowned creator of psychoanalysis. His theories cover many aspects of human life and development, including spirituality. Freud was of Jewish descent, but grew up not believing in God. His atheism was mainly intellectual, and his belief resided in science. In his 1927 work The Future of an Illusion, he wrote that â&#x20AC;&#x153;scientific work is the only road which can lead us to a knowledge of reality outside ourselves.â&#x20AC;?

Freud saw humans as shackled prisoners, held captive by their unconscious desires. Human action, he claimed, is not based on free will, but on a struggle between internal drives. With this deterministic view of human nature, humans have no freedom of choice. They cannot escape their shackles and reach transcendence. So how did Freud view the ubiquitous human beliefs in God and religion? Freud painted religion in bleak, grim strokes. He saw religion as a repressive mechanism that restrains human’s drives and offers wishful satisfactions in return. It also fosters human dependency that leads to an infantile human being, dependent on authority. Freud described religion as an illusion that arises from deep psychological needs, and it is such not because of how truthful or false its claims might be, but because it is derived completely from human wishes. The illusion persists because it alleviates anxiety and satisfies humans’ most profound inner needs. Freud categorized these needs into three human desires. First, they need to understand and live with the constant threat of nature destroying mankind. Second, humans need to understand and control their animalistic internal instincts for pleasure and destruction. And third, there is a strong internal longing for a protective fatherfigure. Religion, therefore, is a vehicle for relieving human helplessness and anxiety. Humans deal with their loneliness, loss, and frustration by creating cultural and religious norms, on which they project an infantile desires for wish-fulfillment. Religious beliefs and rituals appease human anxiety and gratify their needs. A destructive hurricane or a death of a young child are more easily dealt with and become less anxiety-provoking when you can pray to a God and work on appeasing his anger to protect yourself. Sexual and aggressive desires are more readily managed and put to rest by ceremonials and a promise of rewards and eternal happiness upon denying their fulfillment. Freud placed great emphasis on the father/ Oedipus complex and linked it to the origins of religion. Humans created God as an imaginary loving, protective, all-knowing, forgiving parent figure. He linked this primitive, superstitious belief in God almighty to the profound human desire to be dependent and obedient. In a letter in 1910, Freud wrote that “the ultimate basis of man’s need for religion is infantile helplessness, which is so much greater in man than animals. After infancy he cannot conceive a world without parents and makes for himself a just God and a kindly nature…” Carl Rogers is another influential psychologist and one of the founders of humanistic psychology, with a very different idea of humanity and religion. He created his own theories of human psychology and a technique for psychotherapy called person-centered therapy. His view of human nature differs greatly from Freud’s. He believed that humans are conscious

beings that are internally driven to growth and personal satisfaction. He wrote in his book, On Becoming a Person: A Therapist’s View of Psychotherapy (1961), that “the innermost core of man’s nature, the deepest layers of his personality, the base of his ‘animal nature,’ is positive in nature--is basically socialized, forwardmoving, rational, and realistic.” Rogers grew up in a conservative religious household with devout Christian parents. He was studying to be a minister in the Union Theological Seminary in New York when he started to question religious authority and Christianity. Rogers found that, while religion plays a role in satisfying various psychological human needs, there is no religion that can be called upon to be the one and only true universal faith. Each religion had given the world various social, spiritual and ethical contributions. It would therefore be more beneficial to seek “among this jumble of religions” a spirituality that would rather enrich humanity. Rogers was passionate about change, always searching for answers and questioning everything. He felt suffocated and unsatisfied with organized religion, seeing it as a rigid frame that requires adamant belief in a limited pre-specified doctrine. He disagreed with having a fixed set of rules and imposed values that he thought hinder further exploration, change, and growth. He envisioned a better enriched life by transcending those religious frames into spirituality and experience. In Speaking Personally (1967), Rogers writes: “Neither the Bible nor the prophets--neither Freud nor research--neither the revelations of God nor man--can take precedence over my own direct experience.” Rogers had an optimistic view of humans. He believed they had an internal curative force, the actualizing tendency, that expresses and activates all of human potential. Reaching self-actualization entails spiritual self-realization, characterized by presence, awareness, and meaningful happiness. In his therapy, Rogers added a spiritual core process. He describes in A Way of Being (1980) how he feels during his therapy sessions: “My inner spirit has reached out and touched the inner spirit of the other. Our relationship transcends itself and becomes a part of something larger. Profound growth and healing and energy are present.” Looking through Freudian spectacles, religion might be a repressive way of being, a placebo to heal humanity’s fears and a falsification of reality to fit its wishes. With the Rogerian view, organized religion is surpassed into spirituality where humans transcend and experience the world with their inner spirit. Ultimately, religion, as a repressive or a freeing ingredient of human existence, will continue to accompany humans on their perplexing life journey.

Section

Sherien Shatta Sally El Fishawy

Lamees Abdelaziz

Fatma Farrag

Mostafa Naguib

Sally El Fishawy

Aly Moose

Wha t doe s Re l i gi on Me a n t o Y o u?

“Guide and justification. It answers the questions to me science does not”

“Feels like something spiritual, something like a motivation...”

May

Sofia

“Taboo. We follow it without thinking.” Noha

“A guide to our actions.” Anonymous

“A way I have to live by.” Khalid

“Restrictions” Ibraheem

“Purpose” Sarah

‫مــاذا ميثل لك الدين؟‬ ‫“الديــن هو الصوت الداخلي‬ ‫الذي يرشــدني للطريق‬ ‫الصحيح”‬ ‫محمد نبيل‬‫(علوم كمبيوتر)‬

‫“الدين هو ما يرشــدني في‬ ‫حياتــي اليومية من الناحية‬ ‫األخالقيــة لكنه ال يؤثر علي‬ ‫قراراتي العقالنية”‬ ‫أنتوني قســطنطين‬ ‫(علوم سياسية)‬

‫“الدين هو ملجأي حين أشــعر‬ ‫باالكتئاب”‬ ‫محمد عيد‬ ‫(تجارة)‬

‫‪“It’s a discipline we follow, a‬‬ ‫”‪guide to a better society.‬‬

‫“الدين بالنســبة الي هو عملية‬ ‫بحث مســتمر ال أتوقف عنها”‬ ‫حسام حرفوش‬ ‫(تصميم جرافيكي)‬

‫‪“It’s nice to have a frame of‬‬ ‫‪reference to go back to, a red‬‬ ‫”‪line to your actions.‬‬ ‫‪Hussain‬‬

‫‪Mariam‬‬

‫”‪“It means everything.‬‬ ‫‪Anonymous‬‬

‫الســؤال األول كان ســؤال الداعــي لخلــع الحجــاب‪،‬‬ ‫ ‬ ‫تســاءل الداعــي لخلــع الحجــاب عــن ســبب فــرض اإلســام‬ ‫للمــرأة أن تخفــي جســدها بحجــاب أو بنقــاب‪ ،‬لكنــه لــم يســأل‬ ‫أبــدًا لمــاذا فــرض اإلســام علــي الرجــل ارتــداء مــا يســتر مــا‬ ‫بيــن البطــن ألســفل الركبــة‪ .‬تســاءلت المناضلــة لحقــوق المــرأة‬ ‫عــن ســبب ســماح اإلســام للرجــل بالتعــدد‪ ،‬وعــن ســبب وجــود‬ ‫جنــس‪ ،‬وحــور عيــن فــى االّخــرة‪ ،‬وحاولــت التصــدي لختــان‬ ‫اإلنــاث كشــكل مــن أشــكال التخلــف‪ ،‬لكنهــا لــم تتســاءل لمــاذا‬ ‫لــم يســمح اإلســام للم ـرأة بالتعــدد أو لمــاذا ال يوجــد حــور عيــن‬ ‫رجــاال‪ ،‬ولــم تحــاول الهجــوم علــى ختــان الذكــور‪ .‬لقــد افترضــت‬ ‫أن الديــن أخطــأ فــي الســماح بالتعــدد‪ ،‬وفــي إيجــاد حــور عيــن‬ ‫فــي اآلخــرة‪ .‬لــم تحــاول أن تنظــر مــن زاويــة تنتقــد فيهــا الديــن‬ ‫مــع القبــول بالتعــدد أو بإيجــاد ذكــور يوفــرون للمتعــة الجنســية‬ ‫فــي اآلخــرة‪ .‬ودافعــت عــن األنثــى مــن تشــويه جســدها‬ ‫بالختــان‪ ،‬لكنهــا لــم تفعــل الشــيء نفســه –بــل لــم تشــك فيــه‬ ‫أصــاً أو تتســاءل عنه‪-‬بالنســبة للذكــر‪ .‬تســاءل المدافــع عــن‬ ‫حقــوق المثلييــن عــن ســبب كــون المثليــة خطــأ فــي وجهــة‬ ‫نظــر الديــن اإلســامي‪ ،‬لكنــه لــم يفكــر أن يســأل عــن ســبب كــون‬ ‫الغيريــة صوابًــا فــي الديــن‪ .‬لقــد افتــرض مــن البدايــة أن الغيريــة‬ ‫صــواب‪ ،‬وبــدأ يدافــع عــن صــواب المثليــة‪ .‬الشــيء نفســه‬ ‫فعلــه المســيحي المتشــكك عندمــا تســاءل عــن ســبب كــون‬ ‫المثليــة فــي وجهــة نظــر الديــن المســيحي “ضــد الطبيعــة”‪،‬‬ ‫لكنــه لــم يتســاءل عــن ســبب كــون الغيريــة بيــن العقيميــن‬ ‫شــيئًا “طبيعيًــا” حتــى عندمــا ال يســتطيعون اإلنجــاب‪ .‬عندمــا‬ ‫تســاءل المســيحي األرثوذكســي المنشــق عــن ســبب عــدم‬ ‫ســماح الكنيســة بالطــاق إال فــي حــاالت معينــة منهــا عــدم‬ ‫اإلنجــاب أو كــون الجنــس هدفــه اإلنجــاب‪ ،‬لــم يســأل عــن ســبب‬ ‫ســماح الكنيســة للعقيميــن بالــزواج؟ افتــرض أن ســماح الكنيســة‬ ‫للعقيميــن بالــزواج شــيء عــادي‪ ،‬رغــم أنــه يتناقــض مــع فكــرة‬ ‫أن الجنــس هدفــه اإلنجــاب التــي تعتنقهــا الكنيســة‪ .‬وعندمــا‬ ‫تســاءل المســيحي المشــكك عــن ســبب كــون الــزواج بيــن‬ ‫مختلفــي الديــن ال يحقــق الوحــدة الكاملــة‪ ،‬لــم يفكــر أن يســأل‬ ‫هــل الوحــدة الكاملــة صــواب أم خطــأ؟ ولــم يفكــر أن يســأل إن‬ ‫كان الــزواج بيــن متفقيــن الديــن صوابًــا أم خطــأ؟ لــم يشــك مثــا‬ ‫أنــه مضــر لألطفــال أن يتربــوا فــي بيــت بــا تعــدد فكــري‪ ،‬ودينــي‪.‬‬ ‫كل هــؤالء يفرحــون جــدًا بمــا يظنونــه تمــردًا‪ ،‬وقــدرة‬ ‫ ‬ ‫خارقــة علــي تحــدي المجتمــع ومواجهــة الديــن‪ .‬و يفخــرون‬ ‫ألنهــم ببســاطة‪ ،‬لــم يتحــرروا بعــد مــن الســجن‪ ،‬مازالــوا‬ ‫بقدرتهــم علــى الســؤال فــي تابوهــات المجتمــع‪ ،‬والديــن‪ ،‬‬ ‫وأنهــم ال يرهبــون مواجهــة أنفســهم أو قمــع المجتمــع‪ .‬بهــذه تحــت قيــد انحيــاز األســئلة‪ .‬الداعــي لخلــع الحجــاب متأثــرا‬ ‫األســئلة التــي يطرحونهــا يظنــون أن عقلهــم فــي قمــة التمــرد‪ ،‬بنظــرة اجتماعيــة تركــز علــى جســد الم ـرأة‪ ،‬ومــا تلــزم بارتدائــه‪،‬‬ ‫وأنــه هشــم قيــوده‪ ،‬وخــرج يعــدو حــرًا خــارج الزنزانــة‪ ،‬لكــن وتهمــل جســد الرجــل‪ .‬المناضلــة لحقــوق الم ـرأة متأثــرة بأفــكار‬ ‫هــل عقلهم فعالً حر؟‬ ‫ثقافيــة ترفــض التعــدد‪ ،‬وتعتبــر الجنــس نجاســة ال يجــب أن تكــون‬ ‫موجــودة فــي االّخــرة‪ ،‬وال تنظــر لألعضــاء التناســلية للذكــر كمــا‬ ‫ ‬ ‫مــن الخــارج‪ ،‬هــذا مــا يبــدو‪ ،‬ليــس لهــم فقــط‪ ،‬إنمــا تنظــر ألعضــاء األنثــى‪ .‬المســيحي‪ ،‬والمســلم اللــذان يتســاءالن‬ ‫ـم‬ ‫ـ‬ ‫عليه‬ ‫ـاض‬ ‫ـ‬ ‫االنقض‬ ‫ـدون‬ ‫ـ‬ ‫يري‬ ‫ـن‬ ‫ـ‬ ‫الذي‬ ‫ـين‬ ‫ـ‬ ‫الشرس‬ ‫ـن‬ ‫ـ‬ ‫للمهاجمي‬ ‫ـى‬ ‫ـ‬ ‫حت‬ ‫عــن نظــرة اإلســام‪ ،‬والمســيحية للمثليــة غارقــان فــي طريقــة‬ ‫إلنقــاذ الديــن مــن هــذه األســئلة التــي أفلتــت مــن عواميــد تفكيــر المجتمــع‪ ،‬والديــن بحيــث ال يســعهما أن يســأال أصــا عــن‬ ‫الزنزانــة‪ .‬هــذا مــا يبــدو‪ ،‬لكــن مــا يبــدو هــو صــورة ناقصــة‪ .‬إنهــم الغيريــة التــي تربــت علــى أنهــا هــي األســاس‪،‬والطبيعة التــي‬ ‫فعــا عرفــوا شــيئًا مــن طريــق الحريــة بجرأتهــم أن يســألوا ال تقبــل الشــك‪ .‬المســيحي المتشــكك مشــفوط داخــل نظــام‬ ‫أســئلة فــي الديــن أو الجنــس أو السياســية‪ ،‬لكــن عقلهــم لــم فكــري يــرى الــزواج هــو الوحــدة‪ ،‬وال يتصــور أبــدًا أنهمــا شــيئان‬ ‫يــذق الحريــة التــي يظنونهــا؛ عقلهــم مــا زال داخــل الزنزانــة؛ ألن مختلفــان‪ ،‬وليســا واحــدًا‪ .‬المســيحي األرثوذكســي المنشــق‬ ‫أســئلتهم منحــازة‪.‬‬ ‫اعتــاد تمامًــا مــن الكنيســة تزويــج العقيميــن‪ ،‬فلــم يكــن لــه أن‬ ‫يفكــر أبــدًا أنــه قــد يكــون مناقضًــا لفكــر الكنيســة‪.‬‬

‫لماذا لم يســألوا هذه األسئلة؟‬

‫ما معني انحياز األســئلة؟‬

‫انحيــاز األســئلة هــو قيــد صلــب ماكــر شــفاف يوضــع‬ ‫ ‬ ‫علــي العقــل بحيــث ال يــراه‪ ،‬وال يدركــه الســجين بســهولة‪،‬‬ ‫وهــو يحــاول تهشــيم قيــوده ليفــر‪ .‬انحيــاز األســئلة هــو أن يكــون‬ ‫تفكيــر الفــرد ذاتــه فــي الســؤال تســبقه افتراضــات معينــة‪ ،‬تمنــع‬ ‫الســؤال أن يكــون حــرًا‪ ،‬وتفــرض عليــه أن يأخــذ شــكالً محــد دًا‪،‬‬ ‫وأن ينظــر مــن زاويــة محــددة‪ .‬أعلــم أن هــذا التعريــف يظهــر‬ ‫معقــدًا‪ ،‬وصعبًــا‪ ،‬لكنــه ســيفهم بســهولة إن حللنــا ســؤاال تلــو‬ ‫االّخــر مــن األســئلة “المتمــردة” المذكــورة فوقًــا‪.‬‬

‫اســألي نفســك كيــف تســألين‪ ،‬وقبــل أي ســؤال‪ ،‬انظــري‬ ‫هــل هنــاك زاويــة أخــرى يمكــن أن يســأل بهــا الســؤال؛‬ ‫حتــى ال تخدعيــن نفســك أنــك حطمــت كل القيــود‪ ،‬وأنــك‬ ‫تطيريــن حــرة‪ ،‬بينمــا ‪-‬فــي الحقيقــة‪ -‬حــول جناحيــك قيــد‬ ‫صلــب شــفاف ينتشــر فــي ريــش عقلــك‪ ،‬وكلمــا طــرت‪،‬‬ ‫ســقطت فــي الزنزانــة‪.‬‬

‫‪٢١‬‬

‫رأي‬

‫األسئلة‬ ‫احنياز‬ ‫عن‬ ‫يسرا محودة‬

‫تصويــر‪ :‬نيفين علم الدين‬

‫الســجن الفكــري ليــس فقــط أن يعجــز العقــل عــن التفكيــر فيمــا ال يســمح بــه الســجان؛ الســجن‬ ‫الفكــري أي ً‬ ‫ضــا أال يســتطيع العقــل أن يســأل ‪-‬حتــى عندمــا يتمــرد‪-‬إال مــن زاويــة واحــدة‪ .‬و هــو ليــس‬ ‫ً‬ ‫فقــط العجــز عــن الســؤال فــي التابوهــات مثــل الديــن أو الجنــس أو السياســة‪ ،‬إنمــا هــو أيضــا أال‬ ‫يســتطيع العقــل المتســائل أن ينظــر إال مــن زاويــة واحــدة حتــى وإن كانــت هــذه الزاويــة هــي التمــرد‬ ‫علــى المؤسســات القائمــة‪ ،‬واألفــكار التقليديــة‪ .‬الســجن الفكــري هــو ســجن األســئلة‪ ،‬وهــو كذلــك‬ ‫تشــويش عيــن العقــل بحيــث ال تــرى ‪-‬حتــى عندمــا تســأل‪ -‬إال األســئلة التــي دفعهــا الســجان صــوب‬ ‫ســؤالها ‪.‬‬ ‫رغبتهــن الجنســية‪ .‬و ينتشــي المدافــع عــن حقــوق المثلييــن‬ ‫عندمــا يتســاءل عــن أســباب رفــض الديــن اإلســامي للمثليــة‪،‬‬ ‫ويســرد أســبابًا كثيــرة يدافــع بهــا عــن المثليــة‪ ،‬وتخــادع مــن‬ ‫ينظــرون إليــه‪ ،‬بحيــث يظنــون أنــه يصطــدم مــع أعتــى مقدســات‬ ‫المجتمــع والديــن‪ ،‬ويطــرح ســؤاالً قويًــا عــن غيــاب العقالنيــة‪،‬‬ ‫والعدالــة فــي رفــض الديــن للمثليــة‪.‬‬

‫يعتقــد المتشــككون فــي الديــن‪ ،‬و”المتمــردون” علــى‬ ‫ ‬ ‫النظــم االجتماعيــة أو الدينيــة أو السياســية أنهــم فــي قمــة‬ ‫المصادمــة‪ ،‬والقتــال‪ ،‬والحريــة عندمــا يســألون أســئلة معينــة أو‬ ‫يهاجمــون الديــن أو المجتمــع أو الدولــة علــي أشــياء معينــة‬ ‫يظنونهــا أساســية‪ ،‬ومحوريــة لهــذه النظــم‪ .‬يفــرح الداعــي لخلــع‬ ‫الحجــاب عندمــا يجــد نفســه متشــككًا‪ ،‬متســائال فيمــا يظــن أنــه‬ ‫قيــد أساســي رجعــي فــي الديــن علــي الم ـرأة‪ ،‬ويزهــو بنفســه‬ ‫يتفشــخر المســيحي المنشــق عــن الكنيســة‬ ‫أكثــر‪ ،‬وأكثــر عندمــا يكتــب مقــاالً أو حالــة فيســبوكية يســرد فيهــا ‬ ‫كيــف يســلب اإلســام المــرأة حريتهــا‪ ،‬وحقهــا فــي جســدها األرثوذكســية بأنــه تجــرأ أن يســأل‪:‬لماذا ال تبيــح الكنيســة الطــاق‬ ‫بفــرض للحجــاب أو النقــاب عليهــا‪ .‬وتنتفــخ المناضلــة لحقــوق إال فــي حــاالت محــددة قليلــة للغايــة مرتبطــة بالجنــس‬ ‫المــرأة عندمــا تهاجــم ســماح اإلســام للرجــل بالتعــدد‪ ،‬وتــردد واإلنجــاب؟ ولمــاذا الجنــس هدفــه اإلنجــاب فقــط؟ ويمــدح‬ ‫أن الديــن يغــري الرجــل بالجنــس‪ ،‬وتســرد الدليــل مــن وجــود المســيحي المتشــكك نفســه ‪-‬أيًــا كان مذهبــه‪ -‬إذا ســأل‪ :‬لمــاذا‬ ‫الجنــس‪ ،‬وحــور العيــن فــي الجنــة‪ .‬وتثبــت لنفســها تحديهــا الجنــس المثلــي ضــد الطبيعــة؟ أو لمــاذا الــزواج بيــن مختلفــي‬ ‫لمروجــي آراء أقليــة دينيــة متخلفــة‪ ،‬عندمــا تتحــدى الدعــاة الديــن ال يحقــق الوحــدة الكاملــة مثــل الــزواج بيــن المتفقيــن‬ ‫المتخلفيــن الذيــن يجيــزون‪ ،‬ويشــجعون ختــان اإلنــاث‪ ،‬لتقليــل فــي الديــن؟‬

‫‪٢٠‬‬

‫الديــن رهينــة ظــروف المجتمــع الــذي يجــد نفســه فيــه‪،‬‬ ‫ ‬ ‫هــو رهينــة العقليــة والذهنيــة العامــة‪ .‬ممــا نـراه‪ ،‬عــوض أن يغيــر‬ ‫اإلســام كرســالة روحيــة أفــكار بعــض مجتمعــات المنطقــة‪،‬‬ ‫فــإن هــذه المجتمعــات غيــرت شــكله بحســب مــا يناســبها‪،‬‬ ‫واســتغلت فــي خضــم ذلــك الديــن كمصطبــة للفكــر الراديكالــي‬ ‫والمتطــرف متحججــة بتفســير جــاء بــه هــذا‪ ،‬وحديــث رواه ذاك‪،‬‬ ‫بفقــه هــذا اإلمــام أو بكلمــات كتبهــا قلــم إمــام آخــر؛ بحيــث‬ ‫تحــول القلــم إلــى أداة لهندســة ذ رائــع القتــل‪ ،‬وإيجــاد المبــررات‬ ‫بــل وإعطــاء الرخصــة للوحــوش المهووســة بقطــع رؤوس‬ ‫األبريــاء‪.‬‬

‫بعبــارات مشــابهة تتقوقــع حــول «نحــن أمــة اللــه الفضلــى»‪.‬‬ ‫اإللــه إلــه الجميــع‪ ،‬وليــس إلــه المســلمين وحدهــم‪ ،‬وال نملــك‬ ‫كمجتمعــات مســلمة تصريحــا ً للحديــث باســمه‪ ،‬وإطــاق‬ ‫األحــكام بــل وحتــى قطــع الــرؤوس‪.‬‬

‫«ال يمكننا في عهد حقوق اإلنســان‬ ‫أن نســتمر فــي مطالبنا بقطع األيدي‬ ‫والرؤوس‪ ،‬وال نســتطيع في وقت‬ ‫قطعت فيه األمم أشــواطا كبيرة‬ ‫وعظيمة فــي مجال حقوق المرأة أن‬ ‫نســتمر نحن باعتبارها عورة‪»...‬‬

‫عندمــا يتحــول الديــن إلــى أداة تبريــر فمــن الطبيعــي‬ ‫ ‬ ‫أن يصبــح هــذا الديــن هوســا ً لــدى وســائل اإلعــام العالميــة‪،‬‬ ‫ومــن الطبيعــي أن تكتــب فيــه الكتــب والمجلــدات‪ ،‬وأن تنهــال‬ ‫عليــه أقــام النقــد وحتــى التجريــح؛ فالديــن إذا تــم إدخالــه رغمـا ً‬ ‫عــن أنفــه فــي صراعــات سياســية وطائفيــة‪ ،‬يتحــول مــن رســالة‬ ‫فهــم اإلســام‪ ،‬كديــن‪ ،‬يجــب أن يتغيــر وأن يراعــي‬ ‫روحيــة إلــى ســاح تدميــر شــامل‪ ،‬ومــن شــأن خــاص لــكل فــرد ‬ ‫إلــى شــأن عــام‪ ،‬بــل وإلــى تهديــد ليــس علــى البشــر فقــط‪ ،‬بــل ويوافــق العصــر الــذي نعيــش فيــه‪ ،‬فلســنا فــي عصــر الحميــة‬ ‫الجاهليــة‪ ،‬وال فــي عصــر حيــن كانــت القبائــل تذبــح بعضهــا‬ ‫علــى الديــن نفســه كرســالة حــب وســام‪.‬‬ ‫وتوقــد الحــروب مــن أجــل ناقــة أو جمــل‪ .‬نحــن نعيــش فــي‬ ‫فــي أثنــاء كل هــذا‪ ،‬يحــاول بعــض المفكريــن اإلســاميين منــاخ عالمــي‪ ،‬بقوانيــن ســنها هــذا العالــم‪ ،‬بمفاهيــم حريــة‬ ‫ ‬ ‫وحتــى الغربييــن أن يفككــوا جــذور هــذه اإلشــكالية‪ ،‬وأن يقطعــوا ومســاواة يؤمــن بهــا ويحميهــا هــذا العالــم نفســه؛ وال يمكــن‬ ‫هــذه الجــذور طمعــا ً فــي إعطــاء البشــرية قليــاً مــن الراحــة لنــا أن نكــون اســتثناء عــن كل الــدول‪ ،‬عــن كل الحضــارات وعــن‬ ‫واألمــن‪ ،‬لكنــه يصطدمــون بجــدار خطابــات «اإلســاموفوبيا» كل األمــم‪ .‬ال يمكــن لنــا الســقوط فــي مهزلــة تبريــر الجرائــم‬ ‫و»نحــن ضحايــا» مــا إن يحاولــوا تســليط الضــوء علــى كــوارث فقــط ألنهــا توافــق أفكارنــا‪ ،‬وألنهــا نابعــة مــن أيديولوجياتنــا‪ .‬ال‬ ‫مــن أرادوا اإلســام ســلعة احتكاريــة‪ ،‬وســاح إرهــاب‪ .‬هــؤالء يمكــن لنــا أن نرمــي كل شــيء علــى شــماعة الديــن فرســالته‬ ‫المفكــرون يجــدون أنفســهم بيــن مطرقــة اإلرهــاب الــذي ينخــر منــا ومــن أفعالنــا ومــن فهمنــا وأقوالنــا بــراء‪ .‬الديــن إنمــا هــو‬ ‫عظــام كل األمــم‪ ،‬وســندان الرفــض الشــعبي الــذي يمنعهــم نفســه ضحيــة فهمنــا اإلجرامــي والمتطــرف الــذي نريــد‪ ،‬وبــأي‬ ‫مــن القيــام بــأي عمليــات إصــاح أو تنقيــة للمــوروث الدينــي ثمــن‪ ،‬أن نلصقــه بالديــن‪.‬‬ ‫ومــا يحتويــه مــن انحرافــات عظيمــة‪.‬‬ ‫الهويــة التــي تفصــل بيــن رســالة الديــن وبيــن مــا نؤمــن‬ ‫ ‬ ‫إن الصــورة المنقولــة اليــوم عــن اإلســام‪ ،‬ومــن طــرف بــه نحــن تختفــي ببــطء‪ ،‬والعالــم أصبــح يربــط شــيئا فشــيئا كل‬ ‫ ‬ ‫المســلمين أنفســهم‪ ،‬هــي صــورة ديــن عنيــف‪ ،‬ال يقبــل اآلخــر فهمنــا المغلــوط والكارثــي بالرســالة الحقيقيــة للديــن‪ ،‬لذلــك‬ ‫رأيــا ً وشــخصية‪ ،‬ال يحــث إال علــى إقامــة دولــة دينيــة دمويــة النبــوءة القائلــة بــأن الحــرب ســتصبح بيــن اإلســام والحضــارات‬ ‫علــى جماجــم المالييــن مــن األبريــاء‪ .‬والمشــكلة أنــه حينمــا األخــرى قــد تتحقــق فــي األخيــر مادمنــا نرفــض دائمــا تحمــل‬ ‫يحــاول البعــض إنقــاذ هــذا الديــن مــن الصــورة المنقولــة عنــه مســؤولياتنا وإيجــاد مقاربــة جديــدة لإلســام‪ ،‬مقاربــة تأخــذ بعيــن‬ ‫وذلــك عبــر تطهيــره مــن شــوائب التطــرف واإلرهــاب التــي االعتبــار ظــروف عالمنــا‪ ،‬ظــروف الدولــة الحديثــة‪ ،‬مفاهيــم‬ ‫علقــت بموروثــه والتــي‪ ،‬وباســمها‪ ،‬تبــرر داعــش وغيرهــا المواطنــة‪ ،‬واالنتمــاء اإلنســاني‪ ،‬والحريــة الالمشــروطة وغيــر‬ ‫أفعالهــا؛ يجــد هــؤالء أنفســهم أمــام اتهامــات الزندقــة والكفــر المقيــدة‪ .‬إذا لــم ننتبــه لــكل هــذا‪ ،‬فإننــا ســنجعل لهــذا الديــن‬ ‫والــردة‪ ،‬ودعــاوى تطبيــق األحــكام الشــرعية عليــه لتعديهــم نهايــة مأســاوية‪ ،‬نهايــة ســتجعله يُعامــل كمــا تعامــل اليــوم‬ ‫علــى مقــدس مــن مقدســات األمــة‪ ،‬ولجرأتهــم علــى فتــح النازيــة والفاشــية‪ ،‬ألن تمثيــل حقيقــة الديــن المســالمة هــي‬ ‫أبــواب «المحرمــات» الثقافيــة واإلجتماعيــة‪ ،‬ولدعوتهــم إلــى دورنــا‪ ،‬ليــس بالصــراخ والعويــل والتكبيــر والتبريــر‪ ،‬بــل بإعطــاء‬ ‫الصــورة المثلــى لإلســام‪.‬‬ ‫«الفســق» و»الفســاد»‪.‬‬ ‫إن مســؤولية تنظيــف صــورة اإلســام فــي العالــم هــي‬ ‫ ‬ ‫مســؤولية المجتمعــات المســلمة بالمقــام األول واألخيــر‪ ،‬وال‬ ‫يســتطيع أي طــرف أن يدعــي امتالكــه لعصــا ســحرية تجعــل‬ ‫مــن اإلســام فــي هنيهــة خاليــا ً مــن كل شــوائب الجهــل‬ ‫واالســتغالل السياســي بعدمــا كان مصطبــة تبريــر بامتيــاز‪ .‬ال‬ ‫يمكــن للمجتمعــات ذات األغلبيــة المســلمة أن تركــع إلــى‬ ‫خطابــات «اإلســاموفوبيا» كمحاولــة للتخلــص والتملــص مــن‬ ‫مســؤولياتها كمجتمعــات تقــول أنهــا تمثــل الديــن‪ ،‬وأنهــا تتكلــم‬ ‫باســم الســماء والحقيقــة المطلقــة‪ ،‬وإن كان هــذا غيــر صحيــح‬ ‫علــى اإلطــاق بالطبــع‪.‬‬ ‫الرؤيــة العالميــة وبالخصــوص مــن المجتمعــات ذات‬ ‫ ‬ ‫األغلبيــة المســلمة لإلســام نفســه يجــب أن تتغيــر‪ ،‬ويجــب أن‬ ‫ينظــر للديــن علــى أنــه رســالة روحيــة أوالً وأخيــرا ً‪ ،‬وليــس‪ ،‬ولــن‬ ‫يكــون أداة سياســية فــي أيــدي مــن يبــررون كل شــيء مــن أجــل‬ ‫المناصــب والمصالــح‪ .‬إذا أراد المســلمون تغييــر صــورة اإلســام‪،‬‬ ‫والتخلــص مــن أصابــع االتهــام التــي تطالهــم ودينهــم فــي كل‬ ‫مناســبة‪ ،‬فبدايــة عليهــم التخلــي عــن العقليــة االختياريــة‪ ،‬ألنــه‬ ‫يخيــل لــي‪ ،‬وأنــا ابــن هــذه المجتمعــات‪ ،‬أنــه وفــي حيــن أن‬ ‫جماعــة تصــدح بعبــارات «شــعب اللــه المختــار»‪ ،‬نصــدح نحــن‬

‫ال يمكننــا فــي عهــد حقــوق اإلنســان أن نســتمر فــي‬ ‫ ‬ ‫مطالبنــا بقطــع األيــدي والــرؤوس‪ ،‬وال نســتطيع فــي وقــت قطعــت‬ ‫فيــه األمــم أشــواطا كبيــرة وعظيمــة فــي مجــال حقــوق الم ـرأة‬ ‫أن نســتمر نحــن باعتبارهــا عــورة‪ ،‬وأن نعاملهــا معاملــة البهيمــة‬ ‫أو أقــل‪ ،‬فقــط لغايــة ذكوريــة فــي أنفســنا؛ كمــا ليــس بالمســتطاع‬ ‫فــي زمــان الــدول القطريــة‪ ،‬واالنتمــاءات الوطنيــة‪ ،‬أن نــدوس‬ ‫علــى بلداننــا ونحــاول إقامــة خالفــة إجراميــة علــى تــال مــن‬ ‫الجثــث‪ .‬علينــا أن نــدرك مــن نحــن‪ ،‬وفــي أي عصــر نعيــش‪،‬‬ ‫وإلــى أي طــرف ننتمــي‪ .‬المعركــة ليســت معركــة أديــان‬ ‫وحضــارات بقــدر مــا هــي معركــة بيــن فريقيــن‪ ،‬فريــق ينتمــي‬ ‫لإلنســانية فك ـرا ً وروح ـا ً‪ ،‬يؤمــن بأنــه طــرف فــي مســيرة الحضــارة‬ ‫البشــرية وبــأن مهمتــه هــي أن يســاهم فــي هــذه المســيرة‪،‬‬ ‫وأن يخلــد اســمه ليــس بتفجي ـرات إجراميــة وإنمــا بانجــازات تفيــد‬ ‫بنــي البشــر؛ وفريــق علــى الطــرف اآلخــر يعتبــر نفســه عــدو‬ ‫إلنســانية يســميها «فســفاط الكفــر» ويقــول بأنــه ممثــل اإللــه إن‬ ‫لــم يكــن قــد أخــذ مــكان هــذا اإللــه‪ ،‬ويتبجــح بعبــارات «الحقيقــة‬ ‫المطلقــة» فيحمــل الســيوف‪ ،‬والخناجــر‪ ،‬والبنــادق ويريــد‬ ‫تحطيــم كل مظهــر للحيــاة‪ ،‬ألنــه يكــره الحيــاة‪ ،‬وألنــه يعيــش‬ ‫فــي حلقــة مفرغــة مــن الحقــد الــذي أعمــى عينيــه وجعلــه‬ ‫رهينــة خطابــات دوغمائيــة تزيــد فــي فتيــل تطرفــه اشــتعاالً‪.‬‬

‫‪١٩‬‬

‫رأي‬

‫ت‬

‫صوير‬

‫‪:‬‬ ‫سـال‬

‫ي‬

‫الفي‬

‫شا‬ ‫وي‬

‫اإلسالم‪ :‬بني االستغالل‬ ‫والرســالة الضائعة‬ ‫زيــن العابدين غبويل‬

‫يعيــش العالــم اليــوم فــي ظــل منــاخ عنيــف يتســم بانحــدار اإلنســانية فــي واد مظلــم مــن اآلالم‪،‬‬ ‫والحــروب‪ ،‬والصراعــات الدمويــة؛ فيمــا تبقــى مناطــق معينــة مــن هــذا الكوكــب األزرق ســاحة‬ ‫لعمليــات اإلبــادة الجماعيــة باســم العديــد مــن االعتقــادات واأليديولوجيــات التــي أصبحــت ســببا ً لــدى‬ ‫البعــض إلراقــة دمــاء األبريــاء‪ .‬بيــن صرخــة الطفــل الصغيــر فــي ســوريا‪ ،‬وصــدى تفجيــر انتحــاري فــي‬ ‫العــراق؛ بيــن هجــوم إرهابــي فــي باريــس وثانــي فــي بيــروت‪ ،‬وثالــث فــي تونــس ورابــع فــي كل‬ ‫أنحــاء العالــم‪ ..‬تتنــاول وســائل اإلعــام وبكثافــة مســألة «اإلســام» كمصــدر ومنبــع رئيســي لــكل هــذه‬ ‫الكراهيــة‪ ،‬لــكل هــذه الجرائــم باســم اللــه وباســم األفــكار‪ .‬الســؤال الــذي يطــرح نفســه بقــوة فــي مثــل‬ ‫هــذه الظــروف‪ :‬هــل اإلســام‪ ،‬كديــن‪ ،‬لــه يــد فــي كل مــا يجــري؟‬

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‫‪.‬‬

‫لقطــة من الفيلم‬

‫اإللهية‬ ‫ذلــك فــي اللقطــات القليلــة التــي يظهــر فيهــا ســاخطا علــى‬ ‫مــا وصلــت إليــه األمــور‪ ،‬وتلميحاتــه لهوســه بالكحــول فــي‬ ‫الماضــي‪ .‬قــد يبــدو لنــا (جيمــس) وســط إبنتــه ذات الميــول‬ ‫اإلنتحاريــة و(مايلــو) الــذي يــرى الحــرب منفــذا للتخلــص مــن‬ ‫إحباطــه الجنســي‪ ،‬و(مايــكل) الثــري الفاســد و(فريــدي) القاتــل‬ ‫والمعتــدي الجنســي‪ ،‬أكثرهــم حكمــ ًة وتفهمــا ً‪ .‬ولكنــه هــو‬ ‫أيضــا تــراوده خيبــة األمــل واإلحبــاط‪.‬‬

‫هنــاك شــيء نتطلــع إليــه فــي نهايــة الفيلــم‪ .‬هــل ســيقتل األب‬ ‫(جيمــس)؟ ومــن القاتــل؟ ولكننــي لســبب مــا وجــدت نفســي‬ ‫ال أكتــرث لنهايــة (جيمــس) بقــدر مــا أتطلــع إلــى أحاديثــه التــي‬ ‫يخوضهــا مــع ســكان قريتــه والتــي هــي أشــبه بعــرض كوميــدي‬ ‫تخــوض فيــه الشــخصيات فــي أكثــر المواضيــع حساســية –‬ ‫كاإليمــان والمــوت والحــرب والجنــس‪ -‬بــكل تلقائيــة وفــي‬ ‫شــيء أقــرب إلــى العبثيــة مــن أي شــيء‪ .‬كأن أحــداث القصــة‬ ‫تــدور فــي نهايــة العالــم‪ .‬فــا أحــد يأبــه لســلطة (جيمــس)‬ ‫اســتطاع (ماكدونــا) أيضــا بــكل سالســة خلــق أجــواء‬ ‫وال يبــدو علــى (جيمــس) اإلهتمــام بالبحــث عمــن هــدده‪ ،‬وال ‬ ‫تملــك الشــخصيات أيــة إجابــات حقيقيــة ألســئلته‪ ،‬وال يبــدو علــى قاتمــة بإســتخدام الكاميــرا‪ .‬فإختيــاره لتلــك القريــة البــاردة‬ ‫جيمــس أنــه يملــك إجابــات ألســئلة ســكان قريتــه الذيــن تتلخــص واســتخدام ألــوان أقــرب إلــى الســواد يهيــئ المشــاهد إلــى مــا‬ ‫فيهــم كل مــا هــو ســيئ وإنســاني فــي الطبيعــة البشــرية‪ .‬سيســمعه مــن دروس قاســية فــي حــق كل مــا هــو مقــدس لــه‪.‬‬ ‫حركــة الكاميــرا الثابتــة والميكانيكيــة ال تمنحــك شــعورا بالتنصــت‬ ‫الــكل غاضــب بــكل هــدوء‪.‬‬ ‫فقــط ولكنهــا أيضــا تعطيــك االنطبــاع أن كل مــا تشــاهده مقــدر أن‬ ‫يحــدث‪.‬‬

‫«عندما انتهيت من مشــاهدة‬ ‫الفيلم لم أســتطع أن أحدد لم‬ ‫أعجبني‪ ،‬ولكنه تركني في شــيء‬ ‫من الحيرة وبكثير من األســئلة‪».‬‬

‫عندمــا انتهيــت مــن مشــاهدة الفيلــم لــم أســتطع أن‬ ‫ ‬ ‫أحــدد لــم أعجبنــي‪ ،‬ولكنــه تركنــي فــي شــيء مــن الحيــرة‬ ‫وبكثيــر مــن األســئلة‪ .‬هــل أراد (ماكدونــا) أن يظهــر لنــا أننــا لســنا‬ ‫أفضــل كبشــر وإن تخلصنــا مــن شــرور الديــن؟ ولــم الديــن هــو‬ ‫العنصــر األساســي والمشــترك بيــن كل األعمــال التــي تميــل‬ ‫إلــى العبثيــة؟ هــل الفيلــم هــو مجــرد د راســة حالــة لمــا أصبــح‬ ‫عليــه المجتمــع اآلن؟ هــل هنــاك درس أخالقــي فعــا يريــد‬ ‫األب (جيمــس) هــو رجــل صالــح بالمعنــى التقليــدي (ماكدونــا) أن يقدمــه للجمهــور أم أنــه مجــرد تعبيــر شــخصي؟‬ ‫ ‬ ‫وهــذا نــاد را مــا أجــده فــي كثيــر مــن األعمــال التــي تتواجــد فــي الحقيقــة ال أدري ولكــن ســيظل الفيلــم عالق ـا ً فــي ذهنــي‬ ‫بهــا الكنيســة (الممثلــة فــي شــخصية القديــس أو األب) كطــرف لفتــرة‪.‬‬ ‫فــي النــزاع‪ .‬ولكــن تفاصيــل إنضمامــه للكنيســة تظــل غامضــة‪.‬‬ ‫فهــو يبــدو كمــن يبحــث عــن الخــاص دون أي جــدوى‪ ،‬ويظهــر‬

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‫مراجعة‬

‫كا لفاري‪.‬‬ ‫ل‬ ‫ك‬ ‫ا وميديا‬ ‫أحمد بدران‬

‫اللذيــن صلبــا مــع المســيح قبــل قتلــه‪ .‬أحدهــم طلــب المغفــرة‬ ‫واآلخــر رفــض اإليمــان‪ .‬أي اللصيــن دخــل الجنــة وأيهمــا ألقــي‬ ‫فــي الجحيــم؟ ال نعــرف و لــن نعــرف‪ .‬فــا اإلقتبــاس يعطينــا‬ ‫إجابــة قاطعــة وال الفيلــم باختــاف شــخصياته ومــا يمثلــه كل‬ ‫منهــا يمنحنــا أي إجابــة عــن ماهيــة الخــاص‪ .‬إحتمــال دخــول‬ ‫مــن لــم يعتــرف بنبــوءة المســيح فــي الجنــة واردة‪ ،‬وهنــا يظهــر‬ ‫التناقــض‪ .‬األب (جيمــس) يحــاول جاهــدا أن يثبــت أن خــاص‬ ‫البشــرية فــي المغفــرة والتســامح ولكنــه ليــس بالضــرورة أحــق‬ ‫بالجنــة مــن غيــره‪ .‬و هنــا تظهــر براعــة (ماكدونــا) فــي تقديــم‬ ‫شــخصيات (وإن بــدت «شــريرة» بالمعنــى التقليــدي) تقــدم‬ ‫حجــج حقيقيــة يصعــب تجاهلهــا‪.‬‬

‫لــم أتوقــع أن يعجبنــي فيلــم (كالفــاري) وظننــت‬ ‫ ‬ ‫لوهلــة أنــه د رامــا تقليديــة عــن إنتهــاكات الكنيســة‪ ،‬حيــث‬ ‫ينتهــي بــك األمــر متعاطفــا مــع الضحايــا وســاخطا ً علــى‬ ‫المهزلــة وإن كان ذلــك فــي حــد ذاتــه ســببا ً كافيــا ً لمشــاهدة‬ ‫الفيلــم‪ .‬كان ذلــك فــي ‪ 2014‬حيــن أُصــدر فيلــم (كالفــاري)‬ ‫لمخرجــه وكاتبــه (جــون مايــكل ماكدونــا)‪ ،‬وهــو ثــان و ‪ -‬حتــى‬ ‫اآلن ‪ -‬آخــر أعمــال المخــرج‪ .‬تــدور أحــداث الفيلــم فــي مــا يمكــن‬ ‫اعتبــاره قريــة صغيــرة بأيرلنــدا حيــث يتلقــي األب (جيمــس) الــذي‬ ‫يقــوم بــدوره ببراعــة (برينــدان ليســون) تهديــدا بالقتــل مــن أحــد‬ ‫ضحايــا االعتــداء الجنســي أثنــاء اســتماعه العترافــه‪ .‬يمهلــه‬ ‫المعتــرف ســبعة أيــام ليتدبــر أمــوره‪ ،‬ويتركــه مصدومــا ً وحائــرا ً‬ ‫فــي هويتــه‪ .‬يكــرس الكاتــب (ماكدونــا) بقيــة أحــداث الفيلــم‬ ‫يظهــر أيضــا ذلــك التأثــر بالمســرح فــي الســيناريو نفســه‬ ‫فــي التعــرف علــى األب (جيمــس) ورعايــاه فــي مزيــج مــن ‬ ‫الد رامــا والكوميديــا الســوداء‪ ،‬حيــث يحــاول (جيمــس) التعــرف فنــاد را مــا تحتــوي المشــاهد علــى أكثــر مــن شــخصيتين يتــداوالن‬ ‫علــى هويــة مــن هــدده‪ ،‬وإن لــم يبــذل جهــدا ً كافي ـا ً فــي ذلــك‪ .‬الحديــث‪ ،‬ومــا يلبــث أن يبــدأ المشــهد حتــى نجــد أنفســنا فــي‬ ‫قــد تبــدو للوهلــة األولــى أحــداث الفيلــم د راميــة بحتــة ولكنهــا ال معضلــة أخالقيــة بيــن الشــخصيتين وفشــل واضــح فــي وجــود‬ ‫تخلــو مــن الســخرية؛ تلــك الســخرية التــي ال تجدهــا إال فــي أكثــر أي حــل للعقــدة‪ .‬يســتمر الفيلــم فــي عــرض تلــك المشــاهد‬ ‫المســرحيات عبثيــة‪ .‬ربمــا ذلــك يفســر اقتبــاس الكاتــب للقديــس ويظــل تهديــد (جيمــس) بالقتــل فــي مؤخــرة رأســك طيلــة مــدة‬ ‫(أوجســتين) فــي بدايــة الفيلــم‪ ،‬الــذي ذكرنــي بمســرحية (فــي العــرض‪.‬‬ ‫انتظــار جــودو) لصامويــل بيكيــت و التــي تــم عرضهــا مؤخــرا‬ ‫دائمــا مــا أشــكك فــي صالحيــة األفــام التــي تعتمــد‬ ‫ ‬ ‫علــى مســرح الفلكــي بوســط القاهــرة‪:‬‬ ‫بشــكل أساســي علــى الحــوار‪ ،‬وهــذا الفيلــم بالتأكيــد واحــد‬ ‫منهــا‪ .‬دائمــا مــا يراودنــي ذلــك الشــعور أن الكاتــب فشــل فــي‬ ‫«ال تيأس‪ ،‬فقــد نجا أحد اللصوص‬ ‫كتابــة روايــة واضطــر للجــوء إلــى صناعــة فيلــم يســتطيع مــن‬ ‫وال تتعجل‪ ،‬فقــد لعن أحدهم أيضا»‬ ‫خاللــه بســهولة نقــل دروســه األخالقيــة للجمهــور مباشــرة‬ ‫القديس أوجستين‬ ‫دون تكبــد عنــاء خلــق عالــم خــاص بــه‪ .‬ولكــن (كالفــاري)‬ ‫بدايــة غامضــة للفيلــم ولكــن ســرعان مــا تــرى هــذا اســتطاع بــذكاء تجنــب ذلــك عــن طريــق خلــق ص ـراع حقيقــي‬ ‫ ‬ ‫التناقــض فــي الفيلــم أيضــا‪ .‬فهــذا اإلقتبــاس يصــف اللصيــن فــي بدايــة الفيلــم‪ .‬فــاألب (جيمــس) مهــدد بالقتــل وبالتالــي‬

‫‪١٦‬‬

‫ووجــب هنــا أيضــا التأكيــد علــى ف ـرادة مــا حــدث‪ ،‬ومــا‬ ‫ ‬ ‫يحــدث‪ .‬نحــن مجتمــع يجــل مقدســاته‪ .‬ويبــدو ذلــك جليــا فــي‬ ‫تلقائيــة األطفــال عندمــا يلجــأون ل»مــا ترميــش الشــنطة فيهــا‬ ‫كتــاب الديــن» وخبــث الكبــار عندمــا يشــيدون المســاجد وســط‬ ‫مبانيهــم المنشــأة بشــكل غيــر قانونــي‪ ،‬علــى أراضــي زراعيــة‬ ‫وخالفــه‪ ،‬حتــى ال يتــم التعــرض لهــا علــى حــد ســواء‪ .‬ولذلــك‬ ‫فنحــن نميــل إلــى شــجب كل مــا يحمــل داخلــه إمكانيــة التعــرض‬ ‫لمــا نقدســه‪ ،‬بــل التعــرض لفكــرة التقديــس ذاتهــا دون تمهــل أو‬ ‫تأمــل‪ ،‬بــل تكثــر الوقائــع التــي تــم فيهــا التنديــد والشــجب دون‬ ‫حتــى قــراءة أو مشــاهدة مــا يتــم التنديــد بــه وشــجبه‪ .‬ولذلــك‬ ‫فمــن الفريــد والنــادر أن أجــد نفســي فــي حاجــة إلــى تقريــر‬ ‫موقفــي مــن كلمــات بعينهــا منفــردة دون ضغــط وحــوار‬ ‫مجتمعــي محيــط‪ .‬ولكننــي عندمــا ســارعت إلــى استكشــاف‬ ‫مــا جعــل هــذه األغنيــة بعينهــا تتحــدى الســائد وتمــر مــرور‬ ‫الكــرام علــى مــرأى ومســمع مــن المجتمــع وجــدت أنهــا‬ ‫لــم تكــن وحدهــا ولكــن معهــا العديــد مــن القصائــد؛ نجحــت‬ ‫جميعهــا فــي التعــرض لمقدســات مــا فــي هــدوء نســبي‪.‬‬ ‫حيــث يبــدو أنهــا ســمة ســائدة فــي الشــعر عامــ َة دونًــا عــن‬ ‫غيــره مــن األنمــاط األدبيــة‪.‬‬

‫وهنــا رغــم تعــدي دنقــل علــى أقــدس المقدســات‬ ‫ ‬ ‫متمثلــة فــي الــذات اإللهيــة والروايــة القرآنيــة إال أنــه أســبقها‬ ‫بمشــاعر وطنيــة ربمــا أيضــا جعلــت القــارئ أكثــر تقبــا لهرطقتــه‪.‬‬ ‫كل هــذه قــد تفســر تقبــل القــارئ فــي التعاطــي مــع أعمــال‬ ‫بعينهــا ولكــن تبقــى األســباب وراء اختيــار الشــاعر للتطــرق‬ ‫لهــذه المقدســات مــن األســاس‪ .‬أحيانــا قــد يبــدو أن الهــدف‬ ‫هــو الدعــوة لتقويــض الســلطة والثــورة عليهــا‪ ،‬واالستشــهاد‬ ‫بالســلطة الدينيــة األكثــر قدســية مــا هــو إال لتبــدو أي ســلطة‬ ‫أخــرى بجوارهــا هدفــا هينــا كمــا فــي مطلــع قصيــدة أمــل دنقــل‬ ‫الشــهيرة «المجــد للشــيطان معبــود الريــاح مــن قــال ال فــي‬ ‫وجــه مــن قالــوا نعــم»‪ .‬أحيانــا أخــرى يبــدو أن الهــدف هــو طــرح‬ ‫ســرد بديــل للتاريــخ أو التنويــه إلــى أن هنــاك عــدة روايــات لنفــس‬ ‫الحــدث مثــل مــا فــي «بحــر األمــل قدامــك» أو «ابــن نــوح»‪.‬‬ ‫ولكــن علــى اختــاف األســباب يبــدو أنــه أســلوب أدبــي علــى‬ ‫غ ـرار ذلــك المســتخدم فــي المثــل الشــعبي الشــهير «يصعــب‬ ‫علــى الكافــر»‪ ،‬حيــث يوحــي بأنــه إذا تعاطــف الكافــر فالوضــع‬ ‫يســتدعي كل مــن دون الكافــر للتعاطــف بطبيعــة الحــال‪ .‬كذلــك‬ ‫التعــرض للمقدســات بنمــط أو آخــر يضفــي عاديــة وشــرعية‬ ‫للتعــرض لمــا دونهــا بنفــس النمــط‪.‬‬

‫ومــع مالحظــة ذلــك كســمة عامــة فــي الشــعر‪-‬على‬ ‫ ‬ ‫األقــل المعاصــر منــه‪ -‬تتبــدى لنــا عــدة تســاؤالت تســتحق محاولة‬ ‫اإلجابــة عنهــا ومنهــا‪ :‬لــم قــد يلجــأ الشــاعر إلــى التعــرض ‪-‬الــذي‬ ‫فيــه شــيء مــن المخاطــرة‪ -‬لمقدســات دينيــة فــي قصيــدة‬ ‫ليــس مضمونهــا أو موضوعهــا نقــد لهــذه المقدســات أو‬ ‫حتــى نقــد للديــن نفســه كمــا فــي أغنيــة إســكندريال المذكــورة؟‬ ‫ولمــا لــم يحــدث جــدل حــاد وإدانــة مجتمعيــة لهــذه األعمــال‬ ‫الشــعرية مثــل الــذي حــدث لنظيراتهــا مــن األعمــال األدبيــة‬ ‫ك»أوالد حارتنــا» وغيرهــا؟‬

‫لربمــا يجعلنــي هــذا التحليــل أقــل حساســية تجــاه مــا‬ ‫ ‬ ‫يقولــه الشــاعر باعتبــاره مجــرد أســلوب أدبــي‪ ،‬ولكنــه ال يفســر‬ ‫لمــا ال يشــفع نفــس هــذا التحليــل للروائــي أو لكاتــب المقــاالت‪.‬‬ ‫وهنــا قــد نســتنبط أن الوعــي المجتمعــي الخــاص بماهيــة‬ ‫الشــعر هــو العامــل األكبــر تجــاه هــذا التقبــل النســبي‪ ،‬حيــث‬ ‫نعتــاد مــن الشــعراء المغــاالة والمبالغــة ونربــط كالمهــم‬ ‫بالهــذي الــذي ال يجــب أن يؤخــذ بجديــة شــديدة‪ .‬معــززة هــذه‬ ‫الرؤيــة المجتمعيــة بتاريــخ الشــعراء المقتــرن بمــدح الملــوك‬ ‫والغنــاء وغيــره‪ ،‬المتجلــي حتــى باآليــات القرآنيــة كاآليــة ‪ 41‬مــن‬ ‫مــا ُه ـ َو بِقَ ـ ْو ِل َ‬ ‫مــا تُ ْؤمِ نُـ َ‬ ‫شــا ِع ٍر قَلِيـ ً‬ ‫ـون»‪ .‬هــذا‬ ‫ـا َّ‬ ‫ســورة الحاقــة‪َ « :‬و َ‬ ‫باإلضافــة إلــى طبيعــة الشــعر المعاصــر وجمهــوره المحــدود‬ ‫مقارنــة بأنمــاط أدبيــة أخــرى يجعلــه أقــل عرضــة للرقابــة‬ ‫المجتمعيــة الحازمــة‪.‬‬

‫فــي بعــض القصائــد‪ ،‬ك»العنبــرة» ألحمــد فــؤاد نجــم‪،‬‬ ‫ ‬ ‫تبــدأ القصيــدة بتأكيــد علــى شــيء مــن القدســية‪ ،‬فيبــدأ نجــم‬ ‫مثــا بمــدح الرســول صلــي وربــط رســالته بالحريــة والعــدل قبــل‬ ‫أن ينتقــل إلــى التشــكيك فــي أحقيــة نبــي اللــه أيــوب فــي‬ ‫هــل جعلنــي هــذا التأمــل والتحليــل أقــرب إلــى تحديــد‬ ‫ ‬ ‫التقديــس لصبــره ‪.‬‬ ‫هويتــي كقارئــة؟ ال أدري‪ .‬فكلمــا أشــعر بثقــل الكلمــات ووجــوب‬ ‫الحــذر فــي التعامــل معهــا‪ ،‬أتذكــر كلمــات عبــد الرحمــن‬ ‫«والتانيــة قلت انا أيــوب وانا مثلين‬ ‫الشــرقاوي‪:‬‬ ‫أيــوب ومهمــا ابتلى‪ ،‬أيوب يروح لي فين؟‬ ‫ايوب صبر كام ســنة؟ أيــوب صبر له يومين‬ ‫«ما دين الله ســوى كلمة‬ ‫طلعــت عليه القصص واتنادى باالســمين‬ ‫ما شــرف الرجل سوى كلمة‬ ‫اتعــد ماألنبيــا و الصالحين التنين»‬ ‫مفتــاح الجنة في كلمة‬ ‫ودخــول النار علي كلمة‬ ‫ولربمــا شــفع لــه التمســك بمــا هــو أكثــر قدســية عنــد‬ ‫ ‬ ‫وقضاء اللــه هو الكلمة‬ ‫القــارئ تعديــه علــى مــا هــو مقــدس ولكــن بدرجــة أقــل‪.‬‬ ‫أتعرف مــا معنى الكلمة؟‬ ‫وفــي قصائــد أخــرى‪ ،‬كمــا فــي «مقابلــة خاصــة مــع ابــن نــوح»‬ ‫الكلمــة لو تدري حرمة‬ ‫ألمــل دنقــل يســتعوض الشــاعر اختــزال رفــض ابــن نــوح النجــاة‬ ‫زاد مذخور‬ ‫وركــوب الســفينة فــي كفــره بــأن فســره برفضــه التخلــي عــن‬ ‫الكلمة نور‬ ‫ت ـراب وطنــه‬ ‫وبعــض الكلمات قبور»‬ ‫لول‬ ‫«صــا َح بي ســي ُد ال ُف ِ‬ ‫لك ‪ -‬قبل ُح ِ‬ ‫ثــم أجــد فــي هــذه الكلمــات ذاتهــا قــدرا ال بــأس بــه مــن‬ ‫السَّ كين ْه ‪:‬‬ ‫التعــدي والتعــرض‪ ،‬معيــد ًة إيــاي إلــى حيــث بــدأت‪.‬‬ ‫«انج مــن بلدٍ ‪ ..‬لمْ تع ْد فيهِ روحْ!»‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫ُ‬ ‫قلت ‪:‬‬ ‫طوبى لمــن طعِموا ُ‬ ‫خبزه‪.‬‬ ‫ْ‬ ‫الحسن‬ ‫الزمان‬ ‫في‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫وأداروا له َّ‬ ‫الظه َر‬ ‫المحَ ن!‬ ‫يوم ِ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫ولنا المج ُد ‪ -‬نحـ ُ‬ ‫الذين وقَفْنا‬ ‫ـن‬ ‫(وقد َط َ‬ ‫مس اللهُ أســماءنا!)‬ ‫نتحدى الدَّما َر‪..‬‬ ‫ونــأوي إلى جبل ال يموت‬ ‫(يسمونَه َّ‬ ‫الشعب!)‬ ‫نأبي الفرا َر‪..‬‬ ‫ونأبى ال ُنزوحْ!»‬

‫‪١٥‬‬

‫أدب‬

‫الكلمة‬ ‫لو تدري‬ ‫حرمة‬ ‫ريم حاتم بدر‬

‫تصميم‪ :‬ســالي الفيشاوي‬ ‫«ورق الشــجر فوق العورة‬ ‫و حوا بتكلم آدم‬ ‫لما أكلنا من الشــجرة‬ ‫ده كان فضــول ّ‬ ‫ول مغامرة‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫ول بنغــرس فى العالم‬ ‫معنــى التمرد والثورة ؟؟»‬

‫صفقــت مــع مــن صفــق و هللــت مــع مــن هلــل حينمــا اســتمعت إلــى هــذه األغنيــة «بحــر األمــل قدامــك» ألول مــرة‬ ‫ ‬ ‫فــي إحــدى حفــات فرقــة إســكندريال الغنائيــة‪ .‬لكننــي عندمــا وجدتنــي أدنــدن نفــس الكلمــات منفــردة بعــد عــدة أيــام‪ ،‬بعيــدة‬ ‫عــن نشــوة اللحظــة صخــب الحفــل وطمأنينــة الجمــع‪ ،‬كان أقصــى مــا بإمكانــي هــو همهمتهــا علــى اســتحياء فقــد أثــارت فــي‬ ‫نفســي حساســيات لــم أكــن أدري وجودهــا‪.‬‬ ‫طالمــا عشــقت الكلمــات؛ ولكننــي لــم أدرك إيمانــي بفداحتهــا مــن قبــل‪ .‬وهنــا كنــت بصــدد مفتــرق طــرق كقارئــة‬ ‫ ‬ ‫ومســتمعة‪ .‬مــن ناحيــة هنــاك أنــا المعجبــة بالكلمــات‪ ،‬جملــة وتفصيــا‪ ،‬ومــن ناحيــة أخــرى هنــاك أنــا وشــعوري الــاإرادي بتعــرض‬ ‫هــذه الكلمــات لمــا لــم يكــن لهــا أن تتعــرض لــه‪ .‬ووجــب هنــا التوضيــح بأنــه لــم يكــن أبــدا محــل النــزاع أحقيــة الشــاعر فــي التفــوه‬ ‫بمــا يحلــو لــه ونشــره و لكــن موقفــي أنــا ك»مســتهلكة» أدبيــة لمــا يقــدم ومــا تقبــل نفســي أن تتأمــل فيــه وتعجــب بــه دون مــا‬ ‫تشــعر بأنهــا تنتهــك حرمــة مــا‪.‬‬

‫‪١٤‬‬

‫أدب‬

‫بني أب ٍوولديه‬

‫تصوير‪ :‬ياســمين النواوى‬

‫مريم الربنس‬

‫ـدي‪ ،‬مــن أبيكمــا‪ ،‬يومـا ً ســألتماني عــن اآلثــام والخطايــا‪ ،‬وكــم أنكمــا ســأمتما الرجــوع إليهــا وجزعتمــا‬ ‫ ‬ ‫إلــي ولـ ّ‬ ‫مــن التوبــة‪ ،‬آفتكمــا أنكمــا كنتمــا دومــا ً تخشــيان الفعــل مشــين‪ ،‬لكــن أبــدا ً لــم تخافــا أن تقعــا فــي شــرك القنــوط‬ ‫واليــأس‪ ،‬وهذا_لــو تعلمان_أعظــم مــن الخطــأ ذاتــه‬ ‫يــا بنــي‪ ،‬يــا بنيتــي‪ ،‬لــن ألــوم أحدكمــا يوم ـا ً علــي إرتــكاب الخطــأ‪ ،‬لكننــي ســوف أخــذ عليــه اإلصــرار عليــه‬ ‫ ‬ ‫والتمــادي فيــه‪ ،‬مــن الطبيعــي أن تأثمــا و ترتكبــا أخطــاء فادحــة‪ ،‬لكنــه ليــس مــن الفطــرة أبــدا ً أال يهذبكمــا ضميركمــا‪،‬‬ ‫ليــس بالهيــن أن تمضيــا بعــزم فــي طريــق المعصيــة وقــد أســقطت طيــب قــد يردكمــا عنــه‪ ،‬قــد ترتكبــا نفــس‬ ‫المكــروه عشــرا ً ثــم خمســا ً ثــم ثالثــاً‪ ،‬ال تيئســا أنــه يومــا ً لــن تعــاوداه‪ ،‬يومــا ً ســتتحرران مــن أغاللــه التــي تثقلكمــا‬ ‫نفــس يــكادا يجهــزا علــي محبتكمــا لذواتكمــا‪ ،‬قــد توشــكا علــي الوقــوع فــي فريــة أدعوهــا ب‬ ‫بهمــوم وإزدراء‬ ‫ٍ‬ ‫ـاص قبلكمــا ولــن يُخلــق بعدكمــا‪ ،‬كلنــا يســكننا‬ ‫«وهــم المذنــب األوحــد»‪ ،‬حيــث تظنــا أنــه لــم يُخلــق خاطــئ وال عـ ٍ‬ ‫شــيطان أنفســنا‪ ،‬ليــس خطــره فــي دفعنــا الرتــكاب مــا ننــدم عليــه‪ ،‬لكــن فــي إبطالــه النــدم مــن ضمائرنــا‪ ،‬فيخمــد‬ ‫وينطفــئ النــدم‪ ،‬صمــام األمــان الــذي يطــرح فــرص التوبــة حتــى لحظــة المــوت‪ ،‬جــل مــا علــي شــيطاننا أن يكبحــه‬ ‫حتــى يصرعــه‪ ،‬فــا عــاد ذنــب يخــزي وال معصيــة تــؤرق‪ ،‬فتفقــدا األمــل فــي الخيــر الــذي أودعــه اللــه مــن روحــه‬ ‫فيكمــا وينعــدم رجاؤكمــا فــي النجــاة‪ ،‬تؤمنــان أنــه ال جــدوى مــن تلــك النفــس المشــوّهة التــي أعيتهــا الذنــوب‬ ‫وأهدرهــا العِنــد‪ ،‬تتناســيا أنهــا روح اللــه فيكمــا تزاحــم قنوطكمــا كــي تبــدد تلــك الحلكــة‪ ،‬ال يبــدأ طريــق الالعــودة‬ ‫حق ـا ً إال عندمــا تؤمنــان بــه‪ ،‬فيمتــد أمامكمــا منبســطا ً ســهالً ويحاصــر الماضــي والحاضــر والمســتقبل‪ ،‬لــن تبــدأ الســير‬ ‫مضــي‪ ،‬فتمضيــان ‪ ...‬فتنهزمــان‬ ‫فــي المجهــول إال عندمــا تســتصعبان العــودة وتستســهالن ال ُ‬

‫‪١٣‬‬

‫تصوير‪ :‬لميــس عبدالعزيز‬

‫علم نفس‬

‫هيجــري وراك يــوم القيامة ‪. . .‬‬ ‫االســتخدام الخاطــئ للدين يف الرتبية‬

‫نوران العرشي‬

‫مجتمــع متديــن “بطبعــه” أم كاذب؟ أيهمهــم تطبيــق‬ ‫ ‬ ‫الديــن أم يســتخدمونه كوســيلة لفــرض األوامــر؟ أيقومــون‬ ‫بتطبيقــه أنفســهم أم أنــه مجــرد قنــاع يقومــون بوضعــه عنــد‬ ‫االحتيــاج فقــط؟ كلهــا أســئلة تجــول فــي خاطــري عنــد التفكيــر‬ ‫فــي أســلوب التربيــة المطبــق فــي أغلــب مجتمعنــا وكيــف‬ ‫يتخــذ اآلبــاء مــن الديــن حجــة إلقنــاع األبنــاء بتنفيــذ بعــض األوامــر‬ ‫أو ربمــا فــرض الســلطة أحيانًــا‪ ،‬فيقومــون بفــرض تحكمهــم‬ ‫علــى األبنــاء تحــت مســمى الديــن‪ .‬وهنــا يأتــي الســؤال األهــم‬ ‫وهــو‪ :‬هــل يُســتخدم الديــن عــادة فــي التربيــة كوســيلة للترغيــب‬ ‫أم الترهيــب ؟‬

‫الرســول حينــذاك ؟ ألــم يســتطيعا توفيــر بعــض الوقــت للبحــث‬ ‫ومعرفــة أن الرســول كان يوبــخ أبنــاءه بعــود األ راك أقصاهــا؟ أو ليســوا‬ ‫علــى علــم بقولــه أيضــا ً فــي تربيــة األبنــاء “العبوهــم لســبع‪،‬‬ ‫وأدبوهــم لســبع‪ ،‬وصاحبوهــم لســبع‪ ،‬ثــم أطلقــوا الحبــل لهــم‬ ‫علــى غاربــه”؟ لمــاذا نُصــر علــى زرع مفاهيــم دينيــة خاطئــة فــي‬ ‫عقــول أبنائنــا ؟ لمــاذا نعتمــد علــى أســلوب الترهيــب والتخويــف‬ ‫حتــى يصبــح الديــن هــو الشــبح المرعــب فــي كل موقــف؟ أال‬ ‫نســتحق أن نخــوض تجربــة ترغيــب الطفــل فــي الديــن بــدال مــن‬ ‫ترهيبــه منــه ؟‬ ‫ومــا أكثرهــا مــن مواقــف نــرى فيهــا األهــل مســتخدمين‬ ‫ ‬ ‫عبــاءة “الديــن” أو “التديــن” إلقنــاع األبنــاء بتصرفــات معينــة‪ .‬فتكــون‬ ‫أســهل وســيلة للرمــز إلــى الثــواب والعقــاب هــي الجنــة والنــار‪.‬‬ ‫بالرغــم مــن وجــود أســباب شــتى لالمتنــاع عــن فعــل بعــض‬ ‫الصفــات الخبيثــة‪ ،‬يلجــأون فــي أغلــب األوقــات إلــى الطريقــة‬ ‫األســهل وهــي الحجــة مــن خــال الديــن حتــى ال يكــون لالبــن‬ ‫أي فــرص فــي النقــاش أو الرفــض بــل ويضطــر إلــى تلبيــة األوامــر‬ ‫حتــى ال يكــون مــن الكافريــن بأمــور دينــه‪ .‬وبــدال مــن ترغيــب االبــن‬ ‫فــي أمــور دينــه وجعلــه علــى محبــة بهــذا النهــج‪ ،‬نــودي بــه‬ ‫إلــى مرحلــة التخويــف والطاعــة لمجــرد الطاعــة دون البحــث‬ ‫عــن أســباب أو محاولــة لإلقنــاع‪.‬‬

‫فــي بعــض األحيــان قــد يبعــث الوالــدان فــي عقــول‬ ‫ ‬ ‫األبنــاء أفــكار خاطئــة عــن الديــن مــن خــال ربطــه بأوامــر‬ ‫ومطالــب ال تمــط للديــن بصلــة‪ .‬فــإن َرفَــض االبــن واحــدة مــن‬ ‫تلــك المطالــب أصبــح عــاص ألمــ ٍر مــن أمــور الديــن‪ .‬وبهــذا‬ ‫يتحــول الديــن مــن منهــج وطريــق للســير علــى خطــاه إلــى‬ ‫قائمــة مــن الممنوعــات والمحظــورات‪ ،‬وبــدالً مــن ترغيــب‬ ‫األبنــاء فــي التمســك بأمــور دينهــم‪ ،‬نرهبهــم منــه‪ .‬نمضــي‬ ‫أعوامًــا فــي اقناعهــم بحــب اللــه ودينــه وعنــد فــرض األوامــر‬ ‫نســتخدم كل وســائل الترهيــب الممكنــة‪ .‬فينشــأ االبــن فــي‬ ‫تناقــض بيــن الولــع بالديــن والذعــر منــه‪ .‬واألغــرب حق ـا ً أننــا بعــد‬ ‫ذلــك نتعجــب مــن عــدم تطبيــق الديــن فــي مجتمعنــا‪ .‬أحقــا ً‬ ‫ويبقــى األمــر األخطــر هــو وجــوب اآلبــاء أن يكونــوا‬ ‫ننتظــر مــن أطفــال تربــوا بهــذا األســلوب أن ينشــأوا علــى خطــى ‬ ‫دينيــة صحيحــة؟ أظــن أنــه مــن الظلــم والعجــب أن نكــون بذلــك علــى د رايــة كافيــة بعواقــب هــذا النــوع مــن التربيــة واســتخدام‬ ‫هــذا األســلوب اســتخداما خاطئــا مــع األبنــاء خاصــة فــي الســن‬ ‫الغبــاء‪.‬‬ ‫الصغيــرة‪ .‬فيكــون هــذا الســن الــذي يشــكل فيــه الطفــل الكثيــر‬ ‫مــن معتقداتــه الحياتيــة ويقــوم ببنــاء جــزء كبيــر ومهــم مــن‬ ‫و إن أردنــا التحــدث عــن مشــكلة االســتخدام الخاطــئ شــخصيته‪ .‬فــإن قــام أحــد اآلبــاء بغــرس فكــرة دينيــة فــي عقــل‬ ‫ ‬ ‫للديــن فــي التربيــة فســيحضرنا العديــد مــن المواقــف التــي ربينــا االبــن عــن قصــد أو دونــه‪ ،‬يجــب أن تكــون تلــك الفكــرة حقيقيــة‬ ‫عليهــا وقــد تثيــر هــذا الموضــوع بشــكل أوضــح‪ .‬فمنــذ الصغــر ومثمــرة‪ .‬فأيمــا كان هــذا الديــن وأيمــا كان نوعــه‪ ،‬فمــن حــق‬ ‫يشــرع األبــوان فــي ضــرب األبنــاء إن لــم يــؤدوا فريضــة الصــاة االبــن أن يســتقبل صــورة حقيقيــة وكاملــة عــن هــذا الديــن الــذي‬ ‫معلليــن ذلــك بقــول الرســول‪ “ :‬واضربوهــم عليهــا لعشــر”‪ .‬يســير عليــه‪.‬‬ ‫أليســوا علــى علــم بوســيلة الضــرب التــي كان يســتخدمها‬

‫‪١٢‬‬

‫تصوير‪ :‬ياســمين النواوي‬

‫المقابلــة مــن المحيــط األطلســي‪ ،‬فصــل الديــن عــن‬ ‫الدولــة كان أحــد أهــم األســس الرئيســية فــي جمهوريــة‬ ‫فرنســا األولــى بعــد إســقاط النظــام الملكــي وانتشــرت‬ ‫فكــرة العلمانيــة وأصبحــت مبــدأ للعديــد مــن األحــزاب‬ ‫والحــركات السياســية واإلجتماعيــة فــي مختلــف المناطــق‬ ‫ ‬ ‫التــي كان مــن ضمنهــا تركيــا وتونــس‪.‬‬

‫ال تعــي ذلــك وتريــد إنشــاء خالفــة إســامية‪ .‬وتكمــن‬ ‫المشــكلة فــي أن مفهومهــا للخالفــة مبنــي علــى فكــر‬ ‫معيــن ومحصــور يتمثــل فــي التعاليــم المتطرفــة الناشــئة‬ ‫مــن أفــكار ابــن تيميــة والحركــة الوهابيــة‪.‬‬

‫إن مــا تقــوم بــه داعــش ســواء كان دعــوات دينيــة‬ ‫متطرفــة أم دعــوات إلنشــاء نظــام سياســي إســامي‬ ‫هــي دعــوات ليســت مبنيــة علــى األســس اإلســامية‬ ‫األصليــة وال علــى األســس السياســية للدولــة‪ .‬تقــوم داعــش‬ ‫بتجنيــد أفرادهــا عــن طريــق اإلنترنــت ووســائل اإلعــام‬ ‫بشــكل رئيســي وبذلــك فهــي ال تســعى أن تكــون مجتمعــا‬ ‫إســاميا ً أو حتــى دولــة مدنيــة حديثــة وإنمــا تقــوم بتشــويه‬ ‫صــورة اإلســام وصــورة النظــام العالمــي الجديــد‪ .‬إن الدولــة‬ ‫اإلســامية ليســت كمــا يظنهــا الكثيــرون‪ .‬فقاداتهــا يريــدون‬ ‫أن يزيــدوا مــن ووجودهــم الجغرافــي وبذلــك هــم أقــرب‬ ‫إلــى كيــان اجتماعــي دينــي إرهابــي توســعي ال يعنيــه‬ ‫وجــود كيــان سياســي متحضــر أو أجهــزة مدنيــة إلدارة‬ ‫شــؤون دولــة راســخة‪ .‬حتــى لــو افترضنــا أن داعــش تقــوم‬ ‫بإســتعادة صــورة المجتمــع اإلســامي فإنهــا تفشــل فــي‬ ‫ذلــك‪.‬‬

‫أمــا بالنســبة لتطبيــق الشــريعة والوجــود الدينــي‬ ‫ ‬ ‫فــي إطــارات سياســية فــي شــكل أنظمــة وقوانيــن علــى‬ ‫غــرار أســلوب حيــاة المســلمين فــي مجتمــع المدينــة فهــو‬ ‫مبــدأ نشــأ فــي حكــم العباســيين فــي القــرن الثالــث عشــر‬ ‫الميــادي‪ .‬كان أبــرز مفكــري هــذا المبــدأ ابــن تيميــة الــذي‬ ‫دعــا إلــى تطبيــق أحــكام الســنة والشــريعة فــي نظــام‬ ‫الحكــم السياســي‪ .‬كان ابــن تيميــة ينظــر إلــى المجتمــع‬ ‫المتكامــل بأنــه يطبــق شــرع اللــه وســنة الرســول‪ .‬فالحاكــم‬ ‫الــذي ينفــذ أوامــر اللــه هــو أفضــل حاكــم للمجتمــع‬ ‫اإلســامي‪ .‬وإن كان الواقــع عكــس ذلــك‪ ،‬فعلــى المجتمــع‬ ‫أن يثــور ويعتــرض وإن وصــل بــه الحــد الســتخدام العنــف‬ ‫لفــرض ســلطة الديــن علــى الدولــة‪ .‬ولكــن تطــورت‬ ‫مبادئــه مــع مــرور الزمــن وأصبحــت مصــدرا ً ألقــوال العديــد‬ ‫مــن األئمــة مثــل الغزالــي وســيد قطــب (الموســوعة‬ ‫إن دمــج الدولــة بالديــن علــى مــدار التاريــخ نتــج‬ ‫البريطانيــة)‪ ،‬وصــوال ً إلــى الخمســين ســنة األخيــرة حيــث ‬ ‫تحولــت فكــرة الدولــة اإلســامية إلــى واقــع تجســد فــي عنــه ممارســات ظالمــة وكذلــك فكــر إرهابــي انتشــر إلــى‬ ‫جماعــات إرهابيــة أو أحــزاب متعصبــة مثــل جماعــة مجتمعــات أخــرى ‪ .‬وهــذا برأيــي يــؤدي إلــى زعزعــة‬ ‫المبــادئ األصليــة للدولــة والديــن‪ .‬ولــذا‪ ،‬أرى أنــه يجــدر‬ ‫التكفيــر والهجــرة وتنظيــم القاعــدة‪.‬‬ ‫فصــل الدولــة عــن أي ســياق دينــي أو روحانــي وأن‬ ‫أظــن أن مــا يفتقــد إليــه الداعــون إلــى تطبيــق يكــون أســاس الدولــة ســياقا سياســياً‪ .‬وفــي هــذا الســياق‬ ‫ ‬ ‫الشــريعة اإلســامية كنظــام حكــم سياســي هــي النظــرة سيســمح لجميــع المجتمعــات ذات األفــكار المختلفــة الغيــر‬ ‫الدقيقــة إلــى ماهيــة الديــن وماهيــة الدولــة ككيــان متعصبــة بممارســة حياتهــم وعقيدتهــم كمــا يشــاؤون‪ .‬إذا‬ ‫سياســي‪ .‬إن المجتمــع الــذي أسســه النبــي فــي المدينــة طبقــت العلمانيــة فــي ظــل وجــود قوانيــن ثابتــة راســخة‬ ‫لــم يكــن إال مجــرد تجمعــات أســرية فــي حاجــة إلــى نابعــة مــن ثقافــات الشــعوب واحتياجاتهــا فإنهــا ســتكون‬ ‫قوانيــن لتنظيــم حياتهــم البســيطة ومســاعدتهم فــي تجربــة نافعــة قــد تصلــح لحــل العديــد مــن مشــاكلنا‬ ‫تكويــن نــواة أكبــر فلــم تكــن دولــة بحســب مقاييــس زمننــا المعاصــرة فــي العالــم اإلســامي‪ .‬إن الشــرعية الحقيقــة ال‬ ‫المعاصــر ولذلــك فــا داع ألن نختــرع أنظمــة سياســية تعنــي بالضــرورة وجــود شــريعة دينيــة وإنمــا وجــود كيــان‬ ‫مســتوحاة منهــا‪ .‬وســرعان مــا ضمــت األمــة اإلســامية إجتماعــي وسياســي مســتقر ومنتظــم‪ .‬والديــن هــو ليــس‬ ‫شــعوبا ً ذات لغــات و ثقافــات مختلفــة وبالتالــي أفــكار المبــدأ أو المصــدر الوحيــد لهــذا الكيــان المســتقر‪.‬‬ ‫ومبــادئ سياســية مختلفــة والجديــر بالذكــر هنــا هــو أن ‪.‬‬ ‫الدولــة اإلســامية المعاصــرة والمعروفــة بإســم داعــش‬

‫‪١١‬‬

‫سيا سة‬

‫نظــرة يف الدين و الدولة‬

‫نعمان أرشف‬

‫األوروبيــة ونشــأة ترتيــب سياســي جديــد اســتمر حتــى‬ ‫يومنــا هــذا وانتشــر ليشــمل مناطــق عديــدة فــي العالــم‪.‬‬ ‫فبعــد معاهــدة وســتفاليا نشــأت الدولــة المدنيــة الحديثــة‬ ‫القائمــة علــى مبــدأ القوميــة (مركــز بيــروت للدراســات‬ ‫القوميــة)‪ .‬وتنشــأ هــذه القوميــة مــن وجــود مجتمعــات‬ ‫تربطهــا عالقــات ثقافيــة أو عرقيــة أو اجتماعيــة‪ .‬وانتقلــت‬ ‫الســلطة حينئــذ مــن الكنيســة إلــى جماعــة سياســية‬ ‫مدنيــة‪ .‬وكان نتــاج ذلــك ظهــور دول ذات حــدود معروفــة‬ ‫وحكومــات مركزيــة منظمــة‪ .‬ومــع مــرور الزمــن أصبــح‬ ‫مفهــوم الدولــة أساســا ً لظهــور نظــام ليبرالــي عالمــي‬ ‫يضــم مختلــف الــدول التــي تتمتــع بخصائــص االســتقاللية‬ ‫والســيادة والمركزيــة‪ .‬شــجعت معاهــدة وســتفاليا العديــد‬ ‫مــن المجتمعــات علــى التحــرر مــن قيــود العبوديــة التــي‬ ‫كانــت تفرضهــا الكنيســة وكانــت هــذه الرغبــة فــي فــك‬ ‫قيــود الكنيســة واالنضمــام لموجــة التنظيــم السياســي‬ ‫الجديــد دافعــا للعديــد مــن الثــورات مثــل الثــورة الفرنســية‬ ‫وثــورة البروليتاريــا فــي روســيا‪.‬‬

‫مضــى زمــن طويــل منــذ أن كنــا فــي المدرســة‬ ‫ ‬ ‫اإلبتدائيــة أو فــي حلقــة دينيــة فــي بدايــة مشــوارنا‬ ‫التعليمــي‪ .‬لطالمــا تذكرنــي تلــك األيــام بأجمــل الذكريــات‬ ‫وأصــدق األصحــاب‪ .‬ولكنهــا‪ ،‬ولألســف تذكرنــي بالواقــع‬ ‫الغشــيم والحقيقــة المخفيــة لعالمنــا وخصوصـا ً لمجتمعاتنــا‬ ‫فــي الشــرق األوســط‪ .‬أتذكــر حيــن كان يحدثنــي أســتاذي‬ ‫عــن ماهيــة الديــن وأهميتــه وضــرورة تطبيقــه فــي حياتنــا‬ ‫االجتماعيــة والسياســية وأن الشــريعة اإلســامية هــي أحــد‬ ‫مصــادر الدســتور المدنــي ورأس قلــم للخطــب الدينيــة‬ ‫والسياســية فــي معظــم دول الشــرق األوســط‪ .‬لقــد نشــأت‬ ‫الغالبيــة العظمــى مــن مجتمعنــا علــى هــذه المبــادئ ومــا‬ ‫كان ليجــرؤ أحــد أن يتعــارض معهــا‪ .‬لكننــي ظللــت رافضــا ً‬ ‫طــوال حياتــي لذلــك التفكيــر المقتصــر علــى الشــريعة‬ ‫الدينيــة‪ .‬وكانــت أســرتي تشــجعني علــى فعــل الصــواب‬ ‫ومســاعدة األخريــن حتــى لــو خالــف ذلــك مــا ينــادي بــه‬ ‫المعلمــون فــي المــدارس واألئمــة فــي المســاجد‪ .‬لقــد‬ ‫علمتنــي أســرتي مبــدأ ً مهمــا ً اســتفدت منــه الحقــا ً فــي‬ ‫حياتــي أال وهــو التفكيــر والتريــث قبــل اتخــاذ أي قــرار‬ ‫لشــرح تطــور هــذا التغييــر والثــورة ســوف أتطــرق‬ ‫مصيــري وعــدم االنصيــاع األعمــى ألي شــخص أو فكــر أيــا ‬ ‫كان‪ .‬ومــن هــذا المنطلــق رفضــت االنصيــاع لفكــرة ارتبــاط ألعمــال أحــد أهــم القــادة العالــم الجديــد وهــو السياســي‬ ‫الدولــة بالديــن وأهميتهــا بالنســبة للمجتمــع‪ .‬إن برأيــي‪ ،‬األمريكــي تومــاس جيفرســون‪ ،‬أحــد اآلبــاء المؤسســين‬ ‫الدولــة ال تصلــح أن تندمــج فــي ســياق دينــي ســواء كان للواليــات المتحــدة األمريكيــة وأحــد كتــاب دســتورها الــذي‬ ‫إســاميا أو مســيحيا أو غيرهــم مــن الفلســفات العقيديــة‪ .‬ال زال يســتخدم حاليــاً‪ .‬كان جيفرســون أول مــن اســتخدم‬ ‫مصطلــح فصــل الكنيســة عــن الدولــة متأثــرا بالفالســفة‬ ‫لكــي نعــي مــا أقصــده هنــا‪ ،‬علينــا أن نفهــم أوال ً األوروبييــن أمثــال جــون لــوك وتومــاس هوبــز الذيــن كانــوا‬ ‫ ‬ ‫مفهــوم الدولــة وكيــف تطــورت إلــى وضعهــا الحالــي‪ .‬قــد تحدثــوا مســبقا ً عــن أن غايــة اإلنســان ليســت متعلقــة‬ ‫لقــد اســتخدم مصطلــح الدولــة ألول مــرة فــي عــام ‪ 1648‬بفكــرة اإللــه‪ .‬نالــت فكــرة العلمانيــة إقبــاال ً واســعا ً فــي‬ ‫عنــد عقــد صلــح “وســتفاليا” بعــد انتهــاء حــرب الثالثيــن المجتمــع األمريكــي وترســخت فيــه لتصبــح مــن أحــد أهــم‬ ‫ســنة فــي أوروبــا‪ .‬كان الحــدث بمثابــة بدايــة تغيــر للقــارة أسســه (مكتبــة الكونجــرس األمريكــي)‪ .‬أمــا فــي الجهــة‬

‫‪١٠‬‬

‫أحمد انجــي و محاكمة الخيال‬

‫مراد دبور‬

‫أحمــد ناجــي هــو كاتــب وروائــي مصــري مــن مواليــد المنصــورة عــام ‪ .1985‬درس ناجــي األدب‬ ‫ ‬ ‫والفنــون فــي أكاديميــة أخبــار اليــوم قبــل أن يتخــرج منهــا ليعمــل فــي مجلــة “أخبــار األدب”‪ .‬نشــر ناجــي‬ ‫عــدة روايــات أولهــا “روجــرز” وآخرهــا “اســتخدام الحيــاة” عــن دار منشــورات المرســوم عــام ‪ .2014‬تــم‬ ‫نشــر فصــول الروايــة تباعــا ً فــي صحيفــة أخبــار األدب حتــى نُشــر الفصــل الخامــس مــن الروايــة والــذي‬ ‫احتــوى علــى مشــاهد وألفــاظ اعتبرهــا البعــض غيــر الئقــة و متجــاوزة للحــدود المتعــارف عليهــا فــي‬ ‫المجتمــع المصــري‪.‬‬ ‫فــي أوائــل عــام ‪ 2015‬تقــدم أحــد المحاميــن ببــاغ ضــد ناجــي و اتهمــه ب”خــدش الحيــاء العــام”‬ ‫ ‬ ‫لمــا فــي روايتــه مــن ألفــاظ وصــور ال تناســب الــذوق العــام‪ .‬وفــي مــارس ‪ 2016‬حكمــت محكمــة جنــح‬ ‫اســتئناف جنــح بــوالق أبــو العــا علــى ناجــي بالســجن عاميــن وتغريــم رئيــس تحريــر أخبــار األدب ‪10‬‬ ‫آالف جنيــه لســماحه بنشــر الروايــة علــى صفحــات المجلــة‪ .‬المحكمــة اعتبــرت مــا كتبــه ناجــي “ألفــاظ‬ ‫خادشــة للحيــاء داعيــة إلــى نشــر الرذيلــة والفجــور” وشــددت العقوبــة علــى ناجــي لـــ “تقويضــه األخــاق‬ ‫وإفســادها”‪.‬‬ ‫يقضــي ناجــي اليــوم عقوبــة الســجن لعاميــن فــي قضيــة تعتبــر األولــى مــن نوعهــا حيــث‬ ‫ ‬ ‫انتقلــت قضيــة حريــة التعبيــر فــي مصــر مــن منــع فقــرة فــي كتــاب أو منــع نشــره كامــا ً إلــى محاكمــة‬ ‫بالســجن علــى روائــي لــكالم كتبــه‪ .‬وعلــى الرغــم مــن أن أســاتذة قانــون‪ ،‬ومنهــم الفقيــه الدســتوري محمــد‬ ‫النــور الفرحــات اعتبــروا الحكــم مخالفــا ً للدســتور الــذي يحظــر الحبــس “فــي جرائــم النشــر والعالنيــة”‪،‬‬ ‫وعلــى الرغــم مــن أن آالف المثقفيــن كانــوا قــد انتفضــوا دفاعــا عــن “حريــة الــرأي والتعبيــر” عــام ‪2015‬‬ ‫عندمــا تــم تعييــن وزيــر ثقافــة وصفــوه ب”اإلخوانــي” وقتهــا‪ ،‬فــإن أحــدا ً لــم ينتفــض لحبــس أحمــد ناجــي‬ ‫ومــر حبســه مــرور الكــرام لتبقــى األســئلة‪ :‬هــل يحــق للدولــة محاكمــة الخيــال أي ـا ً كان الــرأي فيــه؟ وهــل‬ ‫يســجن كاتــب لكلمــة كتبهــا؟ وهــل اســتفاد المجتمــع مــن حبــس كاتــب لخيــال كتبــه؟ وهــل يضــر الخيــال‬ ‫المجتمعــات أصــا ً؟‬

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‫سيا سة‬

‫موالان الرقيب‬

‫عرم أبوحرم‬

‫“أان قلــى كان شخشــيخة أصبح جرس‬ ‫جلجلــت بيه صحيــوا الخدم والحرس‬ ‫أان املهــرج قمتوا ليــه خفتوا ليه‬ ‫ال ىف إيدى ســيف وال تحت مىن فرس”‬ ‫هكــذا كتــب العمــاق صــاح جاهيــن منــذ أكثــر مــن‬ ‫ ‬ ‫أربعيــن عامــا ً ســاخرا ً مــن الســلطة المســتبدة بــأي مــكان وأي‬ ‫زمــان و لكــن فــى رأيــى‪ ،‬تلــك األبيــات لــم تعــد صالحــة لزماننــا‬ ‫اآلن فــي وضعنــا الحالــي نــرى شــيوخا ً تابعيــن لألزهــر‬ ‫هــذا فاليــوم حتــى األطفــال أصبحــوا مصــدر رعــب للســلطة ‬ ‫الدينيــة (مــا بالــك بقــى بالمهــرج)‪ .‬و لكــي ال يفهــم كالمــي يعلنــون بــكل وضــوح أن رقابتهــم علــى المجتمــع مــا هــي إال‬ ‫بشــكل خاطــئ فأنــا ال أُديــن القاضــى الــذى حكــم علــى للحفــاظ عليــه مــن االنحــال والتفــكك؛ حتــى أعلنــت دكتــورة‬ ‫مجموعــة مــن صغــار الســن بــازد راء األديــان بعــد تســجيلهم بالفقــه المقــارن أن األزهــر ينبغــي أن يكــون رقيبــا ً علــى كل‬ ‫لفيديــو ال تتعــدى مدتــه ثــوان معــدودة يســخرون فيــه مــن المؤسســات لتنقيتهــا مــن المشــوهين أخالقيــا ً علــى الرغــم‬ ‫داعــش بــل أكاد أجــزم أن الرجــل لــم يفعــل ســوى مــا يمليــه مــن أن الدكتــورة ال تــرى أى تشــوه بفتاواهــا والتــي منهــا أنــه‬ ‫عليــه الواقــع المحيــط بــه‪ .‬فأغلــب الظــن أن ســيادة المستشــار يجــوز للمســلم إذا دخــل حربــا ً مــع دولــة كافــرة أن يغتصــب‬ ‫لــم يمســك مــرة بكتــاب للعقــاد‪ ،‬مثــاً أو أي مفكــر يعبــر عــن نســاءها إلذاللهــن‪ .‬أإلــى هــذه الدرجــة مــن التكبــر و التناقــض‬ ‫رؤيتــه الفلســفية للديــن‪ ،‬ولــم يشــاهد مــرة فيلمـا ً وتأثــر بشــخصياته يتحــدث بعــض علمــاء األزهــر الذيــن نصبــوا أنفســهم كهنــة‬ ‫ولــم تختــرق أذنيــه مــرة أغنيــة أشــعلت مشــاعره حماس ـا ً‪ ،‬فهــو بداخــل كل مواطــن منــذ والدتــه‪.‬‬ ‫كرجــل ذي منصــب حســاس بالدولــة ال يحتــاج لهــذه التفاهــات‪.‬‬ ‫اصطدمــت الرقابــة الدينيــة بأهــم مبدعــي مصــر فــى‬ ‫يكفــى أنــه عندمــا قــرر الــزواج كانــت أى بنــت تتمنــى أن ترتبــط ‬ ‫بــه كوكيــل للنيابــة حينهــا‪ .‬ولــكل تلــك األســباب ال يصــح أن أديــن مختلــف المجــاالت فيكفــى أن يكــون أحــد ضحاياهــا فنــان‬ ‫شــخصا ً لــم يمتلــك مــرة ذرة مــن الخيــال فمــن المنطقــى أن بقيمــة يوســف شــاهين الــذي خــاض حرب ـا ً ال هــوادة فيهــا بعــد‬ ‫يفتقــر فــي تنفيــذه للنصــوص القانونيــة إلــى روح القانــون‪.‬‬ ‫مُنــع فيلمــه الرائــع (المهاجــر) مــن العــرض بمصــر لوجــود‬ ‫تشــابه واضــح بيــن أحــداث الفيلــم و قصــة النبــي يوســف‪ .‬مــا‬ ‫ ‬ ‫إن مــن حكــم الحكــم الصــادر بحبــس األطفــال والكتــاب ال تريــد أن تعتــرف بــه المؤسســات الدينيــة بمصــر حتــى اآلن‬ ‫الزد راء األديــان أو خــدش الحيــاء العــام ليــس القضــاة ولكــن أنــه مــن تدخــل لمنــع الفيلــم نســى النــاس اســمه وال يهتــم‬ ‫موالنــا الرقيــب الــذي يكمــن بداخــل كل واحــد منهــم والــذى أحــد لمعرفتــه بينمــا ينبــض فيلــم المهاجــر بالحيــاة فتعلقــت‬ ‫ليــس لنــا ســوى أن نقــدم لــه فــروض الطاعــة والــوالء‪.‬‬ ‫العالقــات اإلنســانية فيــه بوجــدان أغلــب مــن شــاهدوه وصــار‬ ‫إحــدى عالمــات الســينما المصريــة بمــا يحملــه مــن قيمــة‬ ‫ ‬ ‫إن موضــوع الرقابــة الدينيــة بمصــر ليــس بالجديــد ولكنــه فكريــة‪ .‬ليــس فيلــم المهاجــر وحــده مــن تغلــب علــى ســطوة‬ ‫يتأثــر بتغيــر األوضــاع السياســية واالجتماعيــة للوطــن‪ .‬ففــي الرقابــة بمصــر بــل هكــذا هــو حــال جميــع أنــواع الفنــون تكســر‬ ‫األربعينيــات حيــن صــار الشــيخ مصطفــى عبــد الــرازق شــيخا ً كل القيــود و العوائــق حتــى لــو تخفــت تحــت شــعارات براقــة‬ ‫لألزهــر الشــريف شــهد المصريــون لألزهــر تشــجيعه علــى حريــة تنســب نفســها ظلمــا ً لديــن مقــدس‪.‬‬ ‫االجتهــاد و تطــور الحركــة األدبيــة بمصــر‪ .‬وقبــل تولــى عبــد‬ ‫ال ـرازق لمشــيخة األزهــر كان قــد كتــب مقـ ً‬ ‫ال أمــل لذلــك الوطــن الحزيــن فــى الخــروج مــن مآســيه‬ ‫ـال يشــجع فيــه توفيــق ‬ ‫ً‬ ‫ً‬ ‫الحكيــم علــى الكتابــة للمســرح علــى الرغــم مــن كونــه كاتبــا وهمومــه إال بحريــة التفكيــر وفتــح بــاب االجتهــاد بــدال مــن أن‬ ‫ناشــئا ً بــذاك الوقــت و كتــب أيضــا ً نقــدا ً إلحــدى روايــات نجيــب نظــل منبوذيــن مــن العالــم نتناقــش فــى عقــاب مــن ترتــدى‬ ‫محفــوظ مبدي ـا ً إعجابــه بهــا‪ .‬وفــي الثالثينيــات كتــب إســماعيل النــص كــم و مصيــر مــن يصافــح مســيحيا ً‪.‬‬ ‫أدهــم كتــاب (لمــاذا أنــا ملحــد) بــدون أن يصــادر الكتــاب أو يســجن‬ ‫صاحبــه‪ .‬إذا ً لــم تكــن وظيفــة المؤسســات الدينيــة كاألزهــر ودار‬ ‫اإلفتــاء الرقابــة علــى فكــر النــاس وجعلهــم مجــرد رعايــا ال‬ ‫ســبيل لهــم ســوى الطاعــة‪.‬‬

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‫سيا سة‬

‫العقائــد الخاطئة‬

‫ممنوع التفكير‬

‫ايمسني بوقرش‬ ‫اليهــود يِؤمنــون بإلــه غيــر عــادل ال يحــب ســواهم‪ .‬ولــو ســألنا‬ ‫أحدهــم مــا هــي الفضائــل الســبعة فــي الديــن المســيحي‪ ،‬أو‬ ‫مــا هــي الوصايــا العشــر فــي الديانــة اليهوديــة لعجــزوا عــن‬ ‫اإلجابــة أو لربمــا جهلــوا أصــا بوجــود هــذه المبــادئ‪.‬‬

‫لطالمــا كانــت حصــة “التربيــة اإلســامية” مخصصــة‬ ‫ ‬ ‫لـ«تربيــة» األجيــال‪ ،‬تربيــة صالحــة مبنيــة علــى قيــم إنســانية‬ ‫وعــادات نبيلــة تجعــل اإلنســان َ‬ ‫خيّــرًا فــي مجتمعــه‪ .‬ولطالمــا‬ ‫تفاخــر أســاتذة هــذه المــادة بتدريســهم الديــن اإلســامي‬ ‫وشــريعته‪ ،‬ولعــل أكبــر مصــدر لفخرهــم هــذا هــو توضيــح مــدى‬ ‫ناهيــك عــن أن العديــد مــن البلــدان العربيــة التــي تحتوي‬ ‫تســامح هــذا الديــن وتقبلــه لآلخــر برغــم اختــاف دينــه وجنســيته ‬ ‫علــى عــدد كبيــر مــن المســيحيين واليهــود والمســلمين معًــا‬ ‫وعرقــه‪.‬‬ ‫ال تــدرس هــذا الــدرس‪ ،‬أقصــد درس الديانــات الســماوية‪ .‬ففــي‬ ‫فــي هــذه الحصــص يتــم تدريــس الديانــات الســماوية مصــر‪ ،‬فــي حصــة الديــن‪ ،‬يُقسّ ــم التالميــذ حســب ديانتهــم‬ ‫ ‬ ‫األخــرى؛ المســيحية واليهوديــة‪ ،‬التــي ورغــم أهميتهــا ثــم يتلقــون درس خاصًــا بدينهــم فقــط‪ ،‬وأمــا فــي لبنــان فــا‬ ‫التاريخيــة ومــدى انتشــارها فــي العالــم‪ ،‬يُ َ‬ ‫خصــص لهــا درسً ــا وجــود لحصــة ديــن أساسً ــا‪ ،‬وهــذا ال يمنــع تدريــس هــذا الــدرس‬ ‫واح ـدًا ووحي ـدًا فــي نهايــة الســنة الثالثــة مــن التعليــم الثانــوي فــي حصــة الفلســفة مثــاً لضرورتــه وأهميتــه فــي مثــل هــذه‬ ‫ُ‬ ‫نشــأت عليــه‪ ،‬بعــد ‪ 12‬المجتمعــات‪.‬‬ ‫فــي النظــام التربــوي الجزائــري‪ ،‬الــذي‬ ‫ســنة د راســة لهــذه المــادة انطالقــا مــن الســنة أولــى ابتدائــي‪.‬‬ ‫المعضلــة فــي هــذا النــوع مــن التدريــس هــو أنــه ينتــج‬ ‫ ‬ ‫هــذا مثــال واحــد فقــط علــى مــا عشــته خــال فتــرة عقــوالً عاجــز ًة عــن التحليــل‪ ،‬غيــر متقبلــة لعقيــدة اآلخــر وال‬ ‫ ‬ ‫د راســتي الثانويــة‪ ،‬فتدريــس «الديــن» وتخصيــص حصــص لــه لهويتــه الدينيــة والروحيــة‪ ،‬ال تتوقــف عــن التفاخــر –وهمًــا‪-‬‬ ‫متّبَــع فــي منطقــة الشــرق بانتمائهــا لديــن معيــن‪ ،‬بالرغــم أن معظمهــا ورث هــذا الديــن‬ ‫ضمــن البرنامــج الد راســي‪ ،‬إنــه نظــام ُ‬ ‫عــن آبائــه ولــم يعانــي مشــقة التعــب والبحــث العتناقــه‪ .‬عقــول‬ ‫األوســط وشــمال أفريقيــا‪.‬‬ ‫عاجــزة عــن فهــم أو حتــى محاولــة فهــم اآلخــر ممــا أدى‬ ‫هــذه “العقائــد الخاطئــة” أو “الديانــات الضالــة” هــي إلــى انتشــار العديــد مــن المشــاحنات والخالفــات الدينيــة‪ ،‬ومــاذا‬ ‫ ‬ ‫عبــارات يرددهــا األســتاذة خــال هــذا الــدرس‪ ،‬الــذي يَحصــل ننتظــر غيــر العــداء مــن تالميــذ وتلميــذات‪ ،‬ربمــا المــرة الوحيــدة‬ ‫عــادة‪ ،‬هــو أن أكثــر مــن ثُلُثــي الــدرس يُخصــص لذكــر وتوضيــح التــي تطرقــوا فيهــا للمســيحية أو اليهوديــة كانــت خــال درس‬ ‫أخطــاء هــذه الديانــات وكيــف تــم تحريفهــا ألغــراض مختلفــة‪ ،‬فــي كتــاب التربيــة اإلســامية بالصــف الثالــث الثانــوي‪ ،‬تحــت‬ ‫أمــا فهــم العقيــدة ذاتهــا وشــرح تعاليــم هــذه الديانــات وقيَمهــا عناويــن ثانويــة مثــل‪“ :‬أهــم عقائــد النصرانييــن وانحرافاتهــم” أو”‬ ‫وتاريخهــا ال يُخصــص لــه ســوى شــرح ضئيــل وســطحي‪ ،‬نابــع عقيدتهــم ‪-‬يقصــد اليهــود‪ -‬وانحرافاتهــم” (صفحــة ‪ ،)58 55‬غيــر‬ ‫عــادة مــن فهــم المــدرس لهــذه الديانــة‪ .‬المثيــر لالنتبــاه أو ربمــا التعالــي علــى أقرانهــم مــن هــذه الديانــات؟ هــذا التلقيــن ال‬ ‫للسُ ــخرية‪ ،‬وللقــارئ حــق القــرار‪ ،‬هــو أنــه عنــد تدريــس هــذه ينجــم عنــه إال مجتمــع مقتنــع بصحــة عقيدتــه اقتناعًــا مُطلقًــا‪،‬‬ ‫العقائــد ال تُســتَحضر أيــة نصــوص أو أدلــة مــن كتُــب الديانــات مجتمــع مُنغلــق علــى كل مــن اختلــف معــه عقائد يًــا‪،‬‬ ‫ً‬ ‫وجاهــا غالبًــا‪.‬‬ ‫األخــرى‪ ،‬بــل يســتند إلــى مصــادر خاصــة بدينــه إلثبــات تحريــف مُتطــرف أحيانًــا‬ ‫وأخطــاء الديانــات األخــرى؛ ممــا يعنــي غيــاب أي منهــج نقــدي‬ ‫األجــدر بهــذه الحصــص أن يتــم فيهــا تدريــس الديانــات‬ ‫منطقــي‪ ،‬بحيــث يكــون كل النقــد قائمًــا علــى أفــكار ذاتيــة ‬ ‫األخــرى‪ ،‬وليــس الســماوية فقــط‪ ،‬مثلمــا يراهــا أصحابهــا‬ ‫وإيمــان شــخصي‪.‬‬ ‫وبمراجعهــم وحججهــم ثــم مقارنتهــا مــع ديانــة التالميــذ‬ ‫ربمــا يــرى البعــض أن األمــر منطقــي بحكــم أن والطلبــة وتــرك المجــال مفتوحً ــا أمامهــم للتنقيــب والتحليــل‬ ‫ ‬ ‫المــدرس مســلم أو يهــودي أو مســيحي يُــدرس هــذه الديانــات والمقارنــة ثــم اتخــاذ القــرار الصائــب وفقًــا لبحثهــم‪.‬‬ ‫ـدل ومنطقيــة‪ ،‬ننتــج عقـ ً‬ ‫مــن وجهــة نظــره‪ ،‬خاصــة أن كل ديــن لــه موقــف واضــح تجــاه بهــذا المبــدأ‪ ،‬وهــو األكثــر عـ ً‬ ‫ـول مُفكِّــرة‪،‬‬ ‫الديانــات األخــرى‪ .‬غيــر أن المشــكلة ليســت مشــكلة الحُ كــم واعيــة ومُتفهمــة؛ فد راســة األديــان د راســة مقارنــة تتيــح للطلبــة‬ ‫بصحــة أو خطــأ هــذه الديانــات‪ ،‬بــل بإعطــاء كل ديانــة حقهــا معرفــة القيــم المشــتركة بينهــا‪ ،‬والعبــر مــن عقائدهــا وتاريخهــا؛‬ ‫مثلمــا يراهــا أصحابهــا‪ .‬أيُعقــل تدريــس مــادة علميــة دون وبالتالــي يكونــون أكثــر قابليــة للتعايــش فــي مجتمــع مُتنــوع‬ ‫التخصــص فيهــا‪ ،‬بــل واألكثــر مــن ذلــك الحكــم عليــه دون معرفــة األديــان‪ ،‬ويَســهُل عليهــم التأقلــم مــع كل مــا هــو مختلــف‪.‬‬ ‫ود راســة مصــادره؟ هــل بهــذا نقــول أننــا نعــرف الديانــات الســماوية فبــدل التركيــز علــى االختالفــات‪ ،‬األحــرى بهــم كقــادة للمســتقبل‪،‬‬ ‫ومتأكــدون بخطأهــا‪ ،‬رغــم أننــا لــم نفتــح ولــو لمــرة اإلنجيــل تقويــة هــذه الروابــط المشــتركة وخلــق بيئــة متســامحة وفُــرص‬ ‫أو التــوراة أو القــرأن؟‪ .‬أليــس مــن األرجــح بــل مــن المعقــول أن أكثــر للتعايــش مــع هــذه االختالفــات‪ ،‬وهــذا مــا تحــث عليــه‬ ‫نــدرس الديــن مــن وجهــة نظــر منتســبيه بقــدر مــا يمكــن‪ ،‬ثــم األديــان الســماوية كلهــا‪.‬‬ ‫نُقارنــه بمعتقداتنــا ونحكــم عليــه؟‬ ‫يقــول ماكــس مولــر‪ ،‬وهــو عالــم بريطانــي درس األديــان‬ ‫ ‬ ‫أتعجــب مــن بعــض المدرســين الذيــن يتهمــون الحضــارة د راســة مقارنة‪”:‬الــذي يعــرف ديــن واحــد‪ ،‬ال يعــرف أي ديــن”‪.‬‬ ‫ ‬ ‫الغربيــة والمعتقــدات األخــرى بالكــذب علــى دينهــم والتالعــب أتمنــى أن يَعــي أســاتذتنا هــذا القــول‪ ،‬وقبــل ذلــك‪ ،‬أن يتعرفــوا‬ ‫بمعانيــه ولكنهــم ينســون أو يتناســون كيــف هــم بدورهــم علــى هــذه الطريقــة لد راســة األديــان‪ ،‬ويتبنونهــا فــي برامجهــم‪،‬‬ ‫يطمســون معتقــدات ومبــادئ وفلســفات الديانــات األخــرى وأن يُدرســوا بدورهــم التالميــذ بطريقــة نزيهــة مبنيــة علــى‬ ‫ً‬ ‫حفظــا وليــس فهمًــا‪ ،‬بخطئهــا‪ ،‬فــكل د راســة نظريــة وعمليــة للديانــات وليــس وفقًــا للمعلومــات‬ ‫ويعلمــون أجيــاالً كاملــة‪،‬‬ ‫مــا يعرفــه غالبيــة الشــباب فــي بــادي الجزائــر عامــة وتالميــذ المتناقلــة عــن أئمــة المســاجد والمــوروث الدينــي الشــعبي‪.‬‬ ‫المــدارس خاصــة هــو أن المســيحيين يؤمنــون بــأن للــه ولـدًا‪ ،‬وأن‬

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‫ثقا فة‬

‫«تكلم حىت أراك»‬ ‫‪ -‬سقراط‬

‫نمسة حمودة‬

‫بنياميــن وورف واســتاذه إدوارد ســابير كانــا عالميــن لغــة قــد أطلقــا فرضيــة لغويــة تعــرف باســم‬ ‫نظريــة ســابير‪-‬وورف أو نظريــة النســبية اللغويــة‪ .‬وقــد أثــرت هــذه الفرضيــة علــى علــم اللغويــات‬ ‫ونظــرة علمــاء اللغويــات إلــى العالقــة بيــن اللغــة والفكــر‪ ،‬أو فــي صياغــة أخــرى‪ :‬اللغــة والثقافــة؛‬ ‫حيــث أنهــا تنــص علــى أن هنالــك عالقــة وطيــدة بيــن أي لغــة وبيــن منظــور المتحــدث بهــا إلــى ‪-‬أو‬ ‫كيفيــة فهمــه‪ -‬للعالــم مــن حولــه‪ .‬فاللغــة ليســت مجــرد وســيلة للتواصــل‪ ،‬وإنمــا هــي وســيلة للتعبيــر‬ ‫عــن الــذات وبالتالــي هــي أيضــا وســيلة للوجــود‪ ،‬تؤثــر علــى وتتأثــر بالواقــع المجتمعــي والوعــي‬ ‫الجمعــي ولــذا هــي مقيــاس دقيــق لثقافــة متحدثيهــا‪ .‬فيكفــي اإلنصــات واالنتبــاه التــام لمفــردات‬ ‫مجتمــع مــا وداللتهــا لتحديــد بعــض المفاهيــم المجتمعيــة الخاصــة بذلــك المجتمــع‪ ،‬والتــي بدورهــا‬ ‫تؤثــر علــى الحيــاة اليوميــة ألفــراده‪.‬‬ ‫إنهــا دائــرة ال تنتهــي‪ .‬يســتخدم مجتمــع مــا لغــة مــا‪ ،‬يزيــد‬ ‫تكريــس وترســيخ مفاهيــم تلــك اللغــة فــي الوعــي الجمعــي‬ ‫لذلــك المجتمــع‪ ،‬يعبــر ذلــك المجتمــع عــن ذاتــه باســتخدام‬ ‫تلــك اللغــة‪ ...‬الــخ‬ ‫وإن نظرنــا بتمعــن إلــى لغــة المجتمــع المصــري الدارجــة‬ ‫نجدهــا مســتعمرة مــن قبــل العديــد مــن المصطلحــات‬ ‫الدينيــة‪ .‬فيبــدأ المتحــدث بالمصريــة الدارجــة حديثــه مــع‬ ‫اآلخــر بإلقــاء التحيــة “الســام عليكــم ورحمــة اللــه وبركاتــه”‬ ‫وينهيــه ب “فــي رعايــة اللــه”‪ .‬ويمكننــا االســتنتاج مــن ذلــك‬ ‫مــدى تأثــر الوعــي المصــري الجمعــي بالديــن فــي العمــوم‬ ‫وباللــه فــي الخصــوص الــذي يتوســط عالقــة كل متحــدث‬ ‫باللغــة المصريــة الدارجــة باآلخــر‪.‬‬ ‫توسُ ــط اللــه مختلــف العالقــات بيــن أفــراد المجتمــع المصــري‬ ‫يمكــن أن يُنظــر لــه بشــكل إيجابــي فــي أحيــان وبشــكل‬ ‫ســلبي فــي احيــان اخــرى‪ .‬فاســتخدام مصطلــح مثــل “اللــه‬ ‫يكرمــك” او “ربنــا يخليــك” للــرد علــى الشــكر يــدل علــى أن‬ ‫القائــل يرغــب للمتلقــي الخيــر الممثــل هنــا فــي صــورة الــرزق‬ ‫او مطــول العمــر‪ ،‬ولكنــه يــدل فــي نفــس الوقــت علــى نظــرة‬ ‫القائــل للمتلقــي علــى انــه مفعــول بــه‪ ،‬ال يســتطيع ان يجلــب‬ ‫رزقــه ســوى اللــه‪ ،‬وال يســتطيع أن يطيــل عمــره ســوى اللــه‪،‬‬ ‫ولــذا لــن يهــم إن قــام ذلــك المتلقــي بالعمــل الــكاد فــي‬ ‫مجالــه كمــا انــه لــن يهــم أن حافــظ علــى صحتــه ألن كليهمــا‬ ‫بيــد اللــه‪.‬‬ ‫إنهــا دائــرة ال تنتهــي‪ ،‬يســتخدم المجتمــع المصــري لغــة‬ ‫دارجــة تضــع اللــه محــل الفاعــل دائمــا ومــن دونــه مفعــول‬ ‫بــه‪ ،‬يزيــد تكريــس مفهــوم عــدم قــدرة الفــرد علــى الصنيعــة‪،‬‬ ‫فيتمــادى المجتمــع المصــري فــي اســتخدامه لمصطلحــات‬ ‫دينيــة متأثــرة بذلــك المفهــوم فــي حياتــه اليوميــة‪ ..‬الــخ‪.‬‬

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‫وقــد يشــتد مــدى خطــر توســط اللــه عالقــة فرديــن ان كان‬ ‫ألحدهمــا ســلطة علــى اآلخــر‪ .‬فنجــد بعــض األبــاء يتوعــدوا‬ ‫االنــذار ألبنائهــم مســتخدمين مصطلحــات دينيــة مــن نــوع‬ ‫“علــى اللــه”‪ ،‬فيتعــدى العقــاب علــى الفعــل المشــين ‪-‬فــي‬ ‫هــذه الحــال‪ -‬العقــاب الدنيــوي القــادم مــن األب أو األم إلــى‬ ‫عقــاب ســماوي إلهــي قــادم مــن اللــه‪ .‬فيضيــف مســتخدم‬ ‫التعبيــر ســلطة دينيــة الــى ســلطته الدنيويــة أيــا كان نوعهــا‪.‬‬ ‫وفــي مثــال آخــر يتضــح مــدى خطــورة األمــر فــي ظــل‬ ‫بيروقراطيــة الحكومــة المصريــة حيــث يتميــز الموظــف فــي‬ ‫المصالــح الحكوميــة بســلطة علــى مــن يريــد قضــاء حوائجــه‬ ‫بهــا‪ ،‬فــإن ابتليــت عزيــزي القــارئ بضــرورة اســتخراج وثيقــة‬ ‫حكوميــة كبطاقــة مواطنــة أو رخصــة قيــادة قــد تســتعلم عــن‬ ‫ميعــاد اســتخراجها‪ ،‬وفــي أغلــب األحيــان ســيتم الــرد عليــك ب‬ ‫“ربنــا يســهل”‪ ،‬وان تماديــت فــي الســؤال “ربنــا يســهل امتــى‬ ‫يعنــى؟” يتــم الــرد عليــك بنظــرة حنــق واســتغراب بعــدم‬ ‫رضــاك بأمــر اللــه مصحوبــة ب”لمــا ربنــا يســهل ان شــاء‬ ‫اللــه”‪ ،‬فتكــون هنــا مواجهــا لمشــيئة اللــه وكيفيــة تســهيله‬ ‫لألمــور وليــس لمشــيئة الموظــف وكيفيــة أدائــه لعملــه‪ ،‬فــا‬ ‫يمكنــك االعتــراض علــى خطــة اللــه العظمــى التــي تقضــي‬ ‫عليــك اســتخراج الوثيقــة بعــد أن تحتاجهــا بأســابيع‪.‬‬ ‫إنهــا دائــرة ال تنتهــي‪ ،‬يســتخدم المجتمــع المصــري لغــة‬ ‫دارجــة تضــع اللــه محــل وســيط بيــن أفــراده‪ ،‬يزيــد تكريــس‬ ‫مفهــوم سمســرة اللــه فــي الوعــي الجمعــي للمجتمــع‬ ‫المصــري‪ ،‬فيتمــادى فــي اســتخدامه للمصطلحــات الدينيــة‬ ‫المتأثــرة بذلــك المفهــوم فــي حياتــه اليوميــة‪ ..‬الــخ‪.‬‬

‫موضــوع التحــول الدينــي فــي مصــر قــد يعتبــره البعــض طبيعيــا ً كمرحلــة مــن مراحــل التطــور‬ ‫وتغيــر الفكــر ويعتبــره البعــض اآلخــر مجــرد «لعــب عيــال»؛ لكــن المؤكــد أن الموضــوع يعتبــر أحــد‬ ‫التابوهــات المســكوت عنهــا فــي المجتمــع المصــري‪ .‬حاورنــا ثــاث حــاالت مــن محافظــات‬ ‫ومناطــق مختلفــة فــي مصــر‪ .‬الحــوارات القادمــة مــع أشــخاص قــرروا تغييــر عقائدهــم إلــى عقائــد‬ ‫ومذاهــب مختلفــة عمــا ولــدوا عليهــا‪ ،‬يحكــون عــن تجاربهــم وأســبابها وموقــف المجتمــع منهــم‬ ‫و نشــدد أن هــذا المقــال ليــس الهــدف منــه الترويــج لفكــر أو آلخــر بــل هــو محاولــة لتســليط الضــوء‬ ‫علــى آراء وتجــارب قــد يخــاف أصحابهــا اإلفصــاح عنهــا‪.‬‬ ‫أول حكايــة تحدثنــا معهــا هــي ســارة (اســم مســتعار)‪.‬‬ ‫ ‬ ‫تحدثــت ســارة عــن نفســها قائلــ ًة‪« :‬أنــا طالبــة نشــأت فــي‬ ‫الدقهليــة ثــم انتقلــت للقاهــرة للد راســة»‪ .‬وعــن حكايتهــا مــع‬ ‫الديــن تحكي‪»:‬عائلتــي تنتمــي لديــن األغلبيــة فــي مصــر‬ ‫وفــي البدايــة كان لــدي شــكوكي حــول الديــن بشــكل عــام و‬ ‫توصلــت الــى اإللحــاد حتــى قابلــت زميلــة بروتســتانتية لــي فــي‬ ‫الجامعــة حاولــت إقناعــي بفكــرة وجــود اللــه مــرة أخــرى»‪.‬‬ ‫ثــم تابعــت‪« :‬بعدهــا قــررت أن أقــرأ كتــب الديانــات اإلبراهيميــة‬ ‫الثالثــة حتــى أجــد ضالتــي حتــى شــعرت بانجــذاب ناحيــة‬ ‫المســيحية»‪ .‬تكمــل ســارة‪»:‬األخالق موجــودة فــي كل األديــان‬ ‫لكــن مــا جذبنــي لعقيدتــي الجديــدة هــي فكــرة الحــب‪ ،‬فــي‬ ‫الحكايــة مختلفــة مــع «ياســمين» (اســم مســتعار)‬ ‫الســابق كنــت أرى اللــه إلهـا ً عــادالً‪ ،‬اليــوم عالقتــي باللــه تتعلــق ‬ ‫أكثــر بفكــرة الحــب»‪ .‬وعــن انضمامهــا ألحــد الطوائــف تقــول‪ :‬الطالبــة بالســنة الثانيــة بالجامعــة بالقاهــرة‪ .‬ياســمين وجــدت‬ ‫«كنــت أذهــب إلحــدى الكنائــس بوســط البلــد‪ ,‬ولكنــي أف ّ‬ ‫ضــل أن نفســها بعيــدة عــن ديــن عائلتهــا وهــو ديــن األغلبيــة فــي مصــر‬ ‫ـي شــروطه»‪ .‬وعــن رد وأحسّ ــت بانجــذاب نحــو «كابــاال» وهــو فــرع مــن فــروع العقيــدة‬ ‫أكــون ال طائفيــة لكــي ال يفــرض أحــد علـ ّ‬ ‫فعــل عائلتهــا ‪»:‬أمــي شــجعتني أن أفعــل مــا أريــد أمــا والــدي اليهوديــة يختــص بتفســيرات روحانيــة للنصــوص اليهوديــة‪.‬‬ ‫فمــازال ال يتقبــل الفكــرة ويدعــو لــي بالهدايــة وهــو يعتقــد وعنهــا تقــول ياســمين‪« :‬العقيــدة تهتــم بالجانــب الروحانــي‬ ‫أنــي فــي مرحلــة عابــرة ســوف تنتهــي بهدايتــي أمــا أقاربــي أكثــر مــن الجانــب الدنيــوي أو التشــريعي الــذي يظهــر فــي‬ ‫فقــد انزعجــوا مــن خلعــي الحجــاب لكنهــم ال يعلمــون أنــي اليهوديــة األرثوزكســية مثــاً فهــي تهتــم بتفســير مــا هــو غيــر‬ ‫غيّــرت عقيدتــي وال أجــرؤ علــى قــول ذلــك أمامهــم»‪ .‬وعــن ظاهــر بالنــص وهــي أقــرب للصوفيــة فــي اإلســام»‪ .‬وتحكــي‬ ‫محاولتهــا اعــان معتقداتهــا خــارج دائــرة األصدقــاء المقربيــن عــن بدايــة معرفتهــا بالعقيــدة‪« :‬عــن طريــق فيســبوك‪ ,‬تعرفــت‬ ‫واألســرة قالــت‪ « :‬حاولــت مــرة واحــدة فــي الجامعــة أن أعلــن علــى العديــد مــن مريــدي هــذه العقيــدة حــول العالــم منــذ‬ ‫تســاؤالتي حــول الديــن وفوجئــت بــرد الفعــل الرافــض فالبعــض حوالــي أربــع ســنوات»‪ .‬وعــن أســباب تحولهــا تقول‪»:‬كنــت‬ ‫نصحنــي باستشــارة شــيخ وهــو مــا فعلتــه فعــاً وآخــرون أبحــث عــن عقيــدة أكثــر تقبــاً وتســامحا ً وهــو مــا لــم أجــده‬ ‫نصحونــي بالتوبــة‪ ».‬وتابعــت ســارة‪« :‬أتمنــى أن أســتطيع اإلعــان فــي عقيدتــي الســابقة وال حتــى فــي اليهوديــة ذاتهــا‪ ،‬لكــن‬ ‫عــن معتقداتــي بصراحــة وهــو مــا نفتقــده فــي مصــر ومــا كابــاال أكثــر تقبــا فهــي تنظــر لألمــور مــن منظــور روحانــي»‪ .‬رد‬ ‫يدفعنــي إلــى التفكيــر فــي الهجــرة الحقــا»‪.‬‬ ‫فعــل عائلــة ياســمين كان متقبــاً لألمــر فتقول‪»:‬عائلتــي تقبلــت‬ ‫الموضــوع‪ ،‬هــم يدعــون لــي بالهدايــة وغالبــا هــم يعتقــدون‬ ‫ ‬ ‫الحكايــة الثانيــة هــي حكايــة عــادل (إســم مســتعار) أنهــا مجــرد مرحلــة أمــ ّر بهــا»‪ .‬وعــن تفســيرها لهــذا تقــول‬ ‫وقــد تحــول مــن المذهــب المســيحي األورثوزوكســي الــى ياســمين‪« :‬عائلتــي متدينــة لكــن ليســت شــديدة التديــن وهــي‬ ‫الالطائفيــة‪ .‬يتحــدث عــادل عــن نفســه‪« :‬نشــأت فــي الصعيــد تخــاف علــى وضعهــا أمــام المجتمــع‪ ،‬المجتمــع بالنســبة لهــم‬ ‫مــع أســرتي حتــى التحقــت بالجامعــة بالقاهــرة» وتابــع‪« :‬كنــت هــو الديــن نفســه»‪ .‬وعــن رد فعــل مــن حولهــا تقــول‪« :‬أتحــدث‬ ‫متدينــا حتــى ســن السادســة عشــر بعدهــا بــدأت بالتفكيــر فقــط مــع المقربيــن منــي فــي الموضــوع‪ ،‬مــع غيــر المقربيــن‬ ‫فــي تغييــر مذهبــي ألنــي وجــدت أن عالقتــي باللــه قائمــة أعطــي انطباعــا ً أنــي شــخص عــادي غيــر متديــن لكــن ليــس‬ ‫علــى المصلحــة ال الحــب‪ ,‬فأنــا أقــوم بتنفيــذ مجموعــة مــن لــه موقــف مــن الديــن» وتتابــع‪« :‬النــاس حاليــا صــارت تنظــر‬ ‫الشــروط وأحصــل علــى رضــا اللــه فــي المقابــل»‪ .‬وعــن أســباب لألديــان بشــكل نقــدي و أصبحــت تراجــع معتقداتهــا حتــى لــو‬ ‫تحولــه يقــول أيضــا‪« :‬تســلط رجــال الديــن واإلجبــار علــى تنفيــذ لــم تغيرهــا تمامــا‪ ،‬وهــذا شــيء ايجابــي»‪.‬‬ ‫مجموعــة مــن الشــروط والعــادات التــي ال أرى لهــا فائــدة‬ ‫فــي عالقتــي مــع اللــه‪ .‬مثــا‪ :‬أنــا أحفــظ العديــد مــن الصلــوات‬ ‫باللغــة القبطيــة ويجــب علــي أن أتلوهــا فــي الكنيســة علــى‬ ‫الرغــم أنــي ال أفهــم مــن معناهــا شــيئا»‪ .‬ويعتبــر عــادل تدخــل‬ ‫رجــال الديــن فــي السياســة مــن أســباب تحولــه‪« :‬تدخلهــم ال‬ ‫يأتــي فــي مصلحــة البلــد وفــي اآلونــة األخيــرة زاد األمــر عــن‬ ‫حــده وأصبحــت أشــعر أن المؤسســة الدينيــة مؤسســة فاســدة‬ ‫كأيــة مؤسســة فــي الدولــة»‪ .‬وعــن رد فعــل عائلتــه‪« :‬أســرتي‬ ‫تفهمــت موقفــي ونصحونــي أن أفعــل مــا أرتــاح لــه ربمــا‬ ‫ألنهــم رأوا أن األمــر أمــر واقــع وأن اعتراضهــم لــن يجــدي شــيئا أو‬ ‫لعلهــم يعتقــدون أن مــا أفعلــه مجــرد لعــب عيــال أو فتــرة أمــر‬ ‫بهــا و ســأعبرها عاجــا أم آجــا‪ .‬أمــا مــع أقاربــي فــكان الموضــوع‬ ‫أكثــر صعوبــة فــي النقاشــات بيننــا قــد تنتهــي بالشــجار فــي‬ ‫بعــض األحيــان وكثي ـرا ً مــا تقابــل بالســخرية مــن طرفهــم»‪ .‬أمــا‬

‫عــن تفكيــره فــي التحــول إلــى مذهــب آخــر يقــول عــادل‪« :‬أنــا‬ ‫قريــب مــن المذهــب البروتســتانتي وأراه أكثــر تقبــا لآلخــر فمث ـاً‬ ‫يمكــن أن تدخــل الجنــة وأنــت علــى أي مذهــب أو ديــن آخــر إن‬ ‫كنــت مؤمن ـا ً باللــه وهــو مــا لــم أجــده فــي مذهبــي الســابق»‪.‬‬ ‫وتابــع‪« :‬لكــن فــي النهايــة ال أريــد أن أتبــع طائفــة معينــة فــكل‬ ‫طائفــة تفــرض شــروطها عليــك كمؤمــن فــي نهايــة األمــر وأنــا‬ ‫ال أفضــل ذلــك كمــا أنــي قــد أســمع علــى منابــر البروتســتانتية‬ ‫مــا ال أقبلــه مثــل مهاجمــة المثلييــن أو اســتثارة العواطــف‪».‬‬ ‫وعــن تأثيــر تحولــه عليــه يقــول‪« :‬أصبحــت أشــعر براحــة نفســية‬ ‫و صــرت أكثــر تقبــاً للغيــر»‪.‬‬

‫‪٥‬‬

‫مجتمع‬

‫تصميم‪ :‬ســالي الفيشاوي‬

‫التحول الديين‬ ‫يف مرص‬

‫مراد دبور‬

‫‪٤‬‬

‫ماذا يوجــد ابلعدد اإللكرتوين ؟‬ ‫محمد البجيرمي‬ ‫نورهان عمر‬

‫العقيدة بين الدين و السياســة‬ ‫اقتصاد الدين‬

‫كلمــة رئيس التحرير‬ ‫كان يــا مــا كان‪ ،‬فــي أراض تبعــد مئــات اآلالف شــرقا‪ ،‬تقــع دولــة اســمها بورمــا‪ ،‬ويمثــل عــرق الروهينجيــا المســلم‬ ‫ ‬ ‫المقيــم بمقاطعــة راخيــن إحــدى اقلياتهــا‪ .‬لقــد تعرضــت تلــك المجموعــة العرقيــة إلــى ســبل مختلفــة مــن االضطهــاد‪،‬‬ ‫والظلــم‪ ،‬والتهميــش‪ ،‬وحتــى المذابــح وإن اســتمر المجتمــع الدولــي فــي رفضــه االعتــراف بــأن مــا يتعرضــون لــه قــاب‬ ‫قوســين أو أدنــى مــن حالــة اإلبــادة الجماعيــة‪ .‬وإن كان إغفــال المجتمــع الدولــي لهــم أمـرا متوقعــا نظـرا الختيــارات الــدول‬ ‫المسيســة التــي تتحكــم فيمــا يتــم البحــث فيــه‪ ،‬ومــا يتــم تداولــه ومــا يتــم تغطيتــه‪ ،‬فالحقيقــة األكثــر ترويعــا هــو جهلنــا‬ ‫نحــن األفــراد بهــؤالء القــوم ومــا يعانــون مــن مأســاة‪ ،‬وإذا مــا علــم بعضنــا بهــم وبحالتهــم‪ ،‬قلمــا تطرقنــا إلــى حديــث‬ ‫عنهــم‪.‬‬ ‫مــا يــدل عليــه ذلــك فــي رأيــي‪ ،‬هــو أننــا كبشــر مسيســون‪ ،‬أفــراد فــي طبيعتهــا سياســية‪ ،‬فــكل مــا نتخــذه مــن‬ ‫ ‬ ‫ق ـرارات بالحديــث عــن أو التفكيــر فــي أو حتــى تفــادي النقــاش فــي بعــض المواضيــع‪ ،‬هــو نتيجــة معتقــدات‪ ،‬وانحيــازات‪،‬‬ ‫واهتمامــات مصنعــة (بنائيــة ) اجتماعيــا وذهنيــا‪ ،‬إن لــم تكــن مسيســة فهــي مرتبطــة بهويتنــا التــي هــي وبطبيعــة‬ ‫الحــال‪ ،‬سياســية‪ .‬ال مفــر مــن تلــك الحقيقــة‪ .‬ولذلــك‪ ،‬فلمــاذا ال نتحــدث عــن الروهينجيــا؟ أألننــا وإثــر ســنوات مــن تأثيــر الفكــر‬ ‫اليورســنتريك‪ ،‬أو االستشــراق‪ ،‬قلمــا نعبــأ بــكل مــا يحــدث شــرقا؟ أال يمكــن لمخيالتنــا أن تســتوعب مــا يحــدث بتلــك البلــدان‬ ‫البعيــدة جيوغرافيــا ؟ أم أننــا قــد اكتفينــا بقصــص مجموعــات األقليــة المضطهــدة حتــى اعتدنــا ســماع تلــك االخبــار وافتقرنــا‬ ‫للشــعور باأللــم والرأفــة لمعاناتهــم؟ أألن العــرب منــا يشــعرون بانتمــاء أو قرابــة أكثــر لشــعوب الــدول العربيــة فينكبــوا بالبــكاء‬ ‫علــى المأســاة الســورية فضــا عــن المأســاة فــي بورمــا؟ أم مثــا يعــود الســبب إلــى عــدم تقبلنــا لفكــرة أن يكــون المســلم‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫هــد‪ ،‬الضحيــة وليــس االرهابــي؟ هــل ال تتناســب تلــك الرؤيــة مــع الخطــاب العالمــي‬ ‫هــد وليــس‬ ‫اآلخــر هــو‬ ‫المضط َ‬ ‫المضط ِ‬ ‫المتــداول حاليــا تجــاه اإلســام كديانــة بعينهــا؟ المبتغــى مــن هــذا العــدد ليــس الخــوض فــي أســس بعــض الديانــات‬ ‫والنقــد الالهوتــي لهــا‪ ،‬فــا ندعــي علمــا ال نمتلكــه‪ ،‬ولكننــا نحــاول البحــث عــن أجوبــة لتلــك األســئلة التــي تســعى لفهــم‬ ‫العالقــة بيــن األفــراد أو الجماعــات أو األنظمــة‪ ،‬وفهمهــم وتطبيقهــم واســتخدامهم للديــن‪ .‬ودائمــا‪ ،‬فليكــن هــذا العــدد‬ ‫بمثابــة دعــوى للتســاؤل عــن الروهينجيــا‪ ،‬أو للتذكيــر بهــم‪ ،‬لعلنــا يومــا مــا نفعــل فــي حقهــم مــا هــو أكثــر مــن مجــرد‬ ‫التفكيــر والتذكــر‪.‬‬

‫أسيل‬

‫فريق العمل‬ ‫رئيس التحرير‬ ‫أسيل‬

‫مديــرة التصوير الفوتوغرافي‬ ‫سالي الفيشاوي‬

‫مدير التحرير‬ ‫مراد دبور‬

‫مستشــار هيئة التدريس‬ ‫رامي علي‬

‫مســاعدة مدير التحرير‬ ‫ريم حاتم‬

‫مديرة الموارد البشــرية‬ ‫نور خالد‬

‫المحررين‬ ‫إسراء أبو زيد‬ ‫ياسمين بوقرش‬ ‫مروان خليفة‬ ‫ندى نبيل‬

‫مدير التسويق‬ ‫محمد البجيرمي‬ ‫مســاعدة مدير التسويق‬ ‫جيدا شعالن‬

‫مراجع لغة ومنســق عام‬ ‫مهند الطنطاوي‬

‫رسوم مصورة‬ ‫محمد شلتوت‬

‫المنسق المالي‬ ‫دنيا المغربي‬ ‫مســاعد المنسق المالي‬ ‫حسام أشرف‬

‫حقوق النشر‬

‫جميــع الصــور والرســومات الغيــر مذكــور‬ ‫مصدرهــا إمــا مســتخدمة بتصريــح مــن‬ ‫صاحبهــا أو مرخصــة لالســتخدام الغيــر‬ ‫التجــاري‬

‫تنو يه‬

‫‪ AUC Times‬مجلــة طالبية‪ .‬أي آراء مذكورة‬ ‫فــي المجلة تمثــل الكاتب‪/‬الكاتبة فقط‪ ،‬وال‬ ‫تعكــس آراء فريــق التحرير أو إدارة الجامعة‬ ‫األمريكية بالقاهرة‪.‬‬

‫نحو تفكيك الفكر الســلطوي‬ ‫أكتوبر ‪٢٠١٦‬‬