-----Original Message-----
From: Middle Eastern and
Islamic Library Collections and Bibliography
[mailto:LIS-MIDDLE-EASTATJISCMAIL.AC.UK]
On Behalf Of G.J. Roper
Sent: 25 January 2012 11:23
Subject: Trouble at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina
Below is a recent message from the Director of the
Bibliotheca Alexandrina: part report, part apologia. After a review of the
general Egyptian political situation, he describes the events culminating in
his enforced exit through his office window, and the serious accusations and
judicial proceedings which he now faces.
--
==============================================
Dr Geoffrey Roper
Bibliographical & Editorial Consultant
(Middle Eastern
& Muslim areas & languages) Leith, St Mark's Hill, Surbiton London, KT6
4LW, Great Britain
gjr2ATcam.ac.uk +44 (0) 20 8390 0497
==============================================
UPDATE on Events in Egypt and BA 20 01 2012
Dear Friends
This report is to provide an update since the last report
I sent you about four weeks ago.
Briefly, I will cover a few observations on the situation
in Egypt, and at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina (BA).
Like previous updates, I will also ask you to share this
with anyone whom you feel wants to know more about what is going on.
Ismail Serageldin
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UPDATE 20 01 2012
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PLEASE SHARE THIS INFORMATION WITH CONCERNED FRIENDS.
Many friends have been sending me individual questions
about the unfolding events in Egypt and at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina (BA).
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UPDATE xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Events in Alexandria as of 20 01 2012 from Ismail
Serageldin -
The Egyptian
Situation as of 20 01 2012
The elections have by and large gone very well, with very
high participation rates of over 60% and an orderly and peaceful process,
without any serious allegations of fraud.
The Islamists have had an overwhelming victory, with the Muslim
Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party (FAJ) having some 40% of the seats, and
the Salafists' Al-Nour party scoring a surprising 20%. The Speaker of the National Assembly (our
Parliament) will be a FAJ member and the two Deputies will be one Salafi and
one Liberal. The politics of assigning
committee chairs and assignments is active, and all the new parliament is going
to formally have its first session on the 23rd of January, two days before the
anniversary of the revolution on the 25th.
Within the new parliament, surprising alliances may
emerge. The FAJ is pragmatic and does not seem interested in creating a super
group with the Salafists and sees them as competitors rather than allies (so
far). Each of the two big Islamist groups may seek alliances with others.
Shifting alignments will probably happen depending on the major issues being
confronted. Egypt is entering the era of
multi-party parliamentary politics.
Yet there are problems. A hardcore of opponents still
takes to the streets to demand the immediate departure of the Supreme Council
of the Armed Forces (SCAF). SCAF is
pursuing its timetable for elections of the upper chamber and the presidency
and to hand over power to the elected government before the end of June. SCAF
has also created an advisory council which includes many well-known figures
from all groups, headed by Mansour Hassan with the participation of eminent
people like Abd Al-Aziz Hegazy and Kamal Aboulmagd.
Our academy of Science, the Institut d'Egypte which was
originally founded in 1798, has been burned to the ground in riots at Tahrir
Square. Its collections of books and
manuscripts have been damaged beyond repair.
I have been elected VP of the Institut and am helping our new President,
Dr. Badran, to restart the Institut's activities, getting the HQ rebuilt and to
reconstitute the library.
Mubarak's trial is unfolding, and so the re-trial of a
tycoon accused of murdering his sweetheart is announced almost without fanfare,
after it had been the biggest news when the first trial was held two years ago.
The media has gone wild.
Endless talk shows, screaming headlines in numerous newly-established
newspapers, some of which have more editors than readers, gossip and rumor and
false accusations everywhere, especially on Facebook and in the chat-rooms and
electronic portals, a surfeit of information, disinformation and no
information. Indeed, it applies here to say, he who does not follow the news is
uninformed, and he who does is misinformed!
On the cultural scene, the liberals are severely weakened
by their poor showing in the elections and the process of transiting from one
generation of intellectual elders, many of whom have been tainted by their
writings in support of the former regime, to a new and emerging younger
generation of intellectuals who are closely associated with the 25th of January
2011 revolution.
On the other hand, the Islamists who have always been
identified as opponents of the Mubarak regime have no such baggage. They are also much closer to the deeply
religious Egyptian people. But Muslim
intellectual contributions cover a wide spectrum, even if the media seems
focused on the more extreme Salafi views or the Wahabi/Saudi versions of Sunni
Islam or the Shia Islam of Iran and Iraq.
We need to revive the balanced Sunni Islam that Egypt was always known
for.
Shaikh Al-Azhar is doing that very well. The BA is closely allied to him in such
things as his enunciation of the Al-Azhar declaration, his call for a cultural
dialogue (both Serageldin and The Shaikh spoke at the inauguration of that
event at Al-Azhar) and his recent efforts at calling together all the political
and cultural forces in Society. He is
very effectively reasserting the institution of Al-Azhar as the primary
authority in Sunni Islam, and is forcefully articulating the position of
balanced rational Islam and is winning much support, including from the Muslim
Brotherhood. That will effectively marginalize the extremist views of some
militant Islamist movements, who are actively trying to resist him and his
supporters such as the current Mufti.
Thus the emerging mapping of the intellectual scene shows
the BA as a major bastion of liberalism at a time when the forces of liberalism
are weakened. But, in an ironic twist,
some of the liberal anti-Mubarak forces attack it for its being created under
the Mubaraks. In doing that they also
unwittingly make common cause with those among the Salafis who do not like the
BA and also want to attack it and its Director.
Back to the Bibliotheca Alexandrina (BA):
As I explained in my last update, over the last months,
things have improved considerably:
. Where the
library was closed, the Library is now open and receiving and serving the
public;
. We have
responded to the various contractual and administrative demands of the staff,
and an elected committee of staff and eminent outsiders have reviewed that
these demands have been met;
. The
committee promised by the Board of Trustees in its statement of 3 November
2011, has started its work and is reviewing the entire situation of the staff
and suggesting some amendments to the Personnel policies and statutes of the
BA, which will be submitted to the Board of Trustees for their approval; and
. The small
number of die-hard demonstrators demanding my departure has seen its numbers
dwindle while the vast majority of their colleagues are back at work welcoming
the researchers, students and visitors.
My Office Is Physically Attacked:
But they became desperate and started moving their
demonstrations inside, until on Sunday 8 January 2012, they attacked the
executive floor and blocked my office, intimidating and insulting my staff and
swearing to beat me up unless I left my post immediately. Many tried to reason with them to no avail.
Eminent outsiders alarmed by the news of what was happening, came to try to
help resolve the situation. But the
attackers refused to listen to reason, rejecting the efforts of many officials,
including our newly elected representative to the parliament (distinguished
former Judge Mahmoud Al Khodairy) and the highest official from the Ministry of
Interior in Alexandria (equivalent to the commissioner of the Police in the
USA). Finally, after nine hours, the Egyptian Navy commandos sent a taskforce
of elite troops to make sure that I was safe and that the building would not be
burned or damaged. These forces, after also discussing with them were convinced
that to get me out w!
ould require
violent confrontation with them. While the Navy commandos had no problem with
that and felt absolutely certain that they could guarantee my safety, they were
also concerned that in the melee that would ensue in the confined space of the
executive suite, the ladies who were in my office might get hurt.
In my commitment to avoid violence, even though the attackers
had broken every law in the books, we looked for other solutions. Finally,
after nine hours, I preferred to leave by the window to avoid risks to my staff
and we were able to avoid real violence (even though my staff and colleagues
were subjected to verbal abuse and physical intimidation reaching in some cases
shoves and slaps). But in the end there were no wounded staff, no wounded
demonstrators and not a stone thrown at the Library.
Needless to say, I will pursue all actions through the
law. The behavior of these attackers in
the executive suite turned many colleagues against them, and as a result, the
staff refused to countenance any more demonstrators inside the building and
actually removed all the ugly and disparaging signs that they had put in the
plaza. While legal actions proceed at
the pace of the legal machinery, the attackers still demonstrate for a few
hours every day in the Plaza, and are still hoping to somehow involve the wider
public as we approach the 25th of January anniversary of the revolution, now
only a few days away.
The situation is still volatile, but we must continue on
the path of non-violence and confronting anger and distrust with rationality
and civil discourse, thereby remaining true to the values of the BA.
VERY IMPORTANT: Revisiting the "new dangers
ahead":
However, to all my friends: I had warned you of new
dangers ahead. Specifically, that those
who have waged a persistent and tenacious media campaign against me and the BA,
are now trying hard to rig a corruption charge around me. While I have absolutely no doubt that this
would not stand the legal scrutiny of a trial, they are counting that in the
currently highly politicized atmosphere of Egypt, the sheer impact of an
indictment, even if later dismissed, would be enough to sully my reputation and
destroy my credibility and damage the BA administration.
This is now happening.
The investigations that have gone for months are now picking up speed and
momentum. And as I go into what appears to be the final round of
investigations, I do hope that the Egyptian prosecutors have the integrity and
acumen to see through all the false accusations and can take the politically
difficult decision to declare that there is no substance to these allegations
and to dismiss the case without having to go to a tribunal. But even if that does not happen, I am
confident that any court would vindicate both myself and the BA.
As I said before: Truth will ultimately prevail. I will keep you informed.
Ismail Serageldin
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end xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
---------------------------------------
Ismail Serageldin
Director
Library of Alexandria
Shatby 21526
Alexandria, EGYPT
Tel: +20-3-487 9993 or +20-3-487 9299
Fax: +20-3-483 0339
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