Arab West Report Egyptian press summaries and media research for dialogue

Kamāl Zākhir starts his article by stressing the importance of adopting a culture of dialogue, especially with the beginning of the 2010, which is burdened with much unfinished business from 2009. According to Zākhir, most of the crises and problems facing society are merely a result of the absence of dialogue and understanding between people.

 

The culture of dialogue, Zākhir stresses, is the gate towards activating the principle of participation in society on many different levels, starting from the family up to the public affairs. Unfortunately, however, the activists working in the field to encourage dialogue are working as individuals, each looking at the eyeing the other suspiciously. Additionally, some of the activists sought this field in pursuit of fame, fortune and social prestige.

 

Afterwards, Zākhir raises the question of who will be responsible for encouraging the culture of dialogue and its role in society, as the target sought in 2010. In terms of decision-taking capacity in a highly-centralized state like Egypt, the executive authority is at the top of the list, says Zākhir. The executive authority is represented by the government, and its role in revising the system of laws controlling society and amending them in a way that establishes mutual trust between the different parts of society is vital, along with its role in setting new rules for activating interaction, peaceful movements, and citizenship.

 

This would not be successfully achieved without establishing a separation of powers. In reality; this principle is essential for creating a civil state being a state of institutions. Here comes the essential role of the legislative authority and its vital role in supervising the job of the executive authority. This is, as emphasized by Zākhir, highly related to the Parliament and can determine to what extent the elections truly represent all the various levels of the society in reality.

 

Then, he reflects on the importance of separating between what is religious and what is political. Public work functions according to general abstract legal laws and conditions which have been agreed upon and legislated by the parliament according to the general interest of the society and are committed by every one; these conditions and laws are changed and altered according to changes in society's interests. As for religious laws, these are fixed controlling the relationship between man and God.