Under the title “140 Years of Enlightenment”, Arab and Western thinkers and researchers celebrated the commemoration of the establishment of the National Library (the Kutub-Khana) in the heart if Cairo, after “restoring the building which holds thousands of manuscripts, tablets and papyri from diverse periods”. At a distance not far from the celebration of “deep-rooted enlightenment and the Kutub-Khana”, a different kind of celebration was taking place: confrontations between the police and Coptic Christians, who were protesting against their being forbidden to enlarge the building of a church. Without going into the details of the disputes between the Egyptian regime and the Coptic Church, or between the latter and Islamists over building churches, without delving too deep into the philosophy of the Enlightenment, or going back to Montesquieu, Diderot and Rousseau, up to the French Revolution, Marxism and the international Communist revolution, and without comparing the European Enlightenment with the Arab Nahda (Renaissance), we will suffice with a few quick remarks to see how far we are from enlightenment. It was logical for the Enlightenment moving from France to Egypt and the Arab World to lead to the emergence of political systems based on the human values produced by this age. Colonial powers falsely claimed that they had colonized us in order to spread these values in our backward societies, when in fact their oppression was more severe than Ottoman colonialism. After colonialism left Egypt and other Arab countries, national regimes arose that launched transient dynamics for sects and denominations, and yet quickly returned to exercising repression, turning into military regimes that cared only about remaining in power. Thus the chaos of coups and “revolutions” prevailed, at times in the name of progress, and at many more times in the name of religion. In other words, we have moved from distorted proportional liberalism after the wave of independence to confessionalism, sectarianism and tribalism; from the struggle of all against colonialism to civil wars; from tolerance and citizenship to fanaticism and isolationism; from seeking the means of progress to justifying backwardness and relying on it; from revolting against colonialism to yielding to all its demands and seeking its support to settle our innumerable disputes; and from the dream of redistributing wealth to the service of a new social class that has replaced that of the feudal lords. The Age of Enlightenment is the age of rising up against the supernatural, the age of separation of church and state, of consecrating the law and of keeping away from the edicts of the Church and its hegemony in the name of religion. 140 years after the Enlightenment in our countries, we see that returning to pre-Medieval times is prevalent, in thought and in practice, and you see us living in the past in its every detail, in our daily lives as in our aspirations for the future. We still view the Christians as an immigrant Crusader community, and they still view their fellow citizens with distrust and fear of calls to return to the past – from Bin Laden's global revolution to the revolution of the Houthis in Yemen. 140 years after the Enlightenment, all the regimes failed to produce citizens. They produced followers, not free individuals. Power became the homeland – and those who oppose it traitors – serving only itself and the eternal ruling class. Diplomatic delegations and international institutions interfere in every matter, from elections to de-subsidizing food products, to appointing officials and ministers, to school curriculums, to the protection of minorities. Egypt celebrated the passing of 140 years since the Enlightenment. And the Lebanese a few days ago celebrated Independence Day – the independence of the “radiant country”, in which sectarianism and confessionalism are still the basis of a backward system. Defended by intellectuals, researchers and statesmen, it is a system subjected to the will of all except for its own citizens. At its border are more than ten military forces for the protection of Israel. Its judiciary is exposed, its security is exposed, and its soil is exposed. Its political class was formed by civil wars, and it is a class that does not want to emerge from this phase. Its members argue amongst themselves over who is the enemy and who is a friend. They welcome all those who interfere in their affairs in every language (Khosh Amadid, Hoş Geldin, Nĭ Hăo, Bienvenue, Welcome, etc.). 140 years after the Enlightenment, we are still at the stage of the European Middle Ages, yet we celebrate in a hall behind closed doors this tremendous event. And as soon as we step out onto the streets, we participate in ceaseless waves of repression, and we support state institutions that ban books by Taha Hussein, proscribe Ali Abdel Raziq and censor the Arabian Nights.
