A Prayer of Thanks from The Leader
by Hamdy El-Gazzar / July 16, 2012 / No comments
Fiction: Two Days of Mohammed Badie’s Life
Mohammed Badie during a press conference in Cairo following the arrests of hundreds of members and supporters of the Brotherhood just prior to the parliamentary elections 2010. Photo: Wikimedia Commons
“There were two days to be witnessed and I am ever thankful to God for my having witnessed them. Yes, two days that will be etched in light and gold in the history of Islam and the Muslim Brotherhood.
- “From Egypt” attempts to draw a cultural map of Egypt and the Arab world by profiling the artistic, literary, and political issues that affect the region via on-the-ground coverage of current events, publications, and the fight for freedom of expression.
- Hamdy El-Gazzar is an Egyptian writer and one of the 39 young Arab writers included in the Beirut 39 Project. His first novel, Sihr Aswad (Dar Merit, 2005) won the prestigious Sawaris Award, and was subsequently translated by Humphrey Davies (Black Magic, AUC Press, 2007). His second novel, Ladhdhat Sirriyya (Secret Pleasures) was published by Dar al-Dar in 2008. He is currently working on a third novel.
“And say, ‘Truth has come, and falsehood has departed. Indeed is falsehood, [by nature], ever bound to depart.’-Al Isra (17:81)
“Say, ‘O Allah, Owner of Sovereignty, You give sovereignty to whom You will and You take sovereignty away from whom You will. You honor whom You will and You humble whom You will…’ -Al Imran (3:26)
“For more than eighty years we have been striving in the name of God and the victory of Islam and justice. The master, the imam, our founder, placed the first stone in the foundation of the Muslim Brotherhood and after that the members placed stone upon stone until the building stood tall and proud—until we’ve become a multitude and a majority in this small state. More than 1,400 years ago, `Amr ibn al-`As (may God be pleased with him) brought Islam to Egypt, and we will walk in his path and build on the mission of his expansion until God’s word prevails and the word of the non-believers falls.
“Lord You have graced us with the blessing of Islam. And You have made generous Your bounty until we have become superior. Lord, I bow down to You in thanks for what You have blessed upon me and granted me. Thanks be to You, Lord and no one but You. For eighty years we have been praying to You and fighting in Your name. We have not grown bored nor tired. The coldness of the prison cells did not weaken our bones nor did the lash of the whip against our skin break us. With Your mercy only, we have fought against every ruler and tyrant that did not abide by the rules of sharia. We said ‘Islam is the solution. Islam will bring us peace in our lives and deaths,’ but the crowds did not listen to us and they remained in their ignorance, sinners.
“Yes, they were two days worth witnessing. And I will bow to God in gratitude for what is left of my life for having blessed my eyes with witnessing them: The day I saw the tyrant, Mubarak, in the prison cell lying on a stretcher in sickness and shame, imprisoned the way he has imprisoned us, humiliated the way he has humiliated us, on trial the way we were tried. His fate in the hands of another, his fate in the hands of one of his own people. I did not care about the verdict, nor did I care whether he would be given the death penalty, for God has given me back my revenge and more. It is enough for a person to be humiliated and shamed after having infinite wealth, strength, and power.
“Then with your kindness Lord, You blessed my eyes with a second day of victory, one that supersedes the first. God Almighty, You have shown me the day when Morsi, my student, whom I have raised and taught everything, was placed in power. It is a victory for Islam, justice, and our mission. He was imprisoned and tortured like the rest of us. Lord, You have blessed me with the sight of my brother and son, my protégé, as he sits on Egypt’s throne today. The throne of our smallest state. This day is worth witnessing; it brings joy to your believers and sorrow and pain to the tyrants. Lord in Your infinite wisdom, You have given us power after subjugation, and victory after belittlement. You have prevailed over all. Lord, extend Your grace and You shall find us among those who are most grateful to You—worshippers walking amongst the crowds, carrying the banner of faith. Grant us a grateful tongue to thank You with and a a heart that fears You and count us in Your book as those who are honest and true to You.
Amen. Amen.”
Translation: Nour Abdelghani
