Berkley Center

Last Friday I attended a pro-democracy rally following Friday prayers in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, the birthplace of Egypt’s revolution this past January. The country is in the process of drafting a new constitution that will define the trajectory of the Arab Spring. Creating a constitution, more than a set of legal technicalities, is about defining the principles and ideals that comprise the character of a nation. Among the major debates on the content of the constitution is the role that religion will play in this heavily Islamic country.

That night in Cairo I had dinner with Dr. Tarek Naga, who, in addition to being the architect redesigning the site of the pyramids at Giza, is an amateur opera producer and political philosopher at the intellectual vanguard of the Egyptian Revolution.

I met Dr. Tarek at his office in Heliopolis, an upper-middle class district outside Cairo. The office features a few small statues of Buddha, his abstract art on small canvases littered about the room, and numerous technical drawings of the layout of the pyramids site at Giza.

He explained a little about his vision for the last remaining wonder of the ancient world, “The pyramids were built as a holy site. They should convey the same sense of spiritual awe that accompanies a mosque or a cathedral. It should be a temple shared for all of humanity.”

Dr. Tarek plans to strip away all the modern buildings from sight and move the infrastructure underground. Tourists will no longer be allowed to approach on camels and horses as it damages the archeological value of the site. I objected somewhat to the last point as I had seen the pyramids on horseback.

His current multimedia operatic project abstractly deals with the confluence of three mystics from three religions: Islamic, Christian, and an amalgamation of East Asian traditions. Another show set for the Biennale in Hong Kong addresses the grassroots nature of the Egyptian Revolution.

Before the revolution, Dr. Tarek lived in Los Angeles as an architect and observer of American political tradition. He is a great admirer of Thomas Jefferson and wants to build a new Egypt partially based on the social contract theory at the heart of the American Revolution.

“Egypt is a country that has been without a soul for too long,” Dr. Tarek observes. “Our current project is to find and define the soul of the nation again.” The new constitution is an expression of that soul. Dr. Tarek, a self-described idealist, often speaks in such platitudes.

Specifically, the debate in Egypt centers on Article II of the constitution that describes the role that sharia law will play in Egypt’s judicial system. Currently Article II reads, “The principal source of legislation is Islamic jurisprudence,” also known as sharia. Islamists would like to delete the word “principal,” while secularists would like to delete the whole of Article II.

During our dinner, a man sitting at the next table interrupted our conversation about the constitution, saying “they have no future in our country.” He was referring to the Islamists, continuing, “I am a Muslim. I pray and I fast, but I believe Islam has no place in our constitution. We need a secular state.”

Dr. Tarek cautioned against this line of thinking, noting, “I am not a Muslim but I know it will be impossible to have a democratic process that excludes political Islam altogether. If the people are allowed to vote, they will, at first, vote for Islam.”

The vast majority of Egyptians are Muslims, but protections must be afforded to religious minorities in Egypt. The situation of the Copts, who have in the last few weeks been the victims and perpetrators of sectarian violence, is of particular concern.

Continuing, Dr. Tarek declared, “We want our Jewish Egyptian brothers to return from exile, but more importantly, I want the day to come when I can stand in Tahrir Square and say ‘I am an atheist!’ and no man will judge me.”

Leaving the restaurant after midnight in Dr. Tarek’s open-air jeep, we raced through the streets of Cairo. Crossing a bridge he pointed to a spot, “That’s where I was when they started shooting,” during the 18 days of the revolution.

Egypt as a country has a difficult road ahead. Demonstrations continue every week in Tahrir Square as the military regime holds on to power. Conservative Islamists will very likely win the constitutional battle and the upcoming elections. Still, there is hope that religious and personal liberty will be protected and that Egypt will eventually become a modern democratic nation.