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Constitution: Preamble |
Egypt is the gift of the Nile River to Egyptians, and Egypt is the gift of Egyptians to humanity.
Egypt, with the genius of its location and history, is Africa’s outlet to the Mediterranean Sea and the estuary of the Nile, the greatest river of the continent.
The Arab Republic of Egypt, with the genius of its location and history, is the heart of the entire world. It is the junction of the world’s civilizations and cultures, and the crossways of its communications and marine transportation.
This is Egypt. An eternal homeland for Egyptians and a message of peace and love for all peoples.
At the beginning of history, human conscience dawned inside the hearts of our great ancestors. Their benevolent will united and they established the first centralized state that regulated and organized the lives of the Egyptians on the banks of the Nile. They created the most wonderful marvels of civilization. Their hearts had contemplated the sky before the Earth recognized the three monotheistic religions.
Egypt is the cradle of religion and the symbol of the glory of the Abrahamic religions.
Moses grew up on Egyptian land where the divine light appeared to him and where God’s message was revealed to him.
Egyptians embraced the Virgin Mary and her newborn, then sacrificed thousands of martyrs in defense of the Church of Christ.
When the last of the prophets, Mohamed, Peace Be Upon Him, was sent to all people to perfect morality, our hearts and minds opened up to the light of Islam. We have been the best soldiers on earth for jihad in the cause of God and have spread the message of truth and religious sciences across the world.
This is Egypt, a homeland in which we live and which lives inside of us.
In the modern age, minds enlightened and humanity matured; nations advanced in the path of science, holding the mottos of freedom and equality. Mohamed Ali established the modern state of Egypt, founded by a national army. The son of Al-Azhar Rifa’a al-Tahtawi called for a homeland that is “a place for happiness shared between its children.” We Egyptians struggled to catch up with progress. We offered martyrs and sacrifices in many upheavals, uprisings, and revolutions until our national army responded to the tremendous popular will in the revolution of January 25 to June 30 that called for freedom, human dignity, social justice and the restoration of Egypt’s independent will.
This revolution is an extension of a path of national struggle represented by Ahmed Orabi, Mostafa Kamel and Mohamed Farid, and culminates two great revolutions in our modern history:
- The revolution of 1919, which removed British protection from the Egyptians’ shoulders and established the principle of citizenship and equality among the people of the national community. The leader of the revolution, Saad Zaghloul, and his successor Mustafa al-Nahhas, pursued democracy with the motto, “right is above power and the nation is above the government.” Meanwhile, Talaat Harb laid the foundation stones of the national economy.
- The revolution of July 23, 1952, which was led by the eternal leader Gamal Abdel Nasser and embraced the popular will. The evacuation of occupying troops and the generations’ dream of independence came true. Egypt opened up to the Arab nations, the continent of Africa, and the Islamic world. It supported liberation movements across continents and walked at a steady pace on the road to development and social justice.
This revolution is an extension of the revolutionary path of Egyptian nationalism and an affirmation of the most trustworthy handhold between the Egyptian people and the national army, which has borne the trust and responsibility of protecting the homeland. Thanks to the army, we achieved victory in our major battles since we defeated the tripartite aggression in 1956 until the defeat of defeat with the glorious victory of October 1973, which granted President Anwar Sadat a special place in our recent history.
The revolution of January 25 to June 30 is unique amongst the major revolutions in the history of humanity because of the massive popular participation, estimated to be tens of millions of citizens.
It is also unique because of the prominent role of young people looking forward to a bright future. The masses bypassed classes and ideologies and headed towards expansive national and human horizons in the protection of army to the people and with the blessing of Al-Azhar and the national Church. It is unique with its peacefulness and ambition to achieve freedom and social justice.
This revolution is a sign and a good omen. It is a sign to a past that is still present and an omen for a future aspired to by all of humanity.
The world is about to fold the final pages of the age of adulthood, which has been torn by conflicts of interests between the east and the west, the north and the south, and has witnessed conflicts and wars between classes and peoples. The dangers that threaten human existence and life are increasing on Earth upon which God granted us succession to authority. Humanity aspires to move from the age of adulthood to the age of wisdom so as to build a new humane world where truth and justice prevail and where freedoms and human rights are protected. We Egyptians view our revolution as a return to our contribution in writing human history.
We believe that we can draw inspiration from the past, spur the present on and make our way to the future. We can revive our homeland and rise. We believe that every citizen is entitled to live on this land in peace and security and to make the most of his present and future.
We believe in democracy as a means to the future and a way of life. We believe in political plurality, peaceful devolution of power and affirm the right of the public to make its own future. The public, alone, is the source of authority. Freedom, human dignity and social justice are rights of every citizen. We, as well as the generations to come, enjoy sovereignty in a sovereign home.
We now write a constitution that embodies the generations’ dream of a prosperous, cohesive society and a just state that achieves the aspirations of the present, the future and the entire society.
We now write a constitution that completes the establishment of a modern democratic state with civil rule. We write a constitution to close the door to any corruption or tyranny and to heal the wounds of the past from the time of the ancient Eloquent Peasant to the victims of negligence and the martyrs of the revolution in our present time. We write a constitution to spare our people from the injustice suffered for so long, especially as some segments of society were subject to many injustices due to their cultural identity or geographic location, such as the people of Nubia, Upper Egypt, Sinai and the oases.
We write a constitution that affirms that the principles of the Islamic Sharia law form the primary source of legislation, as stated[1] in the provisions of the Supreme Court, which is the only competent authority eligible to interpret the constitutional articles.
We write a constitution that opens the way to the future and is consistent with the international human rights law which we participated in writing and ratified. We see the richness of the sources of legislation and they open up prospects for progress ahead of us.
We write a constitution that safeguards our freedoms and protects the nation from all that threatens it or its national unity. We write a constitution that brings equality in rights and duties with no discrimination.
We are female and male citizens, we are the Egyptian people, masters in a sovereign home, this is our will, and this is the constitution of our revolution.
