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Profile of Yassin Adnan
It seems that this question is kind of [...]
Yassin Adnan: It seems that this question is kind of luxury in reality. By its importance, of course this is an important question. There is selfishness of the people, which makes them consider themselves certainly more important than the rest of the beings that live in their environment. So it is difficult to consider them superior. But this question we are presenting today is as if we solved the problems of human beings, and as if we are dealing with the human being considering it the most valuable, and preserving his life, security and dignity, so we are demanding protection of the security and safety and the lives of other beings. I believe that we now have more important priorities. Let us start with human beings, to respect their right to life, to respect their right on a decent life first and then proceed to other beings, to make sure that they have the same rights.
Bestiality. More of bestiality. Because the [...]
Yassin Adnan: Savageness. More savageness. Because the way in which things are now going, we fear that these major companies, which are now more powerful than governments, which are controlling every thing, I am afraid that they might enslave us as human beings to become mere slaves in its kingdom and its dangerous dictatorship.
Economic globalization is actually a [...]
Yassin Adnan Economic globalization is actually a democracy. It's a democracy of the bigger companies, which lay attention on the availability of its products all over the world and as a result the people of the world, from the poorest children in village of Africa till the richest people in the American cities are even confronted with Coca Cola as a product, for example. So it's a boobytrapped democracy, a democracy we should be aware of, as at the end it eliminates the difference, the difference of tastes. When Mac Donald’s becomes for example a meal, you can have at any place of the world, then in that there is also a kind of dictatorship, as it prevents the right, that the local meals become special with its special cuisine and own restaurants in its own cities. I live in city Marrakech which is famous with its square (Sahat Jama’ Alfana'a), and with its open air restaurants at night for visitors. Imagine if Mac Donald’s for example only invades that space, and because of that democracy becomes a part of it. I think it will kill the specialty of the square, and the specialty of that special open air kitchen. It’s true that we are consumers, and wish to obtain the best products, but it’s also important that we protect uniqueness and protect local production which provides chances for work for people, when the bigger companies attack.
This question is difficult, in fact very [...]
Yassin Adnan: This question is difficult, in fact very difficult. But it is important to consider that when the human is from a particular country, this country as his homeland. It is difficult to say that my homeland is dealing with me as if I was "unwanted child"; it is difficult to say so. This may be the government's position. This may be the position of official policy of the country. This may be a position of the dominate groupe. This may be the position of a lobby controlling the media. But certainly stones this country are your homeland, its rivers, its mountains and its trees are your homeland. And certainly the nature is considering you as an integral part of it. Of course, you can defend your country on your own when way you defend your right to gain full citizenship in this country, when you defend your rights becomes same opportunities as the others. This is part of defence of your country and of your homeland. It is difficult not to love homeland. There is poet verse in Arabic, which I don’t remember quite, saying: Homeland is dear even if it’s bad to me sometimes even if its injustice it remains dear. Incidentally there are people and groups of people exposed to the killing regrettably to they bad luck in their countries, but nevertheless still there home land is still dear and they still love it. You come from your country and should you love your country, but positively, and you should struggle for better conditions of living in your country. This is the best way to love the homeland.
I believe that keeping human dignity is not [...]
Yassin Adnan: I believe that preserving human dignity is not impossible and not very difficult, for in the end man is not asking for more than subsistence and dignity and basic acceptance from others, respect of his own religious and political and cultural choices and dealing with it seriously in any dialogue, and within the framework of this coexistence among all that is required nowadays, if we are talking about the real and serious and interactive globalization. Therefore, human dignity nowadays consists in his security, his nutrition. Human dignity nowadays is the right to exercise his freedom, which of course does not impair the freedom of others, these are the basics. How can it be achieved? We need to relinquish ourselves of selfishness to achieve that. Starting with the selfishness of some governments till the selfishness of the superpowers, which want to stereotype the world on their own way.
Because we simply don't want to. I believe [...]
Yassin Adnan: Because we simply don't want to. I believe that there are parties in the world, that trade in the hunger of others and its hard for them to let everybody eat and everybody fulfill thier own needs, as there is a nother logic that rules those parties. These dark and masked commerces, which work under the surface and which direct diplomacy and economics of a number of countries, are preventing these simple rights. The right of a child to eat, the right of a child to have basic clothing, and the terms of decent life. Then there are those, who trade in such stuff, there are those who trade in the hunger of others, I imagine that every citizen of the whole world is for that, that everybody eats, and everybody dresses and that everybody wants a decent life. Unfortunately those that do business in everything, do business in the hunger of others as well.
I am afraid we have lost the ability totally [...]
Yassin Adnan: I am afraid we have lost the ability totally to dismantle this corrupt economic system, which predominates nowadays. Because it is no longer only about the economic system, which we could change tomorrow or after tomorrow, but it became totally networked. It is a complete domination on our lives, and even on various aspects of our social and political life. We have now become directed in a dangerous way by this system. And its control over us as human beings and as citizens of this world was seized by the media. In the past, we were talking about economic systems that we may accept or reject or change. But today this new dominating economic order became completely controlling over us through the media. So I think that the humankind is in a difficult situation and it seems as if it is drugged, completely given up and completely withdrawn. This new system is now able to manage details of our daily lives since the morning when we wake up until we give up ourselves to sleep at night.
To talk about economic system, which doesn’t [...]
In order to talk about an economic system which does not conflict with the interests of humans, animals and other beings living on this earth, we must simply first think, who is going to produce this system? That is the problem. Are people going to develop it, or are the citizens going to develop it, or parties or companies? Companies which maybe mean to achieve profits "by hook or by crook" as the Americans would say, meaning to achieve biggest profits by any means whatsoever and on whosever’s account. That is the important matter. Economic systems, which do not emanate from human sensibility and do not come from respect or a consideration of the needs of humans, animals and nature and the future also, could surely only spoil the present and obliterate the future. I do not think that the global economy today thinks at all about the human future. It does not bother at all about the future. Hence, the present and the future together are its basic victims. develop it, or parties or companies? Companies which maybe mean to achieve profits "by hook or by crook" as the Americans would say, meaning to achieve biggest profits in any mean and however and on whosever’s account. That is the important matter. Economic systems, which did not emanate from the human existence and do not respect or give any consideration to the needs of the humans, animals and the nature and the future also, could surly only spoil the present and confiscated the future. I do not think that the global economy today thinks of future of the human at all, and it does not bother at all about the future. Hence, the present and the future together are its main victims.
I think that all the social responsibilities [...]
Yassin Adnan: I think that all the social responsibilities are joined in their nature. As we can not talk about isolated individuals and we are talking about the social responsibilities. None of us lives on an isolated island cut off from the world. We are social beings in the nature. And each day we accomplish our every project, our every step we take with others combining with others, with partners, beginning from family till work in all parts of life. Therefore, I imagine that all responsibilities are joined and should be borne together. Even deviants of people in the community, no one today blames them alone for their perversion and no one today demands for their removal but everyone calls for their reintegration based on that their natural existence is within the community, and the society must bear their share of responsibility in these cases, as being responsible directly or indirectly. So nothing is managed individually or isolated. All the social responsibilities are joined, and have to be managed together and in a joint way.
And who said that the humanitarian community [...]
Yassin Adnan: And who said that the humanitarian community is balanced and harmonious today. Is it the successive wars, one after the other? This stability, which the world is living today, I imagine that if there was a strong feminine touch and presence of women in the sources of political decisions, it would change the face of the world. I think that we need especially on the political level more of women's presence in this area. But women's presence which preserves feminine values because there is a masculine game being practiced, especially in the area of politics. And when there are women saturated with the values of masculinity so they would declare war and exercise it, even more than that, these women increase then the males in masculinity and power and quest for power. So I think we need women to achieve this balance which David is talking about in his question.
First of all, I am not sure that life has [...]
Yassin Adnan: First of all, I am not sure that life has begun in Africa. I am not convinced about Darwin's theory in this regard, honestly. But I am sure that life continues in Africa, as it is going on now in Asia and America and Europe. The question that worries me is how the life is going to continue on that continent now. This is a question that should concern us more. What is the nature of this life. Is it real life, that deserves to be called life, or are most people on the continent only achieving kind of numerical balance on the globe, and enduring their bitter days waiting on death. I believe that African continent is one of the most suffering continents. And beside metaphysical questions that go back to the beginnings of life, I imagine that the world is demanded to take more care about this continent which is looted by famines and wars.
Unfortunately, many things became nowadays [...]
Yassin Adnan: Unfortunately, many things have become acceptable nowadays, socially and morally. There are many things we just agreed with. There is unfairness on the level of distribution of wealth in the world. There is a disadvantage experienced by many countries and many peoples politically and economically. But this injustice, which was supposed to bring about our condemnation, and at least moral condemnation, disapproval in conscience, everyone is copying it and dealing with it as if it was normal and natural. That I just do not understand, to hoard up wealth in the face of poverty and destitution and need. That should only shock every person with a sense of human beings being equal, and that human beings must live equally, and have the same borders, and to have at least the same minimum level of decent living conditions. But no one is interested. Especially that this wealth is gathered at the expense of the basic needs of others. So it is not only being acceptable or unacceptable, but is necessary. "Your poverty is necessary for my wealth." That is exactly the thinking of those who invest in the poverty of others.
When the law is against the human beings. [...]
Yassin Adnan: When the law is against humankind. When you feel that behind this law stand interests and sometimes parties which seek through the law to support a range of interests, be they political or economic or military. Then that law must be opposed. All the laws that do not stem from humans, which are not considering human beings as its starting point nor as it target, those laws are certainly not worthy of respect and best way to deal with them is to reject them and to fight against them. Yet the law is meant to serve humanity and mankind and not to aid the accomplishment of objectives and interests that have nothing to do with mankind.
Of course, human rights are universal and [...]
Yassin Adnan: Of course, human rights are universal and its value relies on that. Its value also overshadows religious, racial and political disagreements. I think that the best way to achieve a kind of reconciliation between these universal values and the cultural specificities of groups and nations is that the effort must be negotiable, subject to argument through free speech. But what can convince these groups about the importance of the universality of human rights, values and the need for settlement, validation and certification of all these laws without any restraints is the proper and balanced construction of these laws, because, why should we focus on a set of laws that are contributed by a certain human, ethnic and religious groups or another only for their own considerations. Why focus only on these laws and forget the most important laws. Let's take the right to live. Is this right really respected today? Do we really feel that the international institutions that worked on these laws are actually doing sufficient concentrating on the protection of that very primary human right? So we are not really protecting civilian's rights to live, and the recent war gives us an idea of how this right is mired in mud and has been blatantly violated. War on Lebanon, comes to my mind. How are we going to demand that others should respect these universal rights while we do not make any serious effort to protect the most primary human right, and that is the right to live?
I believe that this is really the case. I [...]
Yassin Adnan: I believe that this is really the case. I believe that companies and brands became actually more powerful than governments, this is certain. I came to Berlin just yesterday directly from Marrakech (Morocco), with British Airlines and my luggage didn't come. I imagine that, if a German TV channel approached to me so I affront all the Arabian governments from the Atlantic Ocean to the Gulf, or all western governments from America till government of Denmark, then in all democracy, they would give me an opportunity to do so. But if I spoke badly about a quite big company for example, for not bringing me my luggage to Berlin, then the televisions and media would not cooperate with me. I imagine that media became the one which rules majority and that the big companies are the ones that rule throughout the media more than the governments do.
This is a difficult question, and also a [...]
Yassin Adnan: This is a difficult question, and also a personal question because I lost my bag. I came to Berlin and my bag did not come with me. So I was forced today to manage myself, by shaving for example. At the hotel they gave me a "made in china" razor and I assure you that it was not sufficient therefore I was forced to request another one again and I barely managed to shave to be able to speak here in front of you in a reasonable and appropriate way. It is not important whether these materials are cheap or expensive, but first of all they must be useable. There is a problem in Morocco with boilers as a number of people died because of boilers coming from Asia. They are called in Morocco the Chinese boilers. So of course when the boilers start killing people that just wanted to take a shower then it becomes difficult. But this does not comply only on a country without the others, but it complies on institutions that only think of profit without giving any consideration to the quality of what is offered to the consumers on the basis that consumers are not only consumers but they are human beings with dignity, which must be preserved. Part of the preservation of the dignity of these people is already the production of really consumable products.
I think that the blame does not only go to [...]
Yassin Adnan: I think that the blame does not only go to educational system. I believe that now we have many of the curricula that help students to open up their mind, broaden their perspectives, hence allowing them to get into the core of educational process, and deal with it as if they are at the centre. Therefore, the problem does not lie here. The problem lies in the educational circumstances, especially in southern and third world countries where we find shortage in equipment, and in means of receiving knowledge. These are the real problems. For example, I imagine in a country such as Morocco, there is an attempt to find ways and adopt new educational curriculum that take into account the basic and essentiality of a placing the students at the centre. Unfortunately, the potentials are not helping. The real problem lies in the potential issue and the means by which to accomplish this teaching and establish quality in educational levels.
I believe that wealth is not gathered in [...]
Yassin Adnan: I believe that wealth is not gathered in vain. And the West being rich, this certainly has been achieved at the expense of others, suffering from poverty, need and famine. I believe that the colonial period was crucial to achieve a kind of prosperity for colonizer in which he is still living now, and to establish for previously colonized countries a kind of dependency from which they still have not broken themselves away. I do not want to speak the language of simple economic equations, but I think that this wealth is from that poverty, and that poverty from this wealth. The current globalization, in fact, aims to sustain this situation and to ensure the wealth of the West and ensure its continuity at the expense of the dependence of the East and the South. Hence, globalization tends to solidify this situation, against all projects which aim to abolish it and reestablish a kind of balance in this unbalanced world.
There we do not believe in human beings. We [...]
Yassin Adnan: Because we do not believe in human beings. We consider the life of one to be more important than the life of the other as we simply do not consider humanity to have the highest value. Because if we dealt with the human being as the most valuable and outstanding on all accounts, then we would understand that people's lives are really all the same. But of course, political and economic considerations make this group or that consider one life valuable and the life of another worthless. Even more than that, it makes them imagine that their life could not be complete except over the corpse of the other. There is a terrible imbalance now, and, indeed, it must be addressed seriously. We must restore consideration about lives, as the most valuable. As we see in the recent war against Lebanon, how the Lebanese died, the innocents, the civilians in an appalling manner. And no one is dealing with that seriously. Even more than that. They died because two soldiers were kidnapped. Tens and hundreds should not die for the sake of two, which are certainly valuable as well. But we are supposed to deal the same with lives. Incidentally, even in war, when soldiers die of this party or that, ultimately, no one cares about the uniforms. They are people, who die for the sake of justifications, which are often trivial and do not deserve the waste of human life for their sake.
The development of developing countries and [...]
Yassin Adnan: The development of developing countries and helping them to truly grow is a matter, at least I personally do not think about it from an economic aspect [], but perhaps out of humanitarian and social aspect. We must think about the lives of people there. Because the one suffering is basically the individual, is the simple citizen who barely manages his difficult everyday means, who barely procures lunch, this simple and natural matter in other places. Some group of individuals may wage wars for the sake to only achieve that minimum of satiety. I am not an economic to go into detail and talk if micro-finance or macro-finance is better. I'm sorry. But each economical approach that takes into account the lives of individuals and places it above all other considerations, perhaps that one will survive and be able of development. Because the basis of any development is the human development. We usually think about the development strategies and overlook the foundation, and that is the human development.
I believe that women have accomplished some [...]
Yassin Adnan: I believe that women have accomplished some kind of important presence in different social and economic areas. The problem is maybe patriotic character of the global political community, which still refuses women. Let us take for the example the employment area. In the employment area on the economic level the feminine values have started to leak in and not only the women. Even the values have started to change and to become more feminine. For example the former masculine values have began retreating such as audacity and experience and adroitly, and feminine value are advancing as spirit of communication ability to communicate, regression, appearance, [...], and a kind of feminine dynamic. These things made women gradually take their propriot place in economic community in different societies in the west and in the east. But in the politics unfortunately, it seems that the politicians are more preservative and more masculine than the others. Therefore women are still far away from having important presence in the political society. Even the women that maybe practiced politics in responsible positions in the last decays, most of them were probably more sated with masculine values then of practicing feminism in the political sphere. I imagine that infiltration and presence of women in politics may give us better communities and more balanced politics and fewer wars.
I believe that addiction is a matter that [...]
Yassin Adnan: I believe that addiction is a matter that has to do with the nature of human beings. Everyone is addicted to something. However when we are addicted to deadly things such as drugs, matters become utterly difficult and need to be treated seriously, there especially drug addiction is killing human beings terribly and the destroying individual potentials, potentials which are supposed to serve one him/ her self’s and his/her community. Therefore, I believe that the addiction and especially drug addiction is precisely a key mater, especially in poor countries where idleness, poverty and drug addiction meet together. There are very difficult situations, but unfortunately they don’t receive sufficient attention which could enable strong future campaigns to surround and mange those situations.
I am an African. So when the question is [...]
Yassin Adnan: I am an African. So when the question is raised regarding AIDS in Africa, well I am a Moroccan who admits of being African and who considers Africa a single entity not divisible into its multiple identities. Therefore I find myself being asked this question considering myself the subject as well. Therefore, I believe that it is everyone’s responsibility to think about this killer in Africa, AIDS. I imagine that first a lot of effort must be made at the level of awareness, on the level of prevention secondly, and later on the level of treatment, because when the patient is infected with AIDS in Africa the treatment possibilities are very limited to the medical crews in the countries of Africa, and to the ministries of health in African countries, in which people suffer from this disease. I believe that treatment in the majority of cases becomes impossible. Therefore, I believe that the first effort that must be made is primarily on the level of awareness and, secondly, prevention. Morocco for example, my own country, now AIDS has become spread in it. Fortunately, many from the civil society have given up apathy and reservation and started to confront the problem. Even religious authorities have understood the seriousness of the situation and have accepted it. There is a major effort at the level of making the people aware, awareness-raising has begun in Morocco. And all this is surely positive. And I hope it will in the end achieve its goal and attack this disease and control it.
Dialogue... by dialogue. I believe that [...]
Yassin Adnan: Dialogue... by dialogue. I believe that solution is in the dialogue and in the mastering the ways of the dialogue and its logics. All of these are the base of controlling the violence and surrounding it. This way, we can erase the hate and take away the anger. You may anger me or I may anger you. But certainly when we talk seriously and sincerely about it, and even if our voices get raised during the conversation, we can calm each other by understanding each other opinions, this is what will enable us in the future to interact and coexist and perhaps get beyond all differences between us. But when the dialogue is absent or when we talk with each other as if it were merely a tactic to argue and not a serious strategic aim, of course in such a case we can look forward for the violence and further hate. I imagine that the dialogue was always and is today an urgent need and is to be dealt with honestly and with principles.
I think this is a difficult question and the [...]
Yassin Adnan: I think this is a difficult question and the answer consist of more then one part, but certainly a lot of criminals and deviants and terrorists come from the background neighborhoods and cities and out of spaces where there are no decent living conditions. Therefore, I imagine that approaching these files and any approach to such a situations should not be simple fight or individual fight but must be holistic approach that takes into account the backgrounds and existents reasons of these places, trying to rehabilitate them and create the chances for decent living there. Because the class hatred, to use a old Marxist concept, which definitely exists, these children which don’t enjoy their childhood hate others, those children when they do not find games and do not find sufficient food they hate others, and when they find that the community has nothing to offer them, then it is natural and understandable that they react with the hate towards the community and its members which are living good according to their own perception. Therefore, I believe that instead of dealing with individuals we should go to the basis of the problems and this will take us back again too human development. Human development and dealing with these black holes is the only solution to this problem.
I think that this question is not simple [...]
Yassin Adnan: I think that this question is not a simple question requiring a simple answer, but requires quite a bit of imagination. I remember the song "Imagine' by John Lennon. Let's imagine this large sum of money, imagine that all humans were equal and if the governments that play with our own destiny today were all equal, imagine this huge wealth and what could be done with it for the happiness of the world and for the human beings, beginning with nutrition. I imagine this amount used for all with equal opportunity on the level of nutrition, and we could fill every stomach. Imagine if such a large amount was invested in development projects, seeking to achieve sustainable development in a number of poor countries. Imagine if this amount was allocated only to fight AIDS and cancer. Let's imagine things at this level. Is this not better than misusing all this money for so-called holy wars. Actually human beings are more sacred than war, if we claim that there are holy wars. Human beings are more sacred. However there are those who prefer investment in the killing of human beings over investment in humanity.
Of course this is a difficult question. Why [...]
Yassin Adnan: Of course this is a difficult question. Why there is no peace in the Middle East? Perhaps because those who govern the world today do not want real peace in the Middle East. And if I were to answer in a political language to this question I’ll say: that peace in the Middle East passes through the solution of the Palestinian issue. Peace in the Middle East needs to pass through Palestine, pass through the Palestinian right to a just and comprehensive peace, and to a social, economic, and political life of dignity in the area which is left to them to create this small homeland, Palestine. I think that when America and the major countries in the world decide to determine a fair solution to the Palestinian problem, and then we can say that peace in the Middle East will be possible. And it is strange that everyone is now inventing and starting wars here and there to solve the matters between this party and that one, and no one presses his hand or his finger on the real wound, which is Palestine. The real wound of the middle east is Palestine. And the politicians of the world must be honest enough to acknowledge that and begin to work towards a just and comprehensive peace in the Palestinian issue first and then I believe that all the other problems can be solved.
So, to prevent our governments from going to [...]
Yassin Adnan: So, to prevent our governments from going to the war, we must first stop being ignorant and we should in fact start with our selves. During the recent wars launched by the United States, either directly or indirectly, against the East, from the Iraq war, the war in Afghanistan and Lebanon, I listened to the talk of American politicians. I found it stupid and unnatural, what I heard. I was also surprised how these wonderful American people who are creating all this beauty in cinema, art, literature and culture. I thought how did they swallow their tongues in theses opportunities, how could they be fooled by those exposed speeches. Therefore, we have to start by ourselves in order to prevent our governments from going to the war. So we don’t have to send our children to war to kill other people in the name of slogans, no matter how loud these empty speeches are. We must first restore our intelligence, because these speeches scorn our intelligence as citizens. So in order to prevent the government from going to wars, we must prevent ourselves of playing the role of fools.
Global government is OK, but what do you [...]
Yassin Adnan: Global government is OK, but what do you mean by a global government? Because when I start thinking of global government I think just of American government. It is the government that presents it self in the world as the global government. It is really different. Otherwise we have a global organization which is the United Nations. And it is supposed to deal with such nation and regional issues but as everybody sees today the United Nations is unable to deal with these issues by itself which is [fielder] and conditioned by the American government. OK, it is great to have a global government. But what do you mean by global government and is it really global? That is the question.
This is true. And I believe that the real [...]
Yassin Adnan: This is true. And I believe that the real strength owned by the strong is the ability to label things, in their own way and impose own labeling and through it their own views and vision of events. Therefore, I believe that part of the strength of the dominant is that when it labels something , labeling is being adopted by everyone, as if it becomes a part of nature of this called, this is dangerous. And the media play a major role in the impressing of these things. Take for example the recent war on Lebanon, despite my own large personal disagree with Hezbollah, but I believe that this movement is a resistance movement and as long as there is an occupation of Lebanon, it is natural that the resistance movements exist, despite of the political and of the religious background or ethnic background of the resistance movement. As long as there is occupation, this (which is Hezbollah) is resistance movement. But of course we have noticed how there is a tendency in the Western media to consider Hezbollah just as terrorists, considering all murder practiced by the Israeli army against innocent and pride Lebanese civilians as self-defense. Indeed there is a great malice in names and a great malice in the language. And I believe that the danger of the language is that it serves strong, which practices and passes thru it own conviction to the world as if it were something normal.
Why do we tolerate the killing of [...]
Yassin Adnan: Why do we tolerate the killing of civilians? Of course, we are all supposed to be civilians. At this moment, we are all civilians in this forum here in Berlin. Imagine that we were all killed now, that we were attacked without any guilt. We must bring the wounds close to our bodies to feel how painful they are. Civilians who are currently dying in the world and returning to the most recent wound that is Lebanon and to those civilians who have died there; why did the world tolerated this. I believe that the world was supposed to condemn strictly the killing of civilians and to take all necessary measures to prevent at least future killing of civilians. I think that current world system is unable to condemn the killing of civilians, for it is governed by politics and by those who take care of wars, who invest in wars and who maintain interests in politics and in military and in economic strategy. They consider the profit more important than the lives of human beings, human lives are for them of the second degree. Also unfortunately there is always the same idea when we are dealing with people in a certain area of the world, as if they were second or third -class human beings. In this case we consider it fair if they die even in large numbers, as long we can achieve a strategy we draw for the particular region regardless to the importance of this strategy at all. However this strategy becomes more important than human lives. "What a shame" frankly "what a shame".
I think that the world is trading (losing) [...]
Yassin Adnan: I think that the world is trading (losing) day by day liberty for security. Of course it is a difficult equation, and it is difficult to reduce it simply and say I prefer freedom to security. I traveled through four airports yesterday, Airport of Morocco to Casablanca airport, to the airport in London and to an airport in Berlin finally, in each of these airports security measures were very strict. And certainly it took some of my freedom away but I certainly interacted dearly, there I need security and safety, personal safety and physical safety of my life, to be able to practice this freedom. If it difficult to tie this question. But we also must be aware from misusing security and of the security barrier which are used to rape (meaning: take completely away) the freedom of some people. We should ban those approaches. However as human being I am certainly ready to give up part of my freedom for the security, I am ready, and I am ready to accept all the security measures that the really indenting to protect me but I am not ready to accept the security measures that confiscated my freedom and confiscated a number of my rights on behalf of protecting me.
It is remarkable that the human tries [...]
Yassin Adnan: It is remarkable that the human tries everything in his power to make others happy. However it is difficult to impose the happiness upon the others. You can not carry a stick and hit people and ask him to be happy. As you said, democracy is paradise for the humans and demand of all of us. I believe that everyone should struggle for democracy. But is it reasonable to imagine democracy coming to this country or that on the back of a cloud. I can’t imagine that, there democracy doesn’t ride the clouds. Democracy does not carry a weapon and Democracy dose not kill human beings. This is what makes the difference. I know this personally (meaning: from experience). I visited Iraq in the era of Saddam Hussein. I did not visit Iraq, but I went to Kurdistan in northern of the Iraq and I know how the people of Iraq suffered, how the minorities or ethnic groups suffered in the Iraq, I know how hard they suffered in the days of Saddam Hussein. And of course I was among the first who were happy about demise of the regime of Saddam Hussein. However I also emphasized military aggression against Iraq, and I was not convinced of the excuse offered to legalized this aggression. That is the intent, no one can impose democracy. Also it is difficult to claim that a party with its political background and strategic perceptions is selling democracy simply for God's sake (meaning: selfless). The equation becomes difficult, generally democracy can’t be logically dictated.
I believe that the honest people of the [...]
Yassin Adnan: I believe that the honest people of the world, "decent people of the world" as stated in your question, can do much to the reluctance of the killing political choices of a number of politicians in the world nowadays in the east and in the west and I think that part of the effort required of them and imposed on them, should be achieved within their own communities as first, to defend the values of our era the values of modernity, the values of democracy, the values of dialogue and the values of coexistence. This is essential, thus these values are indeed universal and thus the actual and serious triumph of these values in the U.S.A. and in the Morocco and in the Palestinian and in the Israeli, is a victory and triumph for all of us if those values achieve victory in any of these countries. And for this I believe that dialogue remains the fundamental key, the dialogue: with the own self, within one community and other communities through the meetings as this special meeting, which draws us together today in Berlin. I imagine that this forum is a front of the fronts of the conflict through by these intellectuals, artists and intellectuals at which I am looking right now, all of them are engaged in answering, all of them, each one that I am looking at, every one from his/her seat and his/her place is practically doing something against these bad policies and against the corrupt politicians of the world.
Yes, I do think that we should have the [...]
Yassin Adnan: Yes, I do think that we should have the right to choose where to live. I am going to answer in English this question because I think we have right, we really have the right to travel and to choose where to live. But the problem is that the type of globalisation we are adopting nowadays prevents us form that. I am just thinking of an old experience of globalisation, the Arabic Islamic globalisation after 10th and 11th century and its symbol which was Sindibad. Sindibad was a big traveller, someone who's sailing everywhere and meeting different people from different countries and from different cultures. By meeting these people he was making more money and learning more and more. So for him the stranger was someone he learns from. But I just have an impression today that we have new type of globalisation. It is the cowboy’s globalisation. The cowboy just stays in his village taking care of and looking after his cattle and the stranger is supposed to be a thief. And that is why he faced the stranger with a gun. So he does not move and the other should not move to meet him. That is it. We talk about the globalisation, we admit that we have globalisation but we can not have that globalisation without giving people freedom to move and to live wherever they want. Even if people come to rich countries, these countries are rich because some other are poor and I think that human been the right to change own destiny and dream for a better future. I am going back to Morocco tomorrow. This is personal choice. But still I can not say that immigrants and those people who want to emigrate from the 3rd world to Europe or to America, I just can not consider them criminals as some others do.
Frankly, this is a difficult question, I [...]
Yassin Adnan: Frankly, this is a difficult question, I can’t answer it. The best approach to such a topic is to talk about the future. I looked up to the future and I deal with the present positively. By the way I can not imagine the United States of America today without its black population. Its Africans or Americans of African origin that are American salt and/or spices, which makes American dish attractive pot. I can not imagine American movies without those blacks who made Hollywood and made American legend. I can not imagine the American sports today without those great blacks who derive medals, which made out of them almost modern goddess contesting the old Olympic gods. There I imagine that this question is not realistic and does not move towards the horizon towards which the humanity is moving, and that is more and more of the communities overlapping. I come from the city of Marrakech and there are many French and Germans who came to this magnificent city and purchased Menarla and Rtadhat and are now living there, as I know there are also many Moroccans now living in various European countries. I believe that the world is moving towards greater overlap which is the source of enrichment for all of us and is a source of enrichment for the future.
I think that the democracy is really is the [...]
Yassin Adnan: I think that the democracy is really is the most important dream dreamed by human throughout the long history, since Greece until today. This dream which got relatively achieved in this or that experiment and it always remains the great dream of this world. I believe that we need the democracy. And personally I can not imagine, perhaps for lack of imagination, a better way to live then in democracy and the democratic selections. We are many and belong to many different religious, ethnic, racial and also political communities. And in order to become out of this multiple differences a rich source and enrichment for our lives, we have to agree with each other and coexist. And the democracy is what facilitates us the reasons for this coexistence and compatibility. But also the democracy is a more serious matter than just to deal with it out of the logic of dictations. The democracy can not be dictated and it is not to product to be exported from a country to another and from the assets of democracy is not to impose in a strange way on this or that. Sometimes, I imagine that some Western countries deal with the third world countries of the and the countries of the South, in a logic of a joke we tell about a chief editor of a newspaper what he said at the meeting with his writers as he was saying to them "when I talk about the democracy all of you are to shut up". What in this logic promotes democracy? The democracy is also confiscated in many countries, even in the Arab and Islamic countries under the pretext of cultural or religious privacy. I imagine that this privacy should not obscure the sun of democracy. Democracy is a real need for the citizen in the world today to realize own novelty and achieve oneself culturally and civilized to the other side no matter how it may be and to coexist with other and sentenced to invoke own voice and the voice of the other and for the practicing all the aspects of life, from the politics to procuring the life chances.
Personally I believe that the war is war. As [...]
Yassin Adnan: Personally I believe that the war is war. As a citizen of this world believing in the peace and that all the differences, no matter how serious, can be negotiated, I consider that the refuge to the military option is a feature of the coward ness and essentially is evidence of weakness, not of strength, it is evidence of the inability to negotiate, evidence of the disdain of the another human life which you will murder and of your privates and your worriers which you will send to death. There the war is war and is a space for murder and it cancels the intelligence and man's ability to coexist and to have a dialogue and to negotiate, there is no room to talk about just war and holly war or non-holy war. I think that there is no holy war. I think that all wars are unacceptable and confiscated, all the wars are kill human beings and we can only stand together against the war. And should as citizens of this world stand against the war and surround those traders who trade the policy producing wars and wars and economic policy choices, which are often narrow and those who pass thru the war there political and economic choices which are often anti-human and lethal.
I think America is strong not only [...]
Yassin Adnan: I think America is strong not only militarily, economically and politically. We must not forget that there is also strong in culture, in art, in the way of thinking, in medicine, in industry, in technology, in education. In fact a country like America "has a lot of things to share with the world, Americans really have a lot of things to share with us. I wonder if they could just try to share with us what they have." For me as a member of the other part of this world, I imagine that American power can be invested positively and can be a creative contributing force for the production of the future. And I hope that the choices …, and that the rulers that imposed upon America their narrow choices and who dragged American in to the conflicts that do not serve America or the world or the future, I hope that all this passes by as a cloud in the summer so America can regain its civilized face and its strength. America is a strong country and we wish to it permanent strength, but not if this force is to become a killing force and a justification and reason to abuse other communities. Other communities, even if they are weak , what they need from the strong nation is assistance and to be made a partner in producing strength. The strongest has the best possibility to give. The strongest is the best one to engage others to also avail themselves of the manifestations of power; this is not to use power on the others and thus interpret one's own power as mere military might or power in international politics.
Those who are producing it. I think that the [...]
Yassin Adnan: Those who are producing it. I think that the first beneficiary of terrorism are those who produced it and there are those who are striving daily through the media stories, like the story of Osama bin Laden and other stories. I imagine that these stories were manufacture by the media more than by the reality. Those who manufacture and those who overly by assessment the risk, they are all involved in some way in the game and know why and they got involved and they do profit in some way. Certainly the Moroccans and Muslims like me are the first victims of this story. I came from Marrakech to Berlin yesterday; and tomorrow I will go back to Marrakech. However I came here without my bag which had been kept at the airport in London. I believe - or perhaps I fear - that my bag was kept there out of security considerations. Anyway, I am no risk to anyone, but my safety is threatened and my welfare is threatened and my possibility to movement naturally is threatened, because of this danger that in fact exists. We in Morocco know how how it is to be the victim of the terrorism. In the May 16 in Casablanca two years ago there were terror attacks. However it is also certain that we are the biggest victims of this phenomenon. Our reputation and the value of freedom is suffering because we come from an Arab-Islamic country.
There is an assay of the prophet Mohammed [...]
Yassin Adnan: There is an assay of the prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him):” The brave is not the fast but the one which holds him self back by anger". There I do not believe that the brave person is the one presenting his/her muscles to the world. Brave is the one which creates opportunities for dialogue and create opportunities for coexistence. Joining this remarkable meeting, "The Fist Table of Free Voices and I think that the Dropping Knowledge organizers aver very courage’s think that they are very courage’s courageous" Because such an initiative requests dialogue and creates avenues of dialogue and create a means of communication between communities. Such an initiative does not enjoy the support of governments and does not enjoy the support of the commercial media which is dangerous dominating the world public opinion. I imagine that these people sailing against the tide are courage’s in fact. All those who invest in the dialogue and in the opportunities of the coexistence are really brave people, with which we can hope to achieve better future for this world. Or course, those who temerity to declare wars and are masters in the killing of civilians, it will be difficult to keep them in the memoirs of the history as symbols of courage. On the contrary, history will be shamed even to mention them tomorrow.
When talking about weapons… I do not think [...]
Yassin Adnan: When talking about weapons… I do not think that weapons, no matter which kind, have any nationality or religion or belong to any nation. Weapons kill and that’s the end of the matter. It is difficult today to say that we have wise rulers in the world today that can be given the right to possess nuclear weapons without the others; the recent wars confirm that we have no wise elders in this world and everyone is acting like madmen in reality. These politicians are making and exporting wars, none of these is better than the others. I believe that nuclear weapons are a real danger, however a danger to everyone, and the danger is in the hands of everyone. And I do not believe that the nuclear weapons in the hands of the Iranians would be more dangerous than in the hands of the Israelis, nor even in the hands of the Americans. We all remember Hiroshima and Nagasaki and there are Japanese in this forum, and I can imagine, that they know that no one can be described as wise and given the right to possess this murdering weapon. On the other hand, it is difficult to say that there are minor countries which have no right to possess such weapons. I believe that everyone is minor when it comes to the production of death. There should be an international law protecting us as citizens of this world from death and from the death production and of those who trade with death.
It is true that international law does not [...]
Yassin Adnan: It is true that international law does not currently get applied and that there are no real and serious mechanisms to ensure the application and respect of these laws. Unfortunately, this produces very serious problems. Many victims have experienced violence and lost political and economic and cultural freedoms due to those laws being not applied or respected. Some of those victims react in a very dangerous way and question the importance and the values of these laws. It is a shame that a large number of citizens of the world today impugn these humanitarian laws which were made and formulated with a lot of humanitarian effort. Therefore, I believe that all who abandon these laws and their application are creating in a way or other a room for the growth of the obscurantist, nihilistic and destructive thoughts. Personally I believe that the failure to apply these laws, must not lead us to disbelieve in international laws and human rights and shun all universal values. On the contrary, we must call a spade a spade and point with the finger at those rulers, who contribute to the frustration of a large number of people and create depression within them and act illegally.
I believe there is a strong connection [...]
Yassin Adnan: I believe there is a strong connection between politics and violence. Mostly politics and politicians practice the violence in the world, and the dangerous aspect is that they legitimize and legalize the violence. Even, armies… and the refuge to military solutions to solve disputes and disagreements, all this is of course planned by politicians. Violence now develops between the loving arms of politicians and the loving arms of politics. And even the reactions of the groups that may be radical are political reactions or reactions on the political choice and political strategies. So this violence and counter violence be it act of the governments or unregulated or be it out of the terrorist cells, ultimately politicians are the ones who created it. There is nobody keener in the language of violence then the politicians. Of course this is without regard to the symbolic violence that is done everyday, in speeches and so on without blood being spilled physically.
I actually really believe that there is a [...]
Yassin Adnan: I actually really believe that there is a new form of colonialism and it is a difficult and very dangerous one, because the colonialism in the past was at least obvious and was done mainly and primarily by the military. Today, there are superpowers that are tending to dominate the world, trying to play leading roles in the world and are trying in an indirect way to direct politics and economics and dictate these ways to the countries that are supposed to have their own autonomy. So this is a more developed and sophisticated form of colonialism and is really a new, serious and globalized colonialism because a globalization of the international economy, media, culture, thinking and arts, which might be positive, becomes obedient to those who want to achieve through it political globalization and tighten their grip on the world by using all economics, media and cultural globalization merely as a means to achieve domination.
In my point of the view freedom can not be [...]
Yassin Adnan: In my point of the view freedom can not be defined, in a quick and hasty limited answer, in a context such as this. But "Is it relative to where you are in the world?” I believe that freedom of women should be sacred. Freedom must be sacred in all regions of the world. No human beings qualify to be free while others do not. There are no societies that qualify to practice the liberty and other societies that don’t qualify. I believe that freedom is a sacred right of everyone, given that it cannot become in any way harmful to one party or the other. If I am free and I should struggle for the sake of my freedom I cannot feel in the moment that this freedom can cause some kind of harm to any other party.
What do the laws do generally in the [...]
Yassin Adnan: What does the law do generally in democratic countries? What do laws do in general at all? They regulate the difficult relationship between the freedom of individuals and between their responsibilities towards society and the obligations within the society, to achieve the public interest. Ultimately the public interest is in some way the interest of the individual, thus public interest is the interest of groups of individuals. Therefore consensus is essential as well as the respect of the public interest when practicing one's own freedom. And of course, freedom without responsibility may turn into chaos; there I believe that some kind of responsibility should be ruling us when we practice our freedom. We require our freedom, however not taking responsibility towards the community or within our community might be misused to confiscate our freedom.
I might tent to my personal wives if [...]
Yassin Adnan: I might tend to my personal views if I might, and I am giving my personal opinion in answering this question. I incline to peaceful means generally. But also I can not add to the problems of the occupied and restrict those ways by which they should resist the occupation. When you are occupied by force, it is difficult to impose on you to be Jesus Christ and turn the other cheek to your enemy. I imagine that only the victims can decide the appropriate way to stop the daily abuse they are subjected to. So I tend to peaceful resistance, but I do not pretend to have the right to impose on those who resist. It is not my right to impose on those who struggle for the liberation of their homeland one way or another to achieve their independence. Sorry!
Who are heroes? Who are my heroes? For me [...]
Yassin Adnan: Who are heroes? Who are my heroes? For me the heroes are the people who build the world in silence and not those who ruin. Heroes are not those who were fighting some weeks ago in Lebanon. But the heroes are the ones who are rebuilding now the wrecked Lebanon, who started rebuilding, the simple people who are building house by house and are trying to heal the wounds of people, places and spaces. Heroes are also those wonderful Palestinian people who are keen on joy and keen on daily life as much as they are able, despite their difficult reality and situation and their difficult lives in their large prison. Heroes are the weavers of dialogue and dialogue makers between nations, cultures and civilizations and they are always unknown without spot lights on them. Heroes are those who worked for months in silence in order for us to meet today and discuss with each other and hear opinions of each other. These are the real heroes. With great regret we have a Hollywood-kind imagination of a hero. We must fight starting from school and from school books and ending by cultured people. We must fight those who propose themselves as heroes but are just killers. We must fight those who propose themselves as heroes but are only swindlers, fragile beings filled with straw, raised to frighten others. We must reconsider our concept of the hero. And we must learn new meanings, the true heroes are alive today, and they practice their heroism in the daily life of the people.
"I agree, I agree that we should dump all [...]
Yassin Adnan: "I agree, I agree that we should dump all patent laws." But why? Simply because the beneficiaries of all these laws that protect the patent are the companies that deal with these inventions, literary and artistic innovations and such artefacts. So they are the primary beneficiary. And even those creators and innovators at the end, I believe that they primarily wanted to promote their creativity and enjoy it and benefit the thousands, even millions of people from it. But major companies that deal with everything deal with the innovations and inventions in a commercial way. Even those inventors, who leaped from the moment of freedom to invent in a desire to please the world and benefiting the world, they manipulate and fool to their own logic and impose on them to enter the game. Of course they become a profit margin by which they imprison them and make them enter the game consciously or unconsciously.
Of course, there are limits to all economic [...]
Yassin Adnan: Of course, there are limits to all economic development. This development ceases to be developed which is to destroy ecological life and damaging the environment. Economic development is causing these glitches, affecting our lives and our future, it burdened us, and it is difficult to think about it as development in fact. We may sometimes see it as ruin. Take for example the Amazon jungle, which is considered to be lungs of the world. We can talk about the development of tourism in that area, and about the tourism projects, and agricultural projects, and industrial projects affecting the lung of the world and of course when the lung of the world suffers the whole world suffers. Subsequently, I can not see any fertilization happening in this green area and I don’t consider this to be development, I'm considering it as a crime against the environment and against the rights of human beings and against the future. Let us take also the example of the industrial development and tourism on the around the Mediterranean Sea. This sea contribute significantly to creating a form of ecological balance in the region, now becoming a junkyard and gradually becoming turn into a time bomb. If this development does not take into account the rights of the fish to live in this sea and ecological value of this basin, the basin of Mediterranean sea, I can imagine that this will become the ruin of the present and the future.
I do not think so. Internet today is like [...]
Yassin Adnan: I do not think so. Internet today is like the television yesterday when it appeared for the first time. And as satellites, which began to provide us with channels that operate throughout the day. We welcome it at the beginning with a kind of enthusiasm and it enslaves our daily lives and we use it with a slightly form of addiction, addiction of the first enthusiasm. But later we are forced to rationalize our relationship to it. I personally have a computer and Internet at home, and I work with Internet and reach out through it. Even the news papers with whom I work, I deal via the Internet mainly. But I never really felt intimidated and scared and also I do not feel that I am controlled. At least I don't feel so. Maybe I actually am, but I still did not discover it yet.
Although I think positive of a new [...]
Yassin Adnan: Although I think positive of a new technology and new means of communication, I like the comparing proposed by the question, how is compared between humans and pets. This is true because our relationship, especially to the TV through remote control really made us move less and try to travel to the most far places and enter into a direct relation, by watching live interviews far away from the country that we are in by hundreds of miles. And we follow wars directly as they happen here or there without even getting up to turn on the television or turn it off because remote control has even reduced that small distance. Yes, we started becoming less dynamic and our bodies started to learn the inertia and this is in fact real dangerous. Even the relationship with the Internet and with the world through the Internet makes people "depended." This is true as we need always this little mouse to go here or there. So the question is intelligent and alerts us that things are changing and our bodies are becoming lazy and the need of the self-awareness from us as individuals to substitute that absence at least in other fields, at least to practice sports. This I am not saying to others, but I am primarily saying it to myself, as I lack a lot on this field.
I do not think we moved far away from the [...]
Yassin Adnan: I do not think we moved far away from the previous question. We are still in the same framework. And I think what makes these groups, which consume resources, use them and exaggerate sometimes blindly without real needs of this consumption, is the media "advert and publicity and marketing departments of big companies". Therefore we are required to regain our individuality and reconsider ourselves and stop behaving just like a handful of stupid consumers. When I need a cup of water, if I felt thirsty, I drink it and not just because of the habit to drink when I have nothing better to do. When I drink a glass of water that I did not really needed to drink, I deprive this glass of water to somebody else who needed this cup of water. I am talking about the water only for it being in front of me but of course that all the things that we consume everything we buy from the markets is a subject to the same logic. We have to rationalize consumption; we must act as intelligent human beings and not as a group of insane persons who are working daily for the development of the resources and the potentials and the increscent of major companies fortune which feeds by production and which produces even what we don’t need and almost force us through propaganda to consumption.
... without problems and conflicts we need [...]
Yassin Adnan: So that everyone can have clean pure water without problems and conflicts we need in fact to clean up the minds first, clean up the brains and clean up intentions as well. We also have to understand that all the resources are shared by all and they are for those in need first. Real property is property by need, it comes about through need. When I need a glass of water then it is mine by the right of need. But the problem is that many of the conflicts that we see around the water is, in fact, political conflicts and conflicts on other levels which then come to conflict around the water, around this natural human right, in order to find justification for the conflict. The water is supposed to cleanse, is a symbol of cleansing "symbol of purification" and I hope, as we are talking about water, think of the water that we become more pure gradually. The water should cleanse us and not put us into fighting and struggling around it.
I do not think that in the interest of [...]
Yassin Adnan: I do not think that in the interest of anyone to resist the new no matter what it is, new technology, new economy, a new culture, new thinking and new creativity. The new is irresistible and can't be destroyed. But of course, instead of thinking about resisting new technology, why not think perhaps about directing the way of using it and learning how to make use of it without damaging our lives. How do we deal with it economically and wisely, without that it reflects negatively on our intimate lives or on our family live? Therefore, I do not think that the attempt to resist the new technology would result anything. Let us rather think about directing the use of it. This is the priority that must be discussed in my opinion.
If only the first essential step was that [...]
Yassin Adnan: If only the first essential step is that the rulers be convinced that this situation in the world today needs really an emergency plan, which starts today not tomorrow. But this requires from them to re-arrange their priorities because they are the ones involved in the battles which are not really important, chasing a number of witches and straggling with ghosts and leaving the real problems that complicate our lives today and might obliterate our future from us tomorrow. I imagine that these enflamed political wars in the world and these conflicts, which some consider civilizational conflicts, all these things are not a priority, and tomorrow, when these things take control of us, that is more dangerous then the poverty and the destruction of our environment, lack of balance of the environment and depletion of resources. Tomorrow it might reach the stage where it becomes difficult to confront these. But time will discover how much time we wasted and effort in the battles that are not serious and are not really a priority. If the efforts would intensify now, today before tomorrow, to face the real enemies who threaten the future of humanity, then that would be better, and that is what needs a lot of wisdom from rulers which we do not see widespread today.
I think that the main problem with the [...]
Yassin Adnan: I think that the main problem with the television is the fact that most TVs are commercial TVs in fact. Even public TVs behave just as if they are commercial TVs. So it’s the commercial logic that in fact dominates the strategies of most TV channels unfortunately. This is why we are losing the opportunity. TVs can really help to educate people. I am thinking particularly in underdeveloped societies, I think of a society such as Morocco, where the illiteracy is high and I feel really sorry because the television in my country is not doing its part in fighting the illiteracy in order to educate people, to culturise them. Of course many of the channels are preoccupied with trivial matters, channels dedicated to the singing, a dropping singing without any cultural spirit. Many of them are allocated for sport and sports programs. All of this is good, but without a balance, and without a minimum sense of responsibility, the real responsibility which is raising individuals and communities and educating people. Television must regain its natural role, this role for which it came out, this role which is no longer played at all and this role, from which it was totally drawn away by the commercial mentality, and should not let ever again to be programmed within its agenda.
Yassin Adnan:
This is not a question I can answer. But I [...]
Yassin Adnan: This is not a question I can answer. But I imagine that it is not the science that can be objective or not, but we are. Dealing with science and with the non-science we may be objective or we may not. So ultimately the human being remains the centre and is the one that deals objectively or invest positively the findings of the science. However, I imagine that science, at least is not one-sided against the other side. And what science has reached is open to be shared by everybody and invested positively by everyone, making no difference between societies and between a race and another. But we are the ones who invest science this way or that. And we are who make science move beyond the limits in which it moves as a science and invest it positively or negatively. For producing the happiness and luxury for this human group or that, or perhaps for the production of devastation and destruction, as it is the case in many industries for killing that with regret are based on science and on what the science reaches, but invests all that in the direction of killing.
Concerning this question for me and for this [...]
Yassin Adnan: Concerning this question for me and for this world to stop going in the direction in which it is going now as the global warming which is becoming a real problem that threatens not only our lives today but mainly our future. I think that the coming generations have the right to survive in normal conditions because we are really destroying everything, destroying the future, destroying the planet. What can I personally do? The first thing I should admit that I am personally responsible for that global warming and if we do not admit the fact that we are all responsible as individuals, we will just talk about the others and consider others responsible and blame others. Therefore let us all start from the fact that every one of us in a way or another is responsible for that global warming. I really do not have an a specific answer still if we just assume our responsibility as individuals, everyone of us, I think that would help to do something, to limit the dangers of the global warming.
Yassin Adnan:
Engineering and architecture give a meaning [...]
Yassin Adnan: Engineering and architecture give a meaning to the places. They do not serve only the present and future on the social, economic, political and environmental level, but even gave a meaning to the present and future and the people themselves. Unfortunately, even architecture now became a subjected to stereotyping, and I am especially thinking about the cities, third world cities and our Islamic Arabic cities, which had their beautiful old architecture, started gradually loosing it, and buildings began rising with great regret as it is not possible to talk about housing, but boxes people get crammed in. And of course, inside, just like burning inside the furnace, one can not get a taste of living and calmness, and one can not rest because in order to rest one needs a nice residence, a residence with a spirit, residence to suit you and you to suit it. I imagine that the architecture is what gives the place a meaning and a spirit to the place and we should make great efforts to maintain or help cities, especially ancient ones, to preserve their architecture, because by that you are preserving even for the world its diversity. Exactly as we care about lives of extinct animals we should care about extinct architecture in this city or that.
The question is once again difficult. [...]
Yassin Adnan: The question is once again difficult. Reality imposes that we think about the future and to imagine the future from the present facts. And unfortunately, when we think today about the facts provided to us by the present, it is unfortunately not encouraging at all towards the future. However, it is our right to dream then the dream is the only one what gives us the ability to hold on, to go to sleep and wake up and continue with our lives. There is wonderful Arabic poetry line which says: "I explain to the self with hopes I observe; how narrow the live would be if not for the relief of hope." So the future which I imagine is not shining and not so attractive, but still I dream that wars will end and we will learn how to live together, how to share world wide spaces. All spaces are wide, able to fit us all. Only we have to live and learn how to share what we have and how to share places we live in. That is mainly what can make our future, something less gloomy then our present which is our present too.
Yes I think both. It is an opportunity and a [...]
Yassin Adnan: Yes I think both. It is an opportunity and a problem at the same time. It depends on how we deal with the mass media. In fact everything depends on us. Then a human being, as Pythagoras said, is a measure for everything. What decides is the way in which we deal with the mass media, if we use it as a golden opportunity to open up across the world, contact with the world and learn from it and culturise too, or if we deal with the media with stupid greediness and let the media bedevil us, direct us and create out of us creatures without personality and without the ability to self-discrimination. So it remains that the human is a measure for everything. Therefore we should arm ourselves daily with essential caution from the media and what they offer. As it is very easy to condition people, the mass media is conditioning people and dictating us how we should be and what we should do and how we should think and manufactures our values and our future and determines our destiny. So this is very dangerous, and must pay more attention to it, and be aware and take much caution.
I do not think so. Fortunately, there is [...]
Yassin Adnan: I do not think so. Fortunately, there is something loose in the human spirit and in the brain that makes it evade programming and to be held down this way and become like a robot. Still people are able to get away, and capable of madness and to constantly surprise themselves by the reactions they may not have anticipated. So fortunately there is something humanly loose still acting in own way in us, over us and through us. And we have to preserve it, as it is what will protect us from turning into computers in the future.
This question is very difficult and needs [...]
Yassin Adnan: This question is very difficult and needs studies and research by the specialists and of course researches from the point of inclusiveness. Because we are now talking about the heart of sustainable human development that we need to educate communities capable of thinking creatively and able coexisting and living together and able to manage their lives reasonably and manage its relations more open minded. So what are the steps? I imagine that large organizations and major governmental institutions and the governments are demanded to engage in collective achievement of serious strategies which are executable at this level. I can not in the hurry just like that propose a set of steps, but I highlight the need and the importance of providing reasonable education and appropriate for all those who do not receive public education as in a number of countries of the third world, and all those who have not been provided or could not been provided by their governments their right on education, and schooling. We should not consider that they are responsibility of their families and their parents only. We should not consider them responsibility of their poor governments which manages their affairs. They are everyone's responsibility. And for their perversion, illiteracy and ignorance everyone will pay the price. For example all those perversion and terrorism cells...
Because we are so many. It is maybe because [...]
Yassin Adnan: Because we are so many. It is maybe because we are so many. At least today I am not alone, I really don't feel alone. I know that these thinkers, writers and artists are answering my question now and are coming out with different answers, which is great. And I'm so curious. I just want to know what they are coming out with as answers. I am just watching them now. Everybody is trying to answer in his own way and we are sharing something important. I am not alone at all. Of course the weather is cold, but I am not really feeling cold. I feel that it is deeply warm here, it is really warm. From the human perspective it is so warm. So today at least I am not alone. I am so happy because I have no feeling of loneliness here.
Though the difficulty of the issue, I [...]
Yassin Adnan: Though the difficulty of the issue, I believe that the poor communities can take advantage of the Internet and the computers to achieve some development of their financial, social and economic situation. There are some experiences. For example let us talk about Morocco where Internet cafes can be found in remote villages and between the peaks of the Atlas Mountains. There is a group of illiterate female weavers of Moroccan beautiful carpets. A group of them have a site on the Internet and began selling their carpets directly and although the number of sites opened on the Internet from such carpet weavers is limited, but they remain overwhelmingly important because these "Alzerabi" Moroccan carpets are sold at a high price on markets, in big selling stores and in various world capitals. So in fact the weaver is the last who benefits because there are many intermediaries who benefit mainly. Therefore, if a female weavers form a remote village is able to put her products on the Internet and try to sell them through the Internet, I think that this is wonderful and therefore the Internet can become a mean to give these women an opportunity to regain the consideration about these women and to their efforts to be given the value they deserve. There are many experiences of a group of ordinary sculptors who seek the Internet in Morocco for marketing their products, and a number of young artists, for example, who are trying to market their works on the Internet. So for me, I find that the Internet can be useful at this level. But there must be politics that show this potentials and opportunities and open those doors to these people instead of presenting the Internet to them as a place to chit-chat and useless conversations.
Yassin Adnan:
I think that the consumer culture is [...]
Yassin Adnan: I think that the consumer culture is influencing not simply the personalities and the ways we live, but our souls and our humanity, the fact that we are human beings because sometimes I just feel that we became something like consuming animals. We are easily conditioned. Any stupid advert using the image of a star, but of people that we love, and who betray us by the end because they just got money from big companies and come out with very stupid adverts that doesn't respect our intelligence and that make us or create in us a need which is not a need and make us just consume things we do not really need. Therefore I believe that everybody should bear their responsibility so we do not turn to the consuming animals without any spirit. And I focus once again that the stars who have sold themselves for the publicity and therefore betrayed all the people who love and admired them, for marketing trivial and non-value products which are not really needed in their daily live of the consumer. I believe that these people should be judged. A part of the civil society today should occupy themselves in this direction, campaigns against those stars who betray the ones who love and admire them and take advantage of their popularity in order to multiply their private wealth at the expense of ordinary people, children, which is most dangerous, because now consumer habits is bought to children, makes gradually out of us a society unable tomorrow to determine their actual and real needs with responsible suspicion, in a right way and in a really free way.
I believe that the human being generally [...]
Yassin Adnan: Why the Chinese, everything all the time the Chinese. I think that everybody in the world is dreaming of having a car, which unfortunately a dream. But I think that in Europe and western countries you don’t have a real problem because the public is good. But when talking about the developing countries and the 3rd world countries I think that we really need to do a lot work, to invest on public transportation because it can really solve that problem. Personally I have a car but I would prefer if public transportation in my country were better then it is now. In such case I would just get rid of the car and take public transportation.
It is because of publicity. Imagine if the [...]
Yassin Adnan: It is because of publicity. Imagine if the mass media, especially television, stopped publicising only one of the Coca Cola's adverts and replaced it with the advert of water. I imagine that the water will restore its natural position. This is the problem. Media and publication make us other needs. So we start more needing a can of Coca-Cola than of glass of cold water. So this is the malignity of the publicity and media. So, with regret, this is how we are directed to consume what we do not need and stop the natural and right consumption.
It is a very difficult question in fact. I [...]
Yassin Adnan: It is a very difficult question in fact. I really do not know. I am sure you can learn a lot from Africa but I just can not precise. It is not simply because it is Africa or because I am from Africa. It is the same question as "What can we learn from America? What can we learn form Asia? What can we learn from the world?". We can learn a lot of things. That is it, a lot of things.
I think the best way to develop a global [...]
Yassin Adnan: I think the best way to develop a global community is by preserving local cultures. If we don't have that in mind, we think that global community is the community of sameness. If it is not so, I think that we should really preserve local cultures. There this globlized society is the society of the future and it is surely rich multi society. To assure the multiple and the cultural wealth he must save the local culture, there the local and special culture is the one giving the meaning and soul to the new globalized world. What I adore the most in the most beautiful European cities like London, Berlin and Paris is the coexistence of the local cultures, Lebanese restaurant by side of Indian restaurant, which is by side of Irish pub, which is by side of Islamic butcher, which is by side of Christian home or church. This is the future of the world. That is coexistent which is rich, noble and fertile for human living. This is the future of the world and this is what makes the world one big village awaiting us. This is an experience which is worth of trying it and society which is human worth.
It is not important that we answer these [...]
Yassin Adnan: It is not important that we answer these questions that have been raised today. I do not think that this is our priority. And it is also not important that we all definitely agree on the answers. The more important was already achieved even before we came to Berlin. What is important is what you have done, as you gathered all of these smart, thoughtful and serious questions. So these questions are generally more important than any attempt to answer them. That is on the one hand. On the other hand I think in order to make the world listen to us, this is not a romantic dream but it is a possibility viable to be verified. How to make the world listen to us? I believe that what you are doing now is a part of this effort. That you gather all these people, all these free voices to observe these questions from their individual convictions, and to put these answers at the disposal of everyone without any rights "copy left and not copy right". Then from a third side to permit to all to communicate with all of this information, on the internet and TV and broadcast stations 'i think this is great,' and I think it is a true means of gaining the world's attention
I think that the most unreported stories are [...]
Yassin Adnan: I think that the most unreported stories are those we have an illusive impression that they are the most reported. With the media today a lot of things that are covered are indeed covered. It means when you cover, you want to show something but by the end you just make it unseen. And a lot of thing and a lot of stories can be considered unreported. Just if you want I can give an example. I am thinking now on war on Lebanon and I think that this war is one of the most unreported stories. Of course we all have watched more then a month and maybe on different TV channels that were. We have the impression that we know everything about it but we don't, we really don’t. It is still mysterious, we know nothing about the war on Lebanon and we need to discover what has happened there and we need this story to be reported to us. I don’t know but I personally need to go there. I have been in Beirut two times this year and there was no war in the mind of the city neither in its inhabitants. And now a war has taken place there so I just need to go back to Beirut and to go back to Surd and Saidah, very beautiful cities, to meet people, very ordinary people their because real reporters are ordinary people. We really need to give them the speech and listen to these people. Otherwise the media gives us the impression that it reports for us. Otherwise by most of those stories the media is there and with daily on its channels. I mean that most of these stories remain unreported.
Why two answers. We can have one hundred [...]
Yassin Adnan: Why two answers. We can have one hundred answers to the same question and they can all contradict each other. Where is the problem? I think the problem is not the fact that we have different answers to the same question. Maybe the problem that we really have is that we just can not say that only our question is the only one that should remain and we can adapt to the illusion that everybody else should change their answer and his opinion to match mine. That is the main problem. Otherwise we can ask different questions and we can come out with different answers but we should respect the way people react to these questions and we should really respect their right even to come out with mistakes and faults. These rights must be preserved, the right to make mistakes and the right to embrace ideas that are not adopted by others. What is important is to learn how to discuss and learn how to disagree and that we defeat the persuasion and to behave with the relativity with our ideas and ideas of others, with our own answers and answers of others. Because fanatic thinking is the one that makes contradictory answers an imminent danger and makes this contradiction in views, perceptions, ideas and answers a reason to fight each other. This is the main problem. We can disagree but we must manage to represent our views with much openness and relativism.
I am very sorry. I am not qualified to [...]
Yassin Adnan: I am very sorry. I am not qualified to answer this question. In fact I have no important piece of knowledge to give to the world. I am learning form the world and I need to learn more form the world. I'm not here to give knowledge.
I think that one of the most [] fights the [...]
Yassin Adnan: I think that one of the most quixotic fights modern people have involved themselves in is the battle against time, a battle extremely absurd because time is supposed to be in our service and we are supposed to live our lives naturally and even enjoying it. But the situation that we all have drowned ourselves in became illusionary. Today, for example, I experienced a difficult day, from morning till now in order to answer hundred questions. The task has become impossible, and I am racing against the time, the time as it is this very moment. This day is difficult and intense day. Our lives in this balanced and rich day are like a small picture of what our lives became like. We want to achieve many and important things in limited time. I am sure that by a great number of questions that I answered I am not convinced from my answers. And I am sure when I listen to the answers later I will disbelieve and say what is this bullshit and what are these irresponsible answers. And the reason is this pressure I experience, this haste and this race against time today. Therefore, we really must reconsider our time. Of course we brought this ourselves upon us but at least this question is great and is even more important then the answers. And the best in it is that it makes us realize that there is a failure in our relation to the time and so as well to the devices. What is the meaning of life if you can not enjoy it? What is the meaning of a person going to ground in order to accomplish many of the projects? What is meaning of becoming a slave to what you are trying to achieve and therefore lose the spirit that enjoys and listens to things and controls...
I think we would live in a world different [...]
Yassin Adnan: I think we would live in another world different from the one in which we are living today. True, that the technological breakthrough which the world experienced in the last 50 years was a leap of paramount importance. Actually it turned the world upside down and surprised us and is still constantly surprising us with new ways to communicate and with these new and bright inventions. But the problem of course are these road blockers who block the technological surge and turned it into the tool of hegemony as it is the case by the military systems "military forces" or turned it into sources of profit and the accumulation of profits and doubling it as by "market forces". So the question is how to free this technology leap from the domination of those who want to invest it only narrowly in their private interests and how to use it truly on the general interests of all of humanity and all. I imagine if this would happen, even if starting from today, the world would change completely in the next few years. Let’s just stop the weapon production and investing in the weapons industry, not investing funds, but investing the human mind, human inventions, human intelligence and new technology in this field. So let’s stop from today, and we will see changes that can happen. But surely the ones ruling the world are not interested in this venture, but their goals and their interests lay in preventing such a venture.
I believe it is responsibility of everyone [...]
Yassin Adnan: I believe it is responsibility of everyone and before we blame the governments and the organizations we must be realistic and recognize individual’s responsibility. Every one knows that the resources are limited, and that the number of the human beings is increasing. Certainly in the future we will populate more and we would be in grater number then the few resources remaining for the future. Therefore, I believe that this (management of recourses) is the responsibility of individuals, it is my own personal responsibility, and responsibility of individuals next to me, it is responsibility of all of us, there we are in the charge of the daily consumption of resources began with this glass of water in front of me, "Am I actually dealing with it responsibly?", "Do I spent it because I actually need it, or is it only a bad habit of consumption?”. With regret in consumer societies we become victims, which is terrible, they do "so to create the need in us", because the media is promoting need to consume and thus we become the slaves of some producing machine, which is damaging resources and its daily goal is it to manufacture and sale and ensuring the consumption to able to manufacture next day and its aim is always profit. We must not allow this consumption wheel to grind us. We are required to resist a little and to preserve resources and the primary mean to this is that we control consumption and allow the economic and industrial institutions to control the consumption.
I think we should [] to remain indigenous in [...]
Yassin Adnan: I think we should struggle to remain indigenous in the twenty-first century, and in the centuries to come. If we want to live the globalization, culturally rich and civilized, globalization that doesn't despise people and does not stereotype them. So we are required to hold on to localism without engaging in narrow affiliations or banishing other local cultures, but rather learn to live with it, to learn to open ourselves to it and convince ourselves that the own localism means nothing without reacting to the localism of the other. And this is what makes our future globalized and creative, without losing the cultural depth.
Yassin Adnan:
This is also a difficult question, because [...]
Yassin Adnan: This is also a difficult question, because now I find it difficult to determine the meaning of the word "right". But at least the unsettled for now is that those who talk a lot about the right are the first who put it unfortunately on the list of enemies because a right is like a demand, the right is at least like the highest value we aspire. Many are now talking in its name, leading wars in its name, murdering in its name. Of all parties, of all ideologies, all those who speak on behalf of the right and trying to monopolize the right considering it as a part of their personal belongings, all of these I find are as far as possible from the right and are the first to do the opposite and first in a list of who betray the right daily. So we have to be relativists. We should consider that the right is not in the pocket of anyone and everything can be discussed and that about everything can be debated. There is no right or truth to hide behind and claim that it is my own and feed myself in this way on a set of illusions which allows me to incriminate others, and kill them and consider them on falsity or against this illusionary right that persists in the minds of some. Therefore, we have to deal with relativity with these big concepts, because the relative thinking is the only thing that can protect the right from us because by claiming of owning the right and the truth we are the first abusers of their right.
"The tree." When I read the question I did [...]
Yassin Adnan: "The tree." When I read the question I did not notice that the matter is about three values, therefore, I did not think acctually about three values. But still one can come up now with what the priorities are for the child to be taught at home and school. First of all I imagine the difference and respecting the right to difference and the glorification of this right. I imagine that the values of the differences in its multiplicity is essential and fundamental in this area if we are create a good citizen to live in the future as the live in the future will require to coexist with others. I also believe that the second value, which is also of paramount importance, is to promote critical mind and critical thinking by these children, because the critical thinking alone can protect them from the media and from all those who are now trying to commodificate and to manipulate the people and unify peoples tastes. We also need to promote the values of democracy and sensitize these children that the democracy is indispensable for achieving creative and genuine opportunities for coexistence. So without democracy also we can not mature and achieve our individuality in the community.
I think when it comes to the art, I just [...]
Yassin Adnan: I think when it comes to the art, I just find it difficult to say what the important subjects are in the arts that need to be talked about, because what more important in the arts is not simply what you tackle but how you are tackling this or that subject. What we can consider some times as very ordinary subjects or very simple things and any important things, the sensibility of great artist can make from it something wonderful so I don’t think that we can dictate to the artists the subject that they should deal with. They are really free and here their freedom should be sacred. More important is how they are telling their stories, how they are making their films. And again what is more important is their sensibilities that enable us learn the world differently and see the world through their own eyes. And the art experiences that have tried to condition the art and artists, all of them have failed because art is free and we just can not come out with wonderful artistic products if we are not fee enough and if we are not in an atmosphere of total freedom. So what the subject is not the question. How this or that artist is dealing with this or that subject, that’s the main idea for me.
Other, because myself basicly realizes [...]
Yassin Adnan: Other, because myself basicly realizes itself through out the others and there is no meaning to myself without others. Therefore, I imagine that I am in urgent need for the other in order to accomplish myself. I see myself in the eyes of the other and his mirror, and without the other even my elements of my power do not show to me. And I always discovere myself through out the other. As also I need the ohter to enriche myself and to discovere my properties. I imagine that the other is the basic engine for the self and we always need the other to find out balance and to glimmer, to innovate and to refresh ourselves. So if there is a real engine for the self then that would be the others. And imagine that others are not as hell always.
I do not think we need today myths. I can [...]
Yassin Adnan: I do not think we need today myths. I can not imagine that what the future of humanity needs is making up of myths. We need faith in the human being, in the simple man, me, you, these people here etc. Let us reconsider regarding the human being as being the supreme value. Let us respect the humanity of humankind. This is a collective myth that we all can contribute in creating, legend of the human as a supreme value, human as a creative value and who is able to invent the future. I think that to create or to change the world for the better, only ordinary human being can do such changes. We don't need myths in fact, because if we would say that we need myths, I am sure that it is the TV channels and the mass media that is going to create them. It is an illusive myth, it is an unreal myth. We don't want myths any more.
Sometimes there are debates of this kind. Of [...]
Yassin Adnan: Sometimes there are debates of this kind. Of course, it is important for us to have renewable energies and the energies to be renewed, but it is also important that we maintain the original energies and not waste them. If the renewal of energies and renewable energies going to cost us the available natural energies more than it should, then in such a situation we must trash these projects. And by the way, not only in the field of renewable energies, but in many fields we lose many of the more important things to come out with less important things and this only because of unfamiliarity. We waste a lot of water and it became natural for less important things then itself. There is no drink more delicious or more tasty than water and nor more nourishing than water, and none of the drinks we need more than water. But we waste a lot of water for manufacturing and producing other less important, less useful and less necessary drinks.
I don’t think that the world begins from [...]
Yassin Adnan: I think that the world begins from your house. Therefore there is no problem for a human to feel that he belongs to a particular country or a specific city or neighbourhood. This sense of belonging is very natural. But I agree that this sense of belonging must strengthen the more comprehensive belonging to humanity or else we betray what is most important. It makes no sense for my nationality to be confiscated from me, narrow on me and lock me within it, so that I find my humanity forbidden to me. My humanity makes out of me a citizen of the world and it is great. I am citizen of the country called Morocco. And I live in a very beautiful city called Marrakech and I feel that that is my city and I talked to many people today about Marrakech which is great. But again Marrakech is a part of the world and I am citizen of the world. That is very important and essential. In fact if we all were able to consider ourselves citizen of the world a lot of things would change. But of course, belonging to one nation or to one country, which is something great. That feeling is great. But we should not reduce our humanity to that special feeling other wise it may destroy our belonging to the greater world. So, the world is far greater than the house from which it begins.
It is so because it lost all these rituals [...]
Yassin Adnan: It is so because it lost all these rituals and the things that used to make it more than just a process of biological eating. I do not know. I remember my childhood, the lunch with my family in a simple Moroccan family, how would meet in a circle around a meal of meat and fresh vegetables. That was something wonderful. This was an opportunity to exchange stories and tell each other how one spent the day. And while this meal was cooked by my mother "a house wife," who not only cooked, not only dealt with vegetables and meat, but tries through the cooking to give us a lot of love and had a desire to give us the happiness through that meal as well. Now I do not think people that take a hamburger in a small place with no colour, taste nor a smell, for example, by entering Mac Donald’s whether in Marrakech or Paris or London, it is the same place almost, one feels no difference and it is the same what one is eating, fast food given by the unknown person. So the eating stops to be something fantastic, and therefore loses so much of its meaning and joy and becomes a silly biological process that threatens the stomach more than feeds it.
The love, the love. It is love to cut it [...]
Yassin Adnan: The love, the love. It is love to cut it short because it is very difficult question but I guess it is love.
By respecting cultural specificities of [...]
Yassin Adnan: By respecting cultural specificities of these towns. When cities are innovated within the framework of the cultural dialogue with other spaces and with other human beings, those other spaces should be spaces of cultural meaning. Globalized trade spaces without cultural identity are stereotyping and killing cultural idiosyncrasies of cities. I don’t wish to make examples everyone can think of Mac Donald or similar. These spaces are daughters of globalization, daughters of globalization of trade and daughters of the globalization, which despises cultural rights of human being. I can imagine that these spaces are the biggest threat to the privacy of the towns and cities. In the city of Marrakech, we have a beautiful square called the “Jamee square”; I mentioned it this morning in an earlier question. In this square, there is a large space and big open air restaurant serving fine local meals. For me opening of Mac Donald’s restaurant in that square would be a matter of great crime against the cultural specificity of this city. Cities and especially ancient cities can and should rejects, this kind of stereotyping. There is an imaginary city in the dreams of merchants who want to rule the world. We must not allow them to accomplish these imaginary cities, there they will be build on the cost of our cities, cities with a lot of our spirits and cultural identity.
Yes, I think we can define people by their [...]
Yassin Adnan: Yes, I think we can define people by their races. Yes, we can. We should not be racists but we can define people by their races. There is no harm in that. I am like you Thomas. I am African too. I am not black but I am African. I am from Morocco, and Morocco is an African country. So I belong to that wonderful continent and I am proud of it. And again I am Moroccan, I am Arab, I am Muslim, my grandmother is barbarian and I am Andalusian in a sense because the Andolusian culture is a part of the Moroccan culture. I just find my identity great as it is so rich. I just think that one can many thinks at the same time. It is really great to have such a multiple identity. This is really great and I am glad that you are African, white and maybe you have European background and culture. That is something that will enrich your life. I think all people who have some multiplicity in their own identities are really richer of course and they are in fact more lucky then the others because a multiple identity is surely a richer one.
Again it is a very difficult question. It is [...]
Yassin Adnan: Again it is a very difficult question. It is a very difficult question. Generally I get scared from all questions that I feel by answering them that I am going to dictate the others what they must watch or read or follow. This is very difficult but I suggest of course dealing with the own individual experiences, by watching if it is meant cinema then I prefer more philosophic author movies, if it is literature, then I prefer to own individual experience and not to those who claim that they speak conscience of this nation or other, nor business literature which is written only to achieve profits with a large commercial publishing houses. Only deep individual experience could create such a person which could change the world tomorrow. There is also the experience of a pleasant and amazing travel because by travelling we can learn and get to know each others. Many people do not really know the Arabian world because they never have visited it. Many Arabian are not acquainted with America and Americans, because they never went to America. We need to visit and get opened with one another in order to get to know each other better. I sat by coincidence now near to the American writer Jerry Mander and he gave me by the occasion his book. This is wonderful thing. If I have not come to Berlin I would not have met him. It is going to be a genuine pleasure in reading his book which awakes the curiosity by its title "Four Arguments for the Elimination".
In fact, there is a democratic side of [...]
Yassin Adnan: In fact, there is a democratic side of Internet that has enabled many minorities which do not have the possibility to advertise for themselves via television, which do not have the potential to defend their interests in the widespread pulpits. These small groups gained the possibility through the Internet for self-expression and communication with others. Even individuals, actually many individuals found in the Internet room for expression and communication. So this democratic aspect is very important and the intercontinental boundary-crossing nature of the internet enhances this sense of belonging to the world and global citizenship, and also gives everybody no matter how isolated the feeling of possibility to open toward the others and to symbolically travel to areas which may be far from him and to communicate. I know many of the Moroccan students and teenagers who communicate with their friends in Europe, America, Asia, and in various countries around the globe. You can discover the whole world via television screens, but this interactive side, "this interaction that internet gives, makes really difference" and makes out of this dealing with the other, a dealing in which you realize yourself through opening to the other.
I can not talk about the city in general. I [...]
Yassin Adnan: I can not talk about the city in general. I can not talk about Paris or Berlin, but I can talk about cities in the third world and I believe that these cities are really threatened and their future is with deep regret villageization. They turn from day to day more into the countryside and into the villages. And unfortunately, they lost many of the village ethics. So they are turning into the countryside without the beautiful ethics of the countryside. So there is a premeditated ruralization of cities in many countries of the third world and the efforts should be combined to protect the city from the countryside and to protect the countryside from the city and put a border between the two because countryside are turning into cities in a silly way and cities subjected to a sort of premeditated ruralization and tomorrow we will find ourselves in front of spaces and housing compounds without soul and without the distinctive characteristics of civilization and this is very dangerous.
Why the Chinese, everything all the time the [...]
Yassin Adnan: Why the Chinese, everything all the time the Chinese. I think that everybody in the world is dreaming of having a car, which unfortunately a dream. But I think that in Europe and western countries you don’t have a real problem because the public is good. But when talking about the developing countries and the 3rd world countries I think that we really need to do a lot work, to invest on public transportation because it can really solve that problem. Personally I have a car but I would prefer if public transportation in my country were better then it is now. In such case I would just get rid of the car and take public transportation.
I think that egoism is not only the reason [...]
Yassin Adnan: I think that egoism is not only the reason for human failure but often the reason for human success and progress. We can not ignore the conflict between the people and their egoism, because it is a motivation for creativity and competition. The problem is just: how should we deal with this egoism? How can we control it to be reason for innovation and progress? The Arabic saying says: "Fire is a good servant but a bad master" and this is exactly the problem. The problem we have, that the egoism - not only human egoism, but also egoism in politics, governments and nationality - is dominant and does not allow the others to practice their freedom. The coexistence requires attenuation of the extreme egoism and we should hear the others and learn from them and build together a common life with common benefits and advantages.
