October  16, 2002

Address of President Mohammed Hosni Mubarak's on the Occasion of the Inauguration of Bibliotheca Alexandria

    We welcome you all here in Alexandria, the melting pot of civilizations, to witness this unique moment in human history and thought. Our greetings today are very special, because they come from a historical place that marks a turning point in human civilization. We greet you from Egypt, the meeting point of all human values, nobility, kindness, knowledge and culture. Today, we are celebrating the inauguration of Bibliotheca Alexandrina. By building it back in place, we are reviving human heritage in the area. Here, religions were revealed and prophets lived to sow eternal values of tolerance and co-existance. It was the launching pad of movements of liberation and enlightenment throughtout history and time.

    The old Bibliotheca Alexandrina was a melting pot of all civilizations, cultures and knowledge for all peoples.

    The great value of Bibliotheca Alexandrina, the recognition of its international role and the need to ressurect this value, especially at this critical moment of our history, drove in these diligent efforts to construct it back in its original place,where it disappeared 1600 years ago.

    The old one was a monolith of diligent scientific reasearch and collective cultural efforts. It was an epitome of persistent efforts to combine and integrate all cultures and civilizations and to unify the world as we all try to do now. It had always been a global source of information to all scholars, of all religions and from all over the world. It spread its spell over the Middle Ages, the Renaissance in Europe and then in the rest of the world. This unique historical event encourages us to talk about some noble human values, and we believe you would agree with us on the importance of highlighting them here.

    First: Maintaining inter-cultural dialogue and interaction is the only rational way to eliminate violence and tension and build bridges among peoples using knowledge and peaceful co-existence as common bases of communication.

    Second: asserting the unity of human heritage which was created by all religions, nations and cultures on sound grounds of understanding, cooperation and partnership, rather than clashes, discord and monopoly.

    Third: Underscoring the effective role of the Arab Islamic civilization in building up human heritage. From the very first inception of human civilizations, knowledge moved forward in a historical sequence and order from the Ancient Egyptians to the Greeks, the Arab intellectuals and scientists and then to the European renaissance, in an intertwined process void of any conflicts or clashes. This is a clearcut evidence that human civilization is a full-fledged process combining all civilizations and can never be created by a sole nation or civilization alone.

    Fourth: Bridging the gap between the old and the new and linking the past accomplishments and experiences to the new sceintific progress and technology. We hope that the modern technological leap would bring together and unify all members of the human global family. We do not want it to broaden the gap between them or isolate the rich from the poor. Fruits of the sweeping scientific progress should be fairly distributed among peoples and nations, in a bid to eliminate sufferings and build a better future and broader hopes for man.

   
Your Majesties,
Your Excellencies,
Dear Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

    Egypt exerted strenuous efforts to build up Bibliotheca Alexandrina. It is a message driven by civilization, written in new lines, with an international role and impact. Egypt was keen that the new Bibliotheca inherits the conceptual values of cultural bridging, intellectual diversity and radiation of knowledge and information from the old one.

    Thus, it combined everything, research centres, art galleries, conference halls, thousands of valuable books and manuscripts and electronic databases in such a unique and great edifice.

    Since it was born in the new century and in the age of information and technological revolution, thus, it was imperative that it applies the latest modern techniques to reach its goals. Consequently, it should open up to the rest of the world, display the Arab and Egyptian art and use multi-media technology to cross borders, time and space. The new means of communication connects the whole world together and channels information through the internet to assist researchers and provide people with knowledge, culture and information in science and technology.

    Modern technology empowers Bibliotheca Alexandrina to take its proper place on the world map of cultural and scientific institutions. It also enables it to work together with all the educational, cultural and scientific institutions in Egypt and in the whole world. The Bibliotheca is a rich source of information, science and services for our children.

    Human expertise and modern scientific methods of managment were indispensble in order to be able to deal with the other international cultural and scientific institutions. Thus, the organization of the Bibliotheca is rather unique and special. It is an Egyptian institution with an international dimension. It is sponsored by a World Council of Sponsors and run by an international Board of Trustees, combining both local and international expertise in drawing up its policies and setting out its programs.

    The World Call voiced in Aswan in 1990 was a major support to our efforts from the very beginning. The appreciated response of the international governments and institutions, especially our brotherly Arab countries and the UNESCO was a further support. This was also fostered with the diligent efforts exerted in the Norwegian-Egyptian architectural design, the construction done by the Italian, British and Egyptian contractors, in addition to the successive gifts given by all countries in the world.

    These facilities, properties and installations all around us are the fruits of our work together. The Bibliotheca Friends Associations have been sprouting everywhere in the world, since we started the construction process. Cooperation and international bridges of communication have also been intensified. All these efforts had a common goal to reach, which is , the success of this pioneering project.

    This proves that reconstructing Bibliotheca Alexandrina was a dream for everybody. Thus, it is a meeting point for dialogue, communication, science and knowledge.

    Today, while we celebrate the completion of work in this modern edifice, heading towards its greater mission, we reiterate our call to the whole world to continue and increase its support to this cultural bridge which ties all peoples together. We also stress the fact that the aspired for role of the Bibliotheca will never be achieved without strengthening international collective support to it and to its affiliated bodies.

    We further emphasize that Egypt will continue its efforts in driving the Bibliotheca towards its future goals. We also call on everyone who beleives in the Bibliotheca's mission to participate in this great work, so that we can pull together in the wake of the new millenium more fraternity, communication, knowledge and a global culture as much as our ancestors acheived.

   
Your Majesties,
Your Excellencies,
Dear Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

    If we can say that the reconstruction of Bibliotheca Alexandrina is a leap forward, in a bid to maintain noble values, then this means that the pioneers of scientific and cultural renaissance in our society should work hard on highlighting the common features of different cultures and societies. They should also try to promote cultural and intellectual dialogue and exchange and broaden the level of understanding among people of different creeds. This would help us percieve and unveil the unseen motives behind other people's thoughts and actions.

    We should all realize that the current political disputes and steep differences in economic and social visions are primarily fed with negative feelings of frustration and despair and would finally lead to a vicious circle of extremism and violence that will spread its spell over all of us and we will all suffer from its dire consequences.

    Thus, this unique historical event should motivate us and strengthen our political will in acheiving justice and equality in its broader sense. A framework of both single and collective societal interests should permeate. It should also shun any attempts to hegemonize, either by using military force or economic pressure.

    History has taught us that the only way to settle disputes is dialogue, based on a balance of equal rights and commitments and respect to other people's opinions, values and cultures. The attempt to enforce unjust settlements or situations would succeed at the begining but in the end, it would sow the seeds of grudge and hatred in the hearts of the upcoming generatoins. It would further jeopardize the harmony, we are all seeking to acheive among ourselves.

    However, our responsibilities as leaders of political, intellectual and scientific work should urge us to promote the values of justice and equality among our people. We should maintain the concepts of democracy, freedom and respect of other people's opinions. We need to spread tolerance and raproachment among us to eliminate all reasons for hatred and tension and replace them with a Culture of Peace.

   
Your Majesties,
Your Excellencies,
Dear Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

    The reconstruction of this monolithic Bibliotheca embodies all meanings of civilizational bridging and human co-existance. This calls on us to hold tight to just and comprehensive peace, refuse the logic of power and call for the respect of legitimacy which reflects and maintains human conscience. Our region has always been suffering from bloodshed and conflicts. Now it is time to put this to an end. This applies to all parties because human blood is equally valuable. Man is just the same everywhere and at all times. So, violence should stop now and security should be set back on track. Rights are the grips of power and not vice versa. This would drive everybody to the route of just and comprehensive peace.

    This is a wholeheartedly call in such a majestic event and we hope it would reach out to all powers and parties. Innocent people are sacrificed, civilians are engulfed with fear, worries and tension. All these things are impediments against human progress in all fields.

    The reconstruction of Bibliotheca Alexandrina is a restoration of great human traditions and cultural approaches. It is a modern symbol full of the noble meanings of human co-existence and cooperation. It is a call to terminate violence, tension and all sorts of terrorism which is collectively refused by all civilizations, denied by all religions and nations.

   
Your Majesties,
Your Excellencies,
Dear Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

    This is Alexandria Call. Here, where we can witness the greatness of the past and the sublimity of history, we can all call for a world full of understanding, co-existence, peace and security, because this is what makes our children smile. This is what spreads happiness and builds up aspirations for the upcoming generations. Long live the noble values and meanings that the Bibliotheca ressurects today in its inauguration. It is here to voice them and to maintain them.

    We hail and appreciate the efforts of all those who contributed in reconstructing this great edifice, as centre of science, a pool of culture and a symbol of cultural international and civilizational bridges and communication.

    We are honoured to have you all here, particiapting with us in this historic event, which will always be a landmark in the history of this great city that will continue to be as such and a meeting point for all religions. It is the cradle of renaissance movements whether cultural or scientific, both in the past and in the present.

    Finally, we wholeheartedly greet this majestic place and hail its future pivotal role in enriching human life and making it better for all our people and children and in helping peace to prevail in the whole world.