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| In order to give worthy praise to the extraordinary achievements made by SEKEM, it is necessary to understand the task SEKEM faces in uniting the many different aspects of divergent conditions and cultures. In this respect there has been no journalistic analysis thus far. Abouleish’s outstanding talent is not only being able to cope with opposing views but also to reconcile them in a very wise way to benefit his cause. Ironically, it was his grandfather who had originally established agrochemicals in Egypt. By consequently applying the bio-dynamic method of agriculture, Abouleish opposed his own family same as the very powerful chemicals industry in Egypt. Thus in the 28 years of building up SEKEM Abouleish had to cope with dramatic interventions by sheiks, police and the military, who several times stopped the work on SEKEM for weeks or several months even. With exceptional acumen and persuasiveness he has always been able to develop a way of working together constructively after such a clash, even turn the situation to profit for all involved. Thus SEKEM has now long played an important role in the national politics of Egypt, e.g. through an official advisory status in the Ministry of Agriculture. Since Dr. Abouleish has also received the prestigious international awards, he and his son integrate the experience and knowledge gained through SEKEM in international political consultations at the highest levels – at the world economic forum of the promoters of globalisation in Davos as well as in the forums of the Alternative Nobel Prize recipients critical of globalisation. SEKEM is Islam in practice, Abouleish maintains: Islam applied to modern requirements and the present time. The concept of anthroposophy, which deeply impressed him, he uses as a “method” in order to apply those aspects that are practicable and sensible for Egyptian circumstances and within the framework of Islam. This is somehow delicate by the fact that solely the religious head, the grand sheik of the Al Azhar mosque in Cairo, is allowed to interpret the Koran in Egypt. Is growing organic foods allowed? Is standing in a circle allowed? Whatever he does and however he does it, Abouleish can – and must – always substantiate and justify it with the Koran. It is one of his great acchievements that he was able to establish a very fruitful and mutually respectful dialog with the sheiks on these issues. In this sense, SEKEM is an excellent international model for a successful encounter between East and West, for a “collaboration of civilizations”, whereas Islamic and Christian societies in other parts of the world speak with spiralling tension of a “clash of civilizations”. |
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