English Translation: President Mohamed Morsi’s Speech at Cairo University after Taking Oath of Office

Source: IkhwanWeb

In the name of God, Most Merciful, Most Gracious

O great Egyptian people... distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen… with my deep appreciation and timeless greetings I salute you all...

God’s peace, mercy and blessings be on you

First, let me apologize to my children, Cairo University students who have had their exams postponed today. I realize they are only students of the Faculties of Law and the Arts, and will take the exam in the evening. Please accept my apologies for that.

I welcome all of you, at Cairo University, which witnessed my first steps in higher education. Indeed, I had the honor of belonging to this university as a student, a lecturer and a teacher assistant, before I set off on my journey of post-graduate studies.

As we together start a new phase in Egypt's history, we turn a dark page and start a new one illuminated with God’s blessings. Together, we are making history that connects us to glorious times past, times of Egyptian bliss and prosperity we are proud of and so are millions of Arabs and Muslims. We will endeavor not to go back to loathsome times of repression and tyranny. Egypt will not turn back.

Ladies and gentlemen, the Egyptian people have made great accomplishments through the sacrifices of the honorable martyrs, great achievements we will safeguard and never relinquish, because the people suffered so much for so long, with hundreds of innocent lives lost and thousands of citizens maimed and wounded.

The Egyptian people have imposed their will and exercised their inherent sovereignty, and for the first time in Egypt’s modern history, the people have mastered their full powers. They have elected their representatives for the People’s Assembly and the Shura Council (the two houses of Egyptian parliament) in free and fair elections that reflected a true representation of all components of the Egyptian society. The elected parliament then selected the Constituent Assembly that will draft a new constitution for Egypt. This Assembly has already started its work; and will use, I'm certain, Egyptian experts in all fields, from across the Egyptian political and social spectra, to author a constitution expressive of national consensus, and thereby laying the foundations for a national constitutional democracy, preserving the identity of the nation and the basic components of society, while safeguarding public and private liberties.

The new constitution will be based on truth, justice and rule of law. It will protect the independence of the judiciary, and will promote and enhance freedoms of thought, expression, association and creativity. It will also achieve social justice, taking Egypt to the ranks of modern states in which the ruler is in fact the nation’s emplyee, a servant of the people.

My first task is to be an arbiter between the authorities, a patron of the Constitution and the law, after the people have placed their trust and confidence in me, in free and fair elections supervised by the great judges of Egypt and guarded by the honorable army and police, with its fair results announced by the most senior of Egyptian judiciary.

All you sons and daughters of Egypt, I pledge to God and I pledge to you, and I swear by Almighty God, to uphold the Republican system and respect the Constitution and law, and safeguard the interests of the people fully, to preserve the homeland’s independence and territorial integrity.

To fully preserve the country’s independence and territorial integrity, it is necessary to keep up the armed forces, police and judiciary, and to protect all the people of Egypt.

Ladies and gentlemen, I will do my best to maintain our national security and protect the borders of this country with the armed forces, the shield and sword of the nation, which deter all those who may be tempted to attack Egypt or threaten its national security. I pledge to God that I will preserve this institution and safeguard its members, recruits and commanders, and to enhance and elevate its status, and to boost it by all means possible to make it stronger than ever before and continue to be steadfast, with the people’s support in all it does.

I pledge to God and I pledge to you, and the whole world bears witness, that the country's security and stability will be foremost in mind, and that it will be my responsibility, with our loyal, patriotic police forces who have dedicated themselves to protect lives, facilities and public and private property, and that the rule of law is above all else, so every Egyptian can get his or her right fully.

The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) has honored its promise and pledge not to be a substitute for popular will.

Elected institutions will return to perform their roles and the great Egyptian army will once again devote itself to its vital mission of protecting homeland security and borders, and working with other state institutions within the framework of the Constitution and the law. I salute them for their wonderful effort.

The advancement of Egypt is the responsibility of all of us together. And there is no time to waste. Egypt is in dire need of each hand to build a bright future. Nations cannot achieve real renaissance, except with the participation of all its sons and daughters, and with fruitful cooperation between the people and state institutions. On this basis, we will open new horizons in the coming period to empower society with all its components and categories, and to expand the role of civil society to participate actively in all national issues.

I pledge to all Egyptians that the State will fully bear its responsibilities towards society and towards the people of Egypt at home and abroad, will safeguard the homeland’s security, stability and safety, and will adequately care for all segments of society. I will try my utmost best to foster cooperation and love among all the spectra of Egyptian society and activate the concept of citizenship among all Egyptians.

We urgently need to remove the debris after past chaos in all fields, especially in the economic sphere; this chaos that the former regime caused over the past decades. We must achieve social justice in its comprehensive sense, in order to achieve stability and security in the Egyptian society.

Ladies and gentlemen, the Egyptian nation, throughout its history, has played the role of guardian of the state. Whenever the regime strayed from the historic path of civilization, this people is capable of correcting it. Here is the honorable Egyptian People, which came out in revolt in the iconic squares of pride and dignity, in the squares of martyrs, in Tahrir Square and all liberation squares of Egypt, this people succeeded in correcting the path of power, toppling an unjust repressive regime in a peaceful civilized manner, giving the finest examples ever seen in the whole world in popular societal oversight of the ruling regime.

In this context, I say to those who have lingering concerns about the Egyptian state changing paths: the people have chosen me to march on the path of civilization of the modern Egyptian state, and the people will not accept, and I would not want them to accept, any deviation from that path.

I pledge to God and I pledge to you to do my very best to maintain and reform the Egyptian state, making its institutions more reflective of the Egyptian people, and making its various State apparatuses work to protect and care for the interests of citizens at home and abroad, as the Egyptian citizen is the focus of its service and the backbone of the overall development.

O great Egyptian people, the former regime neglected the national security of Egypt, and dwarfed the role of this country on international and regional levels. But today we undertake to build a strong Egypt and reshape its national security system in a manner consistent with the capabilities of Egypt and its real weight in the Arab, Islamic, African and international circles.

We carry a message of peace to the world, and carry with it a message of truth and justice. As always, we affirm our respect for the commitments of the Egyptian state as per international treaties and conventions. I declare here that Egypt, its people and government and the presidential institution stand firmly with the Palestinian people until they regain all their legitimate rights. We will work to complete national reconciliation efforts of the Palestinian people, so they would close ranks and reclaim their land and sovereignty.

We are not exporting the revolution. Egyptians do not export the revolution. We do not interfere in anyone’s affairs.

Meanwhile, we do not allow anyone to interfere in our affairs. While we now endeavor to build our new modern Egypt, we do not isolate ourselves from our Arab and Muslim nation; and we do not antagonize anyone anywhere in the world.

We, as Egyptians, always support the peoples to obtain their freedom, their self-determination and self-governing rights. These are general principles that all the people in the world believe in. Today, Egypt supports the Palestinian people and also the Syrian people.

The shedding of the Syrian people’s blood must stop. We will do our best to stop the bloodshed in the near future. We will work with all seriousness in order to activate the joint Arab action framework and all that it requires of developing the Arab League and Arab joint defense agreement and the Arab common market.

All Arab countries need this, and are all keen on it. Egypt is always in the lead. If it advances, all the Arabs will.

In its new era, Egypt will not accept any violation of the Arab national security; and will always be on the side of fair and comprehensive peace. Egypt will never resort to policies of aggression. But we will stand strong in the face of challenges and dangers that threaten our homeland.

Ladies and gentlemen, dear citizens everywhere… Egypt has always been destined to be in the lead. With the vigor and vitality of its men and women, in all fields of work and production, it will be able to realize its fate.

We will work together to encourage investment in all sectors, and restore the role of tourism for the benefit of the Egyptian economy and every citizen in Egypt. Together we will plot a brighter future for our children and grandchildren, Muslims and Christians, so Egypt would once again be strong and proud, so it would achieve the remaining objectives of its revolution, and so we together would attain freedom, justice and human dignity.

I pledge not to betray my homeland or my people ever. I will meet your expectations, your demands, wishes and your will.

I reiterate that the blood of the martyrs and the hundreds of wounded, maimed and injured are a huge responsibility that I proudly carry on my shoulders until I exact just retribution for them.

Now, let us look forward, and not look back. Let us go to work and build. Soon, we shall make it all a reality.