From the Word on Fire blog, today's post by Fr. Stephen Grunow:
Today we feature links that detail the violence suffered by the Coptic Christians in Egypt. Below, Father Steve reminds us that for many Christians, the age of persecution is not a matter of the past, but of a very real and frightening present.
The ancient Christian cultures of the Middle East are disappearing before our eyes. Churches that reach back to the apostolic period have been diminished by centuries of Islamist dhimmitude and hemmed in by humiliating constraints which, by their nature, are meant to demoralize and subdue. The rise of radicalized sects of Islam have had further deleterious consequences for these ancient Christian cultures, and Christians themselves have become a convenient scapegoat used to explain the fragmentation of society engendered by the effects of colonization, secularization, globalization and the violence perpetrated in the name of God by jihadist ideologues.
This past weekend, Coptic Christians in Egypt found themselves at the receiving end of terror as mobs of radicalized Islamists, stirred into a furious frenzy by claims of Christian women who had converted or wanted to convert Islam being held against their will in churches. Five churches were set ablaze, hundreds injured and at least 12 people are reported dead.
Christianity is an ancient presence in Egypt. In fact, centuries ago it was the center of the Christian world, a rival in cultural achievement to the ancient Christians communities of Rome and Constantinople. Western Christians might look in puzzlement at what the media terms "sectarian violence," but look we must, because for many of our brothers and sisters in the Lord, persecution is not a memory of times past, but the reality of the present situation. Most Christians have fled the persecution and violence, but in doing so, cultural forms of the Christian Faith, which have given rise to unique expressions of art, music, literature, indeed whole ways of life, are disappearing. While cultural elites in the West wax eloquently about the necessity of "multi-culturalism" and "respect for differences," barely a mumbling word is spoken on behalf of the ancient Christians of the Middle East. Perhaps that statement is too strong, but prove me wrong.
Links are provided here that give details about the situation in Egypt. We can pray for these ancient Christian communities, but we can also use the tools of the digital media to make sure the plight of these churches becomes much more well known and outrage at their destruction prompts action by those whom our nation entrusts with power. Share these links with friends.
http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=10252
http://www.aina.org/news/20110508144114.htm
http://www.usatoday.com/news/topstories/2011-05-08-1652241639_x.htm
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/may/08/egypt-copts-muslims-clash-cairo
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-13331628
Retrieved May 10, 2011 fromhttp://wordonfire.org/WoF-Blog/WoF-Blog/May-2011/News-Violence-Against-Christians-in-Egypt.aspx
Showing posts with label Egypt. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Egypt. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Friday, April 1, 2011
Egypt's Forgotten Copts
Angela Shanahan | Thursday, 31 March 2011
Coptic Christians have been in Egypt for 2,000 years. Why is the Western media ignoring the peril they face?
A disturbing feature of the crisis in Egypt has been the paucity of any discussion of the implications of the possible rise of fanatical Islamists for Christians, particularly the sizeable Coptic Christian population, estimated at between 10-15 percent of the Egyptian population. The few vague references to their fate were generally voiced as an afterthought to reflections on the repression of women.
This puzzling gap is characteristic of Western analysts who respond only to political and economic explanations. But these have little to do with the deeper social historical complexities of the Middle East and everything to do with religion and the culture. Western analysts seldom understand the importance of religion. Unless conflict has an overt political face it is usually a mystery to them. Yet Christians were out on the street with their fellow Egyptians when Mubarak was ousted, desperate to ward off an Islamic take-over.
In fact the persecution of Copts has intensified over the past 20 years even though few in the West have paid attention to it.
The Copts are the descendants of the original Pharonaic Egyptians and their liturgical language is the closest thing we have to demotic Egyptian spoken in Roman times. Christianity was introduced by the Evangelist Mark as early as 42 AD and flourished for hundreds of years. The Christian monastic tradition began in Egypt. In fact Islam did not dominate Egypt until the end of the 12th century.
The Copts are integrated into virtually every strata of life in Egypt from the lowest, like the famous rag pickers of Cairo, to the highest, including the multi-billionaire Telco giant Naguib Sawiris and Boutros Boutros Ghali, former United Nations Secretary-General.
But all this is lost on your average Westerner who equates the rise of Islam with women having to get out of their mini-skirts and into the veil.
If only that were the worst of the problems Copts will face in the event of an Islamic revolution in Egypt!
The lack of interest in the fate of the Copts is doubly curious because a terrible massacre on New Year’s day (the Coptic Christmas) was widely reported. The Coptic bishop of Melbourne, Suriel, told me that the revolution began with the massacre. It is easier to attack a church than a police station.
The Copts are used to these atrocities, although this was the bloodiest of a series of attacks against Christians by fanatical Muslims. The number of massacres has been shocking -- there have been at least 40 incidents in the last 10 years. There is also daily discrimination in jobs and education, property ownership and most particularly in freedom of belief and worship. New churches are routinely destroyed or desecrated. It is very difficult for an Egyptian Muslim to convert to Christianity. The government will not recognise the change of religion on ID cards and makes it difficult for such people to leave the country. There are numerous stories of converted spouses being persecuted and even kidnapped.
The Wall Street Journal recently interviewed a secular Muslim who expressed his own fears about the rising menace of Islamists: "The issue is not that they have gotten stronger since the revolution. It is that they are getting bolder. There is no counterbalance to their street dominance in certain poor neighborhoods. They're not scared of the government. They're not scared of being prosecuted."
Australian journalist Peter Day has travelled extensively in Egypt and is very familiar with the Coptic culture and situation. He says that the tactics of the regime in relation to the fundamentalists are merely to “outflank the Muslim Brotherhood by indulging the anti-Christian bigotry of the Muslim masses” -- in short, complying with Muslim demands to stifle Christianity in Egypt. Yet so feared is the prospect of an Islamic regime that the Copts supported the Mubarak regime.
According to Day, Australian diplomats have overlooked the discrimination, persecution and violence because of Australia’s own large and possibly strategically significant Muslim population. The growth of the Muslim population in Sydney worries many Australians. Lebanese Muslims, in particular, have a fertility rate four times the national average. Yet Copts and other Middle Eastern Christians with well-founded fears of discrimination and persecution find it difficult to claim refugee status in Australia. (Ironically probably the only country, since the demise of Saddam Hussein in Iraq, which assures the safety and rights of its Christians is Syria, another dictatorship.) Shouldn’t Australia give priority to Copts and other Christians of Middle Eastern origin who are far closer to traditional Australian values and culture?
We Westerners have to take our blinkers off. Hani Shukrallah, the Coptic editor of the Cairo daily Al Ahram, alerted his countrymen to the danger in a recent English-language editorial titled “J’Accuse!”. He has a message for us in the West as well:
As the Coptic Pope Shenouda remarked of the Islamic fundamentalists to the secular Egyptian press: “Be careful. They will have us for lunch and you for dinner.”
Angela Shanahan is an Australian newspaper columnist.
This article is published by Angela Shanahan, and MercatorNet.com under a Creative Commons licence. You may republish it or translate it free of charge with attribution for non-commercial purposes following these guidelines. If you teach at a university we ask that your department make a donation. Commercial media must contact us for permission and fees. Some articles on this site are published under different terms.
Retrieved March 31, 2011 from http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=328301737610513476
Coptic Christians have been in Egypt for 2,000 years. Why is the Western media ignoring the peril they face?
A disturbing feature of the crisis in Egypt has been the paucity of any discussion of the implications of the possible rise of fanatical Islamists for Christians, particularly the sizeable Coptic Christian population, estimated at between 10-15 percent of the Egyptian population. The few vague references to their fate were generally voiced as an afterthought to reflections on the repression of women.
This puzzling gap is characteristic of Western analysts who respond only to political and economic explanations. But these have little to do with the deeper social historical complexities of the Middle East and everything to do with religion and the culture. Western analysts seldom understand the importance of religion. Unless conflict has an overt political face it is usually a mystery to them. Yet Christians were out on the street with their fellow Egyptians when Mubarak was ousted, desperate to ward off an Islamic take-over.
In fact the persecution of Copts has intensified over the past 20 years even though few in the West have paid attention to it.
The Copts are the descendants of the original Pharonaic Egyptians and their liturgical language is the closest thing we have to demotic Egyptian spoken in Roman times. Christianity was introduced by the Evangelist Mark as early as 42 AD and flourished for hundreds of years. The Christian monastic tradition began in Egypt. In fact Islam did not dominate Egypt until the end of the 12th century.
The Copts are integrated into virtually every strata of life in Egypt from the lowest, like the famous rag pickers of Cairo, to the highest, including the multi-billionaire Telco giant Naguib Sawiris and Boutros Boutros Ghali, former United Nations Secretary-General.
But all this is lost on your average Westerner who equates the rise of Islam with women having to get out of their mini-skirts and into the veil.
If only that were the worst of the problems Copts will face in the event of an Islamic revolution in Egypt!
The lack of interest in the fate of the Copts is doubly curious because a terrible massacre on New Year’s day (the Coptic Christmas) was widely reported. The Coptic bishop of Melbourne, Suriel, told me that the revolution began with the massacre. It is easier to attack a church than a police station.
The Copts are used to these atrocities, although this was the bloodiest of a series of attacks against Christians by fanatical Muslims. The number of massacres has been shocking -- there have been at least 40 incidents in the last 10 years. There is also daily discrimination in jobs and education, property ownership and most particularly in freedom of belief and worship. New churches are routinely destroyed or desecrated. It is very difficult for an Egyptian Muslim to convert to Christianity. The government will not recognise the change of religion on ID cards and makes it difficult for such people to leave the country. There are numerous stories of converted spouses being persecuted and even kidnapped.
The Wall Street Journal recently interviewed a secular Muslim who expressed his own fears about the rising menace of Islamists: "The issue is not that they have gotten stronger since the revolution. It is that they are getting bolder. There is no counterbalance to their street dominance in certain poor neighborhoods. They're not scared of the government. They're not scared of being prosecuted."
Australian journalist Peter Day has travelled extensively in Egypt and is very familiar with the Coptic culture and situation. He says that the tactics of the regime in relation to the fundamentalists are merely to “outflank the Muslim Brotherhood by indulging the anti-Christian bigotry of the Muslim masses” -- in short, complying with Muslim demands to stifle Christianity in Egypt. Yet so feared is the prospect of an Islamic regime that the Copts supported the Mubarak regime.
According to Day, Australian diplomats have overlooked the discrimination, persecution and violence because of Australia’s own large and possibly strategically significant Muslim population. The growth of the Muslim population in Sydney worries many Australians. Lebanese Muslims, in particular, have a fertility rate four times the national average. Yet Copts and other Middle Eastern Christians with well-founded fears of discrimination and persecution find it difficult to claim refugee status in Australia. (Ironically probably the only country, since the demise of Saddam Hussein in Iraq, which assures the safety and rights of its Christians is Syria, another dictatorship.) Shouldn’t Australia give priority to Copts and other Christians of Middle Eastern origin who are far closer to traditional Australian values and culture?
We Westerners have to take our blinkers off. Hani Shukrallah, the Coptic editor of the Cairo daily Al Ahram, alerted his countrymen to the danger in a recent English-language editorial titled “J’Accuse!”. He has a message for us in the West as well:
“I am no Zola, but I too can accuse. And it’s not the blood thirsty criminals of al-Qaeda or whatever other gang of hoodlums involved in the horror of Alexandria that I am concerned with…
“I accuse you all, because in your bigoted blindness you cannot even see the violence to logic and sheer common sense that you commit; that you dare accuse the whole world of using a double standard against us, and are, at the same time, wholly incapable of showing a minimum awareness of your own blatant double standard.
“And finally, I accuse the liberal intellectuals, both Muslim and Christian who, whether complicit, afraid, or simply unwilling to do or say anything that may displease “the masses”, have stood aside, finding it sufficient to join in one futile chorus of denunciation following another, even as the massacres spread wider, and grow more horrifying.”
As the Coptic Pope Shenouda remarked of the Islamic fundamentalists to the secular Egyptian press: “Be careful. They will have us for lunch and you for dinner.”
Angela Shanahan is an Australian newspaper columnist.
This article is published by Angela Shanahan, and MercatorNet.com under a Creative Commons licence. You may republish it or translate it free of charge with attribution for non-commercial purposes following these guidelines. If you teach at a university we ask that your department make a donation. Commercial media must contact us for permission and fees. Some articles on this site are published under different terms.
Retrieved March 31, 2011 from http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=328301737610513476
Monday, January 10, 2011
Egyptian Muslims Serve as "Human Shields" to Protect Coptic Christians
Egypt's Muslims attend Coptic Christmas mass, serving as "human shields"
Yasmine El-Rashidi, Friday 7 Jan 2011
Muslims turned up in droves for the Coptic Christmas mass Thursday night, offering their bodies, and lives, as “shields” to Egypt’s threatened Christian community
Egypt’s majority Muslim population stuck to its word Thursday night. What had been a promise of solidarity to the weary Coptic community, was honoured, when thousands of Muslims showed up at Coptic Christmas eve mass services in churches around the country and at candle light vigils held outside.
From the well-known to the unknown, Muslims had offered their bodies as “human shields” for last night’s mass, making a pledge to collectively fight the threat of Islamic militants and towards an Egypt free from sectarian strife.
“We either live together, or we die together,” was the sloganeering genius of Mohamed El-Sawy, a Muslim arts tycoon whose cultural centre distributed flyers at churches in Cairo Thursday night, and who has been credited with first floating the “human shield” idea.
Among those shields were movie stars Adel Imam and Yousra, popular Muslim televangelist andpreacher Amr Khaled, the two sons of President Hosni Mubarak, and thousands of citizens who have said they consider the attack one on Egypt as a whole.
“This is not about us and them,” said Dalia Mustafa, a student who attended mass at Virgin Mary Church on Maraashly Street. “We are one. This was an attack on Egypt as a whole, and I am standing with the Copts because the only way things will change in this country is if we come together.”
In the days following the brutal attack on Saints Church in Alexandria, which left 21 dead on New Year’ eve, solidarity between Muslims and Copts has seen an unprecedented peak. Millions of Egyptians changed their Facebook profile pictures to the image of a cross within a crescent – the symbol of an “Egypt for All”. Around the city, banners went up calling for unity, and depicting mosques and churches, crosses and crescents, together as one.
The attack has rocked a nation that is no stranger to acts of terror, against all of Muslims, Copts and Jews. In January of last year, on the eve of Coptic Christmas, a drive-by shooting in the southern town of Nag Hammadi killed eight Copts as they were leaving Church following mass. In 2004 and 2005, bombings in the Red Sea resorts of Taba and Sharm El-Sheikh claimed over 100 lives, and in the late 90’s, Islamic militants executed a series of bombings and massacres that left dozens dead.
This attack though comes after a series of more recent incidents that have left Egyptians feeling left out in the cold by a government meant to protect them.
Last summer, 28-year-old businessman Khaled Said was beaten to death by police, also in Alexandria, causing a local and international uproar. Around his death, there have been numerous other reports of police brutality, random arrests and torture.
Last year was also witness to a ruthless parliamentary election process in which the government’s security apparatus and thugs seemed to spiral out of control. The result, aside from injuries and deaths, was a sweeping win by the ruling party thanks to its own carefully-orchestrated campaign that included vote-rigging, corruption and widespread violence. The opposition was essentially annihilated. And just days before the elections, Copts - who make up 10 percent of the population - were once again the subject of persecution, when a government moratorium on construction of a Christian community centre resulted in clashes between police and protestors. Two people were left dead and over 100 were detained, facing sentences of up to life in jail.
The economic woes of a country that favours the rich have only exacerbated the frustration of a population of 80 million whose majority struggle each day to survive. Accounts of thefts, drugs, and violence have surged in recent years, and the chorus of voices of discontent has continued to grow.
The terror attack that struck the country on New Year’s eve is in many ways a final straw – a breaking point, not just for the Coptic community, but for Muslims as well, who too feel marginalized, oppressed, and overlooked by a government that fails to address their needs. On this Coptic Christmas eve, the solidarity was not just one of religion, but of a desperate and collective plea for a better life and a government with accountability.
Retrieved January 9, 2011 from http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/3365.aspx
Yasmine El-Rashidi, Friday 7 Jan 2011
Muslims turned up in droves for the Coptic Christmas mass Thursday night, offering their bodies, and lives, as “shields” to Egypt’s threatened Christian community
Egypt’s majority Muslim population stuck to its word Thursday night. What had been a promise of solidarity to the weary Coptic community, was honoured, when thousands of Muslims showed up at Coptic Christmas eve mass services in churches around the country and at candle light vigils held outside.
From the well-known to the unknown, Muslims had offered their bodies as “human shields” for last night’s mass, making a pledge to collectively fight the threat of Islamic militants and towards an Egypt free from sectarian strife.
“We either live together, or we die together,” was the sloganeering genius of Mohamed El-Sawy, a Muslim arts tycoon whose cultural centre distributed flyers at churches in Cairo Thursday night, and who has been credited with first floating the “human shield” idea.
Among those shields were movie stars Adel Imam and Yousra, popular Muslim televangelist andpreacher Amr Khaled, the two sons of President Hosni Mubarak, and thousands of citizens who have said they consider the attack one on Egypt as a whole.
“This is not about us and them,” said Dalia Mustafa, a student who attended mass at Virgin Mary Church on Maraashly Street. “We are one. This was an attack on Egypt as a whole, and I am standing with the Copts because the only way things will change in this country is if we come together.”
In the days following the brutal attack on Saints Church in Alexandria, which left 21 dead on New Year’ eve, solidarity between Muslims and Copts has seen an unprecedented peak. Millions of Egyptians changed their Facebook profile pictures to the image of a cross within a crescent – the symbol of an “Egypt for All”. Around the city, banners went up calling for unity, and depicting mosques and churches, crosses and crescents, together as one.
The attack has rocked a nation that is no stranger to acts of terror, against all of Muslims, Copts and Jews. In January of last year, on the eve of Coptic Christmas, a drive-by shooting in the southern town of Nag Hammadi killed eight Copts as they were leaving Church following mass. In 2004 and 2005, bombings in the Red Sea resorts of Taba and Sharm El-Sheikh claimed over 100 lives, and in the late 90’s, Islamic militants executed a series of bombings and massacres that left dozens dead.
This attack though comes after a series of more recent incidents that have left Egyptians feeling left out in the cold by a government meant to protect them.
Last summer, 28-year-old businessman Khaled Said was beaten to death by police, also in Alexandria, causing a local and international uproar. Around his death, there have been numerous other reports of police brutality, random arrests and torture.
Last year was also witness to a ruthless parliamentary election process in which the government’s security apparatus and thugs seemed to spiral out of control. The result, aside from injuries and deaths, was a sweeping win by the ruling party thanks to its own carefully-orchestrated campaign that included vote-rigging, corruption and widespread violence. The opposition was essentially annihilated. And just days before the elections, Copts - who make up 10 percent of the population - were once again the subject of persecution, when a government moratorium on construction of a Christian community centre resulted in clashes between police and protestors. Two people were left dead and over 100 were detained, facing sentences of up to life in jail.
The economic woes of a country that favours the rich have only exacerbated the frustration of a population of 80 million whose majority struggle each day to survive. Accounts of thefts, drugs, and violence have surged in recent years, and the chorus of voices of discontent has continued to grow.
The terror attack that struck the country on New Year’s eve is in many ways a final straw – a breaking point, not just for the Coptic community, but for Muslims as well, who too feel marginalized, oppressed, and overlooked by a government that fails to address their needs. On this Coptic Christmas eve, the solidarity was not just one of religion, but of a desperate and collective plea for a better life and a government with accountability.
Retrieved January 9, 2011 from http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/3365.aspx
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