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Egypt�s majority Muslim population stuck to its word Thursday night. What had a 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 preacher 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. �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�, and 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, Jews and Copts. 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 claiming over 100 lives, and in the late 90�s, Islamic militants executed a series of bombings and massacres that left dozens dead.
This attack 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 brutal 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 rife brutality. The opposition was essentially annihilated. And just days before the elections, Copts 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, persecuted, 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.|||Pfft. Those muslims weren't risking anything, they had already told the other muslims not to bomb the place while they were there! But seriously, they're taking a big risk being there. So much for the notion that all muslims are terrorists or terrorist supporters, eh?|||What's coptic?|||Quote:
What's coptic?
It's the most popular church structure in Egypt. To put it simply, they're kind of like the Greek Orthodox, etc, but Egyptian instead. (they have their own pope, etc) I'm allergic to excessive hierarchies, so maybe someone else can fill you in with more firsthand knowledge.
Not getting blown up is great, though I wouldn't hold my breath for this to happen across the Middle East. A lot of Islam's teachings have to be ignored for Christians to have actual equality in their countries. At the risk of sounding the party pooper, I think this has more to do with Egyptians being tired of violence and their ineffective government than it does with a fundamental change in Islam. Still, like I said -- not getting blown up is great.|||Quote:
So much for the notion that all muslims are terrorists or terrorist supporters, eh?
I'm new in here, you're being facetious right?
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At the risk of sounding the party pooper, I think this has more to do with Egyptians being tired of violence and their ineffective government than it does with a fundamental change in Islam.
Fundamental change has to start somewhere...Egyptians getting tired of violence isn't a bad place to start.
I'm probably being too optimistic though.|||Quote:
I'm new in here, you're being facetious right?
If you're asking whether or not I think all muslims are extremists, then no. I was mocking people who hold such a view.|||Quote:
A lot of Islam's teachings have to be ignored for Christians to have actual equality in their countries.
http://www.reddit.com/r/worldnews/co...s_mass/c1bu5ge
That said, this won't be happening all over the Middle East anytime soon.|||It's nice to hear news like this, to help balance the overwhelmingly one-sided view we've come to associate with Islam.
Put it bluntly, I know some gamers, and they're not all on-the-verge-of-losing-it-and-rampaging-a-high-school-with-guns types that some people in the media would like us to believe.
Same with Islamists. Regardless of proportions, we shouldn't forget the peaceful ones.|||“We either live together, or we die together,”
What progressive way of thought. Took them long enough though, still better than, "We can't stand each other, and must travel down the road of mutually assured destruction."
Egypt really has lots to gain by being moderate and stable. Their tourism industry is immense and needs peace. Part of the reason they've been willing to work with Israel is protect that stability.|||Quote:
Egypt really has lots to gain by being moderate and stable. Their tourism industry is immense and needs peace. Part of the reason they've been willing to work with Israel is protect that stability.
And a far larger part is that it is lucrative for them to do so. What's discouraging is that there's a significant segment supportive of the Muslim Brotherhood (the organizational genesis for the Islamist trend, and officially at war with the West), and that they've got significant influence.
98% of Egyptians regard Israel as an enemy, and the Egyptian gov't panders to Islamist, anti-Israeli sentiment. As long as disinformation is a gov't staple, and "Palestine" a fantasy deliberately kept alive to enflame tensions, the best we can hope for is cold hostility.
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