16 May, 2011

TWELVE Christian were murdered in Egypt. Two hundred and thirty-two people wounded. The death toll will surely rise as victims succumb to their injuries. And that’s just in the past few days. In the same time period, more Christians were killed in Egypt at the hands of Muslims than people killed in Syria or in Libya as a result of protests, riots and resistance.

Two churches in Cairo were burned in recent days. Over the past few months church property has being gutted, vandalised and violated with graffiti. Churches have been blown up.

An entire community – the Christian community in the new Egypt – is under attack. And the world remains relatively silent. There has been no significant religious outcry, political redress or diplomatic pressure to stop the attacks. There has been almost no media coverage as Egypt’s Muslims systematically, over the past few months, set about massacring Egypt’s Christians.

The world is not only standing idly by, it is enabling the massacre. The US naively expects that a new era, begun in new Egypt, will ripple to the rest of the Islamic world. So in the midst of these monstrous mass murders in Egypt, the US has decided to send an extra $US1 billion to help the Egyptians ease the economic crisis that emerged as a result of the ousting of Hosni Mubarak on February 11. Muslims in Egypt are on the warpath – on the religious warpath – and the US is feeding them money.

This most recent round of Christian murders began with the rumour that Christians had kidnapped a Christian woman who had converted to Islam. According to the rumour, the woman was being held in the cellar of one of the churches and Christians were brainwashing her back to Christianity. Egyptian Muslims set out to find this woman. Along the way they murdered, pillaged and burned.

The rumours were not true. There was no kidnapping. But there are two burned churches and 12 murdered Christians.

Threats against Christians have become a near daily event since Christmas. On New Year’s Day 21 Christians were killed in a church bombing in the ancient port city of Alexandria. Alexandria has a long history of multiculturalism, it should have, and could have, been a model city where Christians, Muslims and even Jews lived together harmoniously. Statistically, there are no longer any Jews in Egypt, but there are still seven million Christians. Instead, Alexandria has become a symbol of attacking Christians. Do not for a moment think that the date January 1 was an accident – the church was bombed in the middle of holiday mass. No one has been prosecuted. .

A year earlier, on January 7, Coptic Christmas, seven people were killed as they left mass. Six were Christian worshippers, the seventh victim was a Muslim guard. In this case someone was actually arrested.

The ugliest of all Muslim attacks against Christians took place on March 9. On that day 1500 Muslims stormed the Christian community in a modern pogrom. Thirteen people died, 45 were seriously injured, 150 moderately injured. The Egyptians put a military blackout over the material, but the Assyrian International News Agency reported the carnage.

Egypt’s Christians are a minority living in a Muslim majority. Coptic Christians are a very successful minority. When Gamal Abdel Nasser took over as ruler, the Copts were 10 per cent of the country and owned 50 per cent of the wealth. In Alexandria, where the Copts still own 50 per cent of the businesses, attacks on Copts are perpetrated by Muslims. Fear of the unknown feeds these murders and fuels the mob that unleashes a fury of hate.

Why has the new Egypt done almost nothing to prevent, protect or prosecute?

Because in their culture, no wrong has been committed. In many of the cases the army was actually present when these attacks took place and the perpetrators took refuge behind army tanks.

In Egypt there exists a cultural norm that sometimes seems to permit killing someone with whom you disagree.. The Western world must insist that if Egypt wishes to get foreign aid, that norm must change.

The history of Christianity in Egypt dates back to the birth of Jesus. Matthew 2:13 describes Joseph and Mary taking Jesus to Egypt to escape the “massacre of the infants”. Egypt has historical and religious significance for Christians. And now Egypt also has blood libels against Christians.

Micah D. Halpern’s latest book is Thugs: How History’s Most Notorious Despots Transformed the World through Terror, Tyranny, and Mass Murder (Thomas Nelson).

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/coptic-christians-slaughtered-in-egypt-as-the-world-looks-away/story-e6frg6zo-1226056354274

****

Sydney Coptic priests respond:

A proclamation from the Assembly of the Priests for the Diocese of Sydney and its Affiliated Regions has called upon  ¢â‚¬Å“all our children and all the Coptic associations in the diocese to participate in the claim for the legitimate rights of the Coptic Christians ¢â‚¬ .

On Thursday May 12, 2011, the assembly of the fathers the priests of the diocese of Sydney, which represents all the parishes in the diocese, met to discuss the current circumstances which the church and the Christian community in Egypt are experiencing and have agreed to declare the following:

Firstly: Our faith is deep and unshakable in our good God, the shepherd of our Church who has promised us that:  ¢â‚¬Å“The gates of Hades will not prevail against it. ¢â‚¬  And that He is with us until the end of days. We have confidence in the Divine protection as was written  ¢â‚¬Å“Unless the Lord builds the house, They labour in vain who build it; Unless the Lord guards the city, The watchman stays awake in vain. ¢â‚¬ , and  ¢â‚¬Å“for he who touches you touches the apple of His eye. ¢â‚¬  And  ¢â‚¬Å“The Lord is my Light and my Salvation ¢â‚¬ ; He assured us and said  ¢â‚¬Å“Do Not Fear ¢â‚¬ .

Second: We are observing with sadness, sorrow and bitterness what is unfolding in Egypt since 1952 by the previous regimes to marginalize the Copts, and discriminate against them because of religion; leading to the systematic and undeclared persecution of the Christians in their livelihood and their churches, which led to the giving of blessings to commit atrocities such as that of Elzaoia Elhamara, Minya, Abu Kerkas, Assiut, Alexandria, and El-Kosheh; up until the events of Nag Hammadi on Christmas Eve 2010, El-Talibia November 2010, and the Church of the Saints, Alexandria on the New Year ¢â‚¬â„¢s Eve of 2011, and the train shooting of Christians in Upper Egypt.

And since the Revolution of January 25, 2011, in which not only Coptic Christians took part in, but were the initial spark which lead the Egyptian nation to reject the previous corrupt system, when they went out in demonstrations in El-Talibia (Giza), in Alexandria and in other provinces in rejection of the terrorism of the state.

We were encouraged by these events until the situation worsened significantly against us, and the church of the Saints in Soul was attacked and demolished, and our youth were killed and their homes burned in Mokattam, and the ear of a Christian Citizen was cut under Islamic law, and the appointed Governor of Qena in Upper Egypt was rejected by the mobs because of his religion, and in all this no one was held accountable and put under the power of the law, rather we saw that Christians were forced to accept in all these events the customary local councils to deal with cases.

In a shameful and unprecedented precursor we see the government allowing the mediation of the radical and extremist elders and Salafies, while the state itself is in absence. Until it is now seen and obvious to the whole world that the Military is guided by the extremist radicals in all its decisions.

Then comes the great disaster as a result of all this negligence, the attacks on the churches in Imbaba and the forced and illegal search with the intent to, and the burning of the church and the killing of innocent people and the terrorizing of the Christian population and the steeling of property; and shamefully when the authorities finally intervene they arrest the Christians and investigate them, rather than the perpetrators. While under all laws, they where in the state of self defence in protection of themselves and their churches.

Third: We see that what is happening in Egypt and especially against the Coptic Christians and as reported in the media by all outlets, and as is seen and analysed by the whole world and as acknowledged within reports submitted by the Freedoms Committee of the U.S. Congress, and denounced by the Prime Minister of Canada, as well as talks in Italy and the Vatican, France and the appeal of the United States Secretary, that the matter has become an International matter, a situation we never wished upon our beloved Egypt, rather we wished that freedom and equality for all, would prevail, ensuring the civility of the state through those responsible in Egypt.

Fourth: We bow our heads in appreciation and reverence to:

1. Our righteous martyrs whom we in confidence acknowledge their presence in the Paradise of Joy, we ask for their prayers in these difficult circumstances.
2. The loved ones who carried their lives on their hands and went out to defend and protect their churches bearing the difficult situations in a peaceful sit-in to claim the rights of the Copts in Egypt, since they are citizens and have the right to full citizenship, we support them in all their legitimate demands.
3. The beloved Muslim partners in the homeland who are in support of the claim of equality and who even shared in the peaceful sit-in to achieve these legitimate demands.

Fifth: We call upon all our children and all the Coptic associations in the diocese to participate in the claim for the legitimate rights of the Coptic Christians. That they all be one hand, acting through the legal channels, in a Christian manner that seeks peace and love and is distant from slur, violence and abuse of any one.

Sixth: We in the name of the Assembly of the Priests and all the Diocese of Sydney, raise prayers for the safety of the mother church in Egypt and the head of our Church our father the beloved His Holiness Pope Shenouda III; we support him in all his stands, spiritually, pastorally and nationally.

We condemn every infringement on his honourable person for he represents well the Coptic Orthodox Church in Egypt and in all the Diaspora.

http://www.insights.uca.org.au/news/coptic-orthodox-church-responds-to-distressing-events-in-egypt