For immediate release: 08 December 2011
Churches in Egypt are praying and helping migrants, who flee home due to
political turmoil, violence and uncertain future. There is a great need to
develop stable democratic societies if the ¢â‚¬Å“Arab spring ¢â‚¬ is to bear
fruits. Or else it might turn into an ¢â‚¬Å“Arab winter ¢â‚¬ with religious
minorities at the risk of persecution.
David Victor R. Youssef expressed this concern at the World Council of
Churches (WCC) Global Ecumenical Network on Migration meeting taking place
in Beirut, Lebanon from 5-7 December, organized by the WCC office for Just
and Inclusive Communities (Link:
http://www.oikoumene.org/
Council of Churches (Link: http://www.oikoumene.org/
Youssef works for the Coptic Evangelical Organization for Social Services
and was interviewed by Naveen Qayyum, the WCC staff writer.
What is the political situation in Egypt after the ¢â‚¬Å“Arab spring ¢â‚¬ ? And
how is it resulting in migration?
This year Egypt has witnessed many political, social, cultural and
religious changes. Yet this is not the end of struggles in Egypt. The
Egyptian revolution, which followed the Tunisian one, has led to many
uprisings in the region, and that we refer to as ¢â‚¬Å“Arab Spring ¢â‚¬ .
From the Gulf to the ocean, Arabs are finally fighting for their freedom
against dictators. While they celebrate the dramatic political changes,
these changes are accompanied by a state of instability. This instability
has forced poor people to migrate to safe countries searching for better
living.
Despite there being relatively less turmoil in Egypt than in some other
countries, many people have moved to escape from violence. Similarly many
Egyptians working in other countries returned to Egypt, having to face
unemployment, poor economic conditions and security threats.
However, as a reaction to radical Islamic groups rising after the collapse
of the security apparatus, many Egyptians, especially Copts, preferred to
migrate to the West.
Can you explain the recent political developments in Egypt?
The major development in Egypt is the ousting of the former dictatorial
regime. Now, the Egyptians are full of hope to push their country into
true democratic transitions.
However, there are many factors that frustrate the Egyptians. This includes
the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) being too slow in leaving
power in favour of a civilian regime. Many protesters have demanded to
accelerate this transitional period.
The rise of radical Islamic groups after decades of oppression by the
former regime is also a concern. Now, these groups are asking to share in
monitoring the new Egypt. These political groups, like Al Ekhwan al
Muslm … «n, Al Salafi-oun and Al Ja-ma ¢â‚¬â„¢a Al Eslamiyya, now (after the
first round of elections) have more than 40 percent of seats in the
legislature.
Despite the calls for preventing symbols of the former regime, the SCAF and
the government have not taken any true action in this regard. Thus, many
members of the dissolved National Democratic Party have formed new
political parties and are running for the current parliamentary elections.
The partial failure of liberal powers in gaining a majority in the first
stage of current parliamentary elections is also a setback. This has given
birth to a state of uncertainty, which formulates a transitional period
without any clear road map.
How is this situation affecting Christians in Egypt?
As a result of the security absence, Copts have faced increasing violence
and sectarian tensions, which resulted in the burning of some churches
such as Atfih, Embaba and Aswan.
In the unfortunate incident on 9 October more than 30 Christians were
killed while protesting against the burning of the church in Aswan.
The rise of radical groups in Egypt has opened chances of establishing an
Islamic state and implementing the Islamic laws (Shari ¢â‚¬â„¢a). As a
justifiable reaction, the Christians who already live with a sense of
insecurity become more isolated in church communities.
This has also triggered a wave of emigration among Christians, the major
reason for which is the political uncertainty in the country. They fear
that if the SCAF continues to rule, Egypt will be under the same military
governance like the last 60 years.
They also fear that if the radical agenda of political Islamic groups is
realized, for example by developing an Islamic state, the Christians will
not find a place in this state.
The deteriorating economic situation is also forcing millions of unemployed
citizens to find other work opportunities outside Egypt.
The increased sectarian violence have forced many Copts to migrate to other
countries such as USA, Canada, and Australia. Also many of the Christian
Egyptians are taking religious asylum. In this situation some voices from
the Coptic diasporas have asked for international protection for the
religious minorities in Egypt.
How are churches addressing these challenges? What is the ecumenical
response?
The national churches in Egypt play a critical role in the social life.
They have been raising the awareness about their followers being full
citizens in their country.
Also, churches try to raise awareness among Christians concerning their
participation in social, political and cultural lives.
Some church leaders are attending political and social events to
participate in planning for the new Egypt after the revolution.
On 11 November, a huge ecumenical prayer vigil for Egypt took place, with
attendance of 70,000 Christians from all denominations at the Monastery of
Saint Sam ¢â‚¬â„¢an El Kharaz, from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. People spent the whole
night praying for Egypt.
On other levels, churches are involved in serving the migrants. This
includes spiritual support with specialized programmes for refugees,
financial support with finding jobs, housing and providing aids, and
helping them with legal procedures related to asylum applications.
More information on the Global Ecumenical Network on Migration
(Link: http://www.oikoumene.org/
WCC member churches in Egypt (Link:
http://www.oikoumene.org/
High resolution photo available via photos.oikoumene.org (Link:
http://www.oikoumene.org/
The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness
and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of
churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 349 Protestant,
Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 560 million
Christians in over 110 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman
Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit,
from the [Lutheran] Church of Norway. Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland.
~~~
And this:
Sightings 12/8/2011
Stating the Religious in Egypt and Elsewhere
— Benjamin Schonthal
The current political jostling in Egypt between the Muslim Brotherhood and various individuals and organizations grouped under the title ¢â‚¬Å“Salafis ¢â‚¬ should give pause to those who view the ¢â‚¬Å“Arab autumn ¢â‚¬ primarily as a contest between Islamists and secularists. In Egypt, as in many parts of the world, the most important choices that voters make about the future of religion and the state are not choices about whether states should be religious or secular. Rather, they are questions about what features, both institutional and legal, that a ¢â‚¬Å“religious ¢â‚¬ state should have.
The recent electoral results in Egypt show that the question ofwhether Egypt should be an Islamic state is not the only ¢â‚¬”or even the main ¢â‚¬”question being wrestled with by politicians and voters. The more important issues under consideration are howthe state should protect, promote and/or regulate Islam: Should Egypt ¢â‚¬â„¢s new constitution declare the country an ¢â‚¬Å“Islamic state ¢â‚¬ or classify Islam as the ¢â‚¬Å“state religion ¢â‚¬ ? Should Shari ¢â‚¬â„¢ah be asource of law or the source of law? Should Egypt ¢â‚¬â„¢s new government seek to reform society according to ¢â‚¬Å“Islamic values ¢â‚¬ ? And, if so, what would those values include? Who should have the final authority to interpret Islam in Egypt: government agents, religious clerics or some hybrid institution such as a state-appointed religious council?
This concern with how to organize a religious state (rather thanwhether to do so) is not a feature of law-making only in Muslim-majority countries. It is also true of the Buddhist-majority countries of Southern Asia, such as Sri Lanka, Thailand and Cambodia. In post-independence Sri Lanka, for example, the most politically salient questions concerning religion have not been how to implement a ¢â‚¬Å“secular ¢â‚¬ (Sinhala: lokayatta) political order, but how government should best support the island ¢â‚¬â„¢s Buddhist monks. On one side of the argument are Buddhists who insist that in order to preserve the ¢â‚¬Å“purity ¢â‚¬ and coherence of Sri Lanka ¢â‚¬â„¢s many different Buddhist monastic fraternities, the government must have the power to standardize monks ¢â‚¬â„¢ education, to implement and enforce monastic codes of conduct, and to audit how monks use the extensive property and assets of Buddhist temples. On the other side are Buddhists who argue that government agents should not be given the authority to intervene in the religious lives of clerics (who, after all, are their spiritual superiors); rather the state should recognize the monks as ¢â‚¬Å“embodiments ¢â‚¬ of Buddhist teaching and direct to them special institutional and financial privileges without any regulatory ¢â‚¬Å“strings. ¢â‚¬ Thus, as in Egypt, Sri Lankan debates over the relationship between Buddhism and the state are not debates over how to separate the two, but debates over how to (correctly) link them.
The descriptive binary of ¢â‚¬Å“the religious ¢â‚¬ and ¢â‚¬Å“the secular ¢â‚¬ enters into politics in Egypt and Sri Lanka not so much in the process of envisioning constitutional arrangements or building state institutions, but in the process of criticizing the arrangements and institutions proposed by others. In Sri Lanka, traditional Kandyan monks oppose state interventions into monastic affairs by characterizing such interventions as improper attempts to place ¢â‚¬Å“religious ¢â‚¬ (sasanika) authority in the hands of ¢â‚¬Å“secular ¢â‚¬ government agents. In response, those who favor greater state oversight over monastic affairs accuse Buddhist monks of resisting government reforms out of purely ¢â‚¬Å“secular ¢â‚¬ interests, such as a desire to preserve monks ¢â‚¬â„¢ access to temple wealth. In Egypt, the discourses of ¢â‚¬Å“secular ¢â‚¬ and ¢â‚¬Å“religious ¢â‚¬ have also been used to criticize political rivals: Salafis characterize the policies of the Muslim Brotherhood as being insufficiently Islamic, just as pundits in America accuse the Muslim Brotherhood of being insufficiently secular.
In the end, the events unfolding in Egypt should remind us that, in most places in the world, secularism is not a self-evident political virtue, as we seem to treat it in America. In many cases, it is seen as an unworkable and undesirable governing ideal, indicating the state ¢â‚¬â„¢s disregard for (rather than benign neutrality towards) the moral lives of citizens. As one follows the news in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya and elsewhere, it is important to bear in mind that in many countries (not only Muslim-majority countries) the crucial debates over religion will likely be over how (and not whether) the state should be ¢â‚¬Å“religious. ¢â‚¬
References
David D. Kirkpatrick, ¢â‚¬Å“Egypt ¢â‚¬â„¢s Vote Puts Emphasis on Split Over Religious Rule, ¢â‚¬ New York Times, December 3, 2011.
Benjamin Schonthal is a Ph.D. Candidate in History of Religions at the University of Chicago Divinity School.
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In this month ¢â‚¬â„¢s Religion and Culture Web Forum, Emanuelle Burton ¢â‚¬â„¢s ¢â‚¬Å“Whose Lion Is It, Anyway? ¢â‚¬ argues that scholarly commentary on C.S. Lewis ¢â‚¬â„¢ Chronicles of Narnia is too dominated by the Christian academy; thus, it often fails to understand (or to serve) a major portion of the books ¢â‚¬â„¢ audience: readers who are uninterested in, or even disturbed by, the Chronicles ¢â‚¬â„¢ ¢â‚¬Å“parallels to the Christian salvation story. ¢â‚¬ Writes Burton, ¢â‚¬Å“Simply put, it is time for Narnia criticism to broaden its horizons: to acknowledge a wider array of readers, and to take seriously the question of what draws so many readers to the books without drawing them closer to Christianity. ¢â‚¬
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Sightings comes from the Martin Marty Center at the University of Chicago Divinity School.
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