Tuesday, April 18, 2006

Security Solution is No Longer an Option for Copts' Persecution

Last year and this year’s violent incidents in Alexandria proved the failure of the regime and government to bring justice to Egyptian Copts. Hiring an army to protect Copts in Egypt from potential attacks does not solve the issue of equal citizenship and discharging peacefully anti-Coptic sentiments caused by the government’s help to the extremist public and political figures that disseminated hatred among Muslims against Copts over the past few decades. The Egyptian official channels for the last 30 years hosted religious figures on a weekly or daily basis to instill the idea that Copts are the enemies. On Fridays, a popular weekly religious program hosted by a cleric who has no more than a primary education said that we (Muslims) should not shake hands with Copts (probably because they are disbelievers and enemies of Islam).

Yesterday, I was listening to a BBC Arabic program that was hosting Islamic Scholar Mohamed Emara. He said that Copts should stop mentioning Coptic nation or people. On the other hand, Muslims in Egypt do not stop mentioning or talking on behalf of the Islamic nation/world/peoples. His talk was full of racism and hatred. This is the ideology of so many writers who occupy huge spaces on the Egyptian official papers and press and they are propagating anti-Coptic sentiments. The government is allowing them to write hatred with freedom.

Many Egyptians regard Copts as second citizens, a spirit that did not exist before 1952. The closeness or the shadow role of the Muslim Brotherhood with the military regimes until this day helped fuming and augmenting hatred feelings against Copts. The government opened the way for them to occupy the media to marginalize Egyptian Copts as being no partners in the Egyptian society.

The lack of democracy and freedoms in Egypt further led to the marginalization and isolation of Copts. As Islamists won the popular places to speak to the Egyptians with the help of the regime (recently the parliament), their battle became a religious jihady one. Islamists’ first enemy became the non-Muslims in general. Internationally, the enemy is the western civilization, and in Egypt, Copts became the enemy to crush. Regrettably, Copts are easy target in the absence of democracy and freedoms. The centralized dictatorship ruling in Egypt denied Egyptian citizens to enjoy equal rights. The western civilization became the target through organized terrorism operation, a topic I won’t address this post.

The ideology of the 1952 coup d’etats that killed Egypt’s diversity and kicked all Egyptian citizens who were Jewish out of Egypt, denying them their wealth and money, could not get rid of the 10% Copts in Egypt easily. Jewish Egyptians who made their money under Egypt’s free economy system before 1952 were denied their rights and wealth, and some of them went to the airports fleeing to Europe in their bedtime clothes. However with Copts, the ideology used manipulated different forces to make the Copts’ lives in Egypt almost impossible. That explains why so many Egyptian Copts prefer to immigrate and that also explains who so many Copts are active abroad. This is not because they are agents as the regime tries to depict them but because injustice has a reaction. In so many cases, wounds are not easy to be healed.

The Anti-Coptic hatred speeches (in the different media outlets) and religious Friday prayers preaches, together with strict governmental control on culture, art and education, led at the end to full hatred to the Copts. The fact that the government denied Copts any influential posts in the different ministries, police and army made all Egyptians feel that they should remain marginalized because they is the way how they are treated. Over the decades, generation forgot to ask why. The instilled culture became a Coptic citizen has no word in his own country. Muslim activists who are defending Copts’ equal rights are very few and regarded by other Muslims as lunatics, to mention but few Dr. Said El Din Ibrahim, Amin Al Mahdy and Tarek Heggy.

The fact that any Muslim even if he is a door man can turn a room into a corner mosque while denying Christians to build a church except with a presidential decree sent a clear message to all Egyptians that Copts are treated as second class citizens. The government instilled this despicable culture. I want to mention a historical piece of information for those who do not believe that the 1952 regimes instilled an anti-Coptic culture. Egypt was not that centralized before 1952. Wealthy families took care of whole regions in Egypt and not as depicted by the post 1952 superficial movies that they were cruel users. Those families were Copts and Muslims. Many wealthy Coptic families lived in Upper Egypt (South of the country). It was very well known that those families as they built churches, they also built mosques. Same thing for Muslim wealthy families, they built mosques and churches. Worshipping places were not an issue. It was a service that needs to be provided like any other service according to the demand and need without thinking whether it is Christian or Islamic.

The continuous attacks on Copts in the different provinces in Egypt without fair transparent police investigations or fair trials to perpetrators led dormant negative sentiments that are evolving today into bloody violence.

The regime succeeded on turning the Coptic persecution issue into how many churches should be built when it is not a religious rights battle and making people believe it is a battle to defend Islam or Christianity. It is a political issue.

Finally, the solution in my opinion is not further security measures or the renewal of the Emergency Law next May because of the Alexandria violence. The security solution is the option of the totalitarian regimes that want to maintain their ideologies whether Islamization or communism…etc.

For a citizen, regardless of his race, color or religion or no religion, to enjoy a full-fledged citizenship with no persecution or oppression, he or she has to live under a democratic regime and not a rights granting regime whenever it deems so.

God Bless Egypt

Previously:
Sectarian Clashes Continue in Alexandria for the third day, One Muslim Dies
Muslims and Christians Clash following Churches Attacks
Good Friday Attacks on Coptic Churches in Alexandria
Disturbing News from Alexandria, Egypt
Egyptian church clash injures 12
Two Muslim Women in their Own Words about Religions in Egypt
Al-Azhar objects a Movie on Jesus, And Its Scholars criticizes ...
I am branded as a Coptic Site

15 Comments:

At 10:33 AM, Blogger Gateway Pundit said...

Beautiful! Thanks for sharing your information with us. Living in the West your perspective is invaluable.

 
At 1:49 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Too late for these words. If u haven't noticed yet, Egypt now has become a "hatred swamp". Thanks to our tyrants, land is prepared for Muslim Brotherhood to take over power.

This isn't a joke but the army and police are now fully penetrated by extremists and fanatics, it's just a matter of time to hear statment number one from Mahdy Akef declaring the "Islamic Republic Of Egypt".

All we can say right now, LORD have mercy on us.

 
At 2:04 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Dear Freedom ,
I read you post
I read it again and again
You are speaking from the heart
You are speaking for every Copt
You are saying what every Copt in
the world wants to say
I could not add a single word

We Love Egypt..We love Egyptians
ALL EGYPTIANS

H.H. Pope Shenouda III on his return from exile (Jan.6th.1985)said :
"The Moslims of Egypt are our Flesh,Blood and Bones"
Thank You
Sam

 
At 2:56 PM, Blogger Koptikjihad said...

good post, but why aren't Egyptian muslims replying? make me wonder.

 
At 10:42 PM, Blogger Bent El Neel said...

Good points FFE.
Have you seen these eye witness accounts???? (and English translation
the police was chatting and exchanging cigaretes with some not-so-peaceful demonstrators. Whatever happened to "serve and protect"??? who's going to uphold the law???

As for el 7agg Emmara; he has been spewing piles of poison on the pages of Al Akhbar about how Christianity is a corrupt faith and the Bible is a fake...that's fine, it's his opinion and it's not going to harm Christianity. But what does harm the Christians of Egypt is that people read this and think "oh well, if they're not really the people of the book the Quran is talking about, then they are kaffara and it's no big deal to hurt them"

As a result many Egyptian Muslims either don't care, don't wanna know, happy to be a spectator, or even participate.

I'm sorry for going on like this. For the first time I'm actually scared for Egypt and for Egyptians.

FFE: God Bless Egypt indeed my friend...and bless you too.

 
At 4:19 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi FFE,

Good post. As a Muslim (though I do not flaunt this, since I believe religion is personal), I also share your thoughts.

When I was growing up in the sixties, people were more tolerant and people did not ask whether you are Copt or Muslim. Unfortunately, the problem has grown because of several nutcases.
I see the solution is to promote secular rule based on justice, rule of law and tolerance with religion being a personal issue.
Egyptian in Germany

 
At 5:05 AM, Blogger Freedom For Egyptians said...

Egyptian in Germany,

As a Muslim I was lucky to grow up in a family that maintained the importance of keeping religion as personal matter. That taught me even if I met a faithless person, it is still her/his matter.

The core problem in my opinion that over the past 50 years since the military rule came over, Egyptians did not achieve anything to become part of the GLOBAL world or partners.

The dream that flourished with the help of the military regimes, Muslim Brotherhood and the petro dollars that financed extremist Islamic movements and ignorant Islamic scholars, was the DREAM OF THE ISLAMIC EMPIRE.

Every person stands as an obstcale is an enemy. Egyptian Copts became enemies because they are simply Christians. Westerners with their power became an enemy.

Islamists do not believe in democracy, freedoms, diversity, secularism, free economy (our only card for partnership). Regrettably, we started to pay heavy prices. Egyptians started to kill each other.

 
At 1:42 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi FFE,

Fully understand and agree with you completely. I am sure there that people like you would make the difference.

Egyptian in Germany

 
At 5:58 AM, Blogger Superluli said...

Wonderful Post FFE!!

you've left little for me to say.
I do not see things improving, i do not see a short term solution.

I think the worst is yet to come!

i am not a pessimist - but i just do not see a fast way out

 
At 8:22 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

To SARA,
You say that Islam is an approach to DEMOCRACY .
I say that all Religions-including Islam-if became "Sharia Laws",will be in conflict and contradiction with democracy.
Religion is decreed by a "God",Can not be changed or revoked.
Democracy is Man-Made,Can change to suite time and age.
Does Islam allow a Moslim to change his/her religion? Freedom of belief is the most basic human right in democracy.
Does Islam allow a Moslim woman to fall in love and marry a non-moslim man?
Sara ,
WHICH ISLAM ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT??
+ Is it the Wahabi Islam that puts you in jail for possessing a Bible in Saudi Arabia ?
+ Is it the Islam of Ibn-Taymiya ,Said Qutb and Abu Al-Ala'Al-Mawdoudi that preaches hate and killing of all Non-Moslims ??
+ Is it the Islam of Zawahiry,Zarqawy or Bin Ladin ??
+ Is it the Islam that says:"There shall be no compulsion in religion - 2:256 (Mansoukha=Abrogated)
+ Is it the Islam that says:
-"Fight and slay the Pagans wherever ye find them and seize them,and beleager them,and lie in wait for them " 9:5
-"against them make ready your strength to the utmost of your power,including steeds of war, to strike T E R R O R into the hearts of the enemies of Allah and your enemies" 8:60
- O Apostle ! Rouse the Believers to the fight !" 8:65
- O ye who believe ! Truly the Pagans are Unclean !" 9:28
- "Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day,nor hold that forbidden by Allah and his APOSTLE,nor acknowledge the Religion of Truth,even if they are of the People of the Book,until they pay the JIZIA with willing SUBMISSION,and feel themselves SUBDUED" 9:29
( JIZIA=is a Poll Tax levied from those who refuse to adopt Islam paid to Moslims and followed by a slap on the back of the neck to fulfill the order of the Quran to make them feel SUBDUED - Makhtoum ala Qafah - This was stopped in Egypt by the Albanian Ruller Mohammad Ali about 200 years ago ).

Sam

 
At 6:24 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi Sara,
you have said before that
al fatwa didn't include al luxur sttues and pyramids....it talks mainly about having status at home or drawing portraits....i'm not that convienced with the reason...but if it is a stated fact said by our prophet or supported by quran...so i have to train myself to accept because i'll lose nothing if i follow it...and i'll win if i follow it...

Quran said that Jews are Pigs and monkeys,
will you train yourself to accept that as well?

please let me know
thanks,

 
At 10:36 PM, Blogger NeillN said...

A brilliant blog. You encapsulate the frustration we all feel at the failing government of Egypt. Great work.
http://neillnagib.blogspot.com

 
At 8:59 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

to anon. :7:24 PM ,
Poor Sara..She is a "Hostage"..!
She is one of the hostages who surrendred their brains and minds to the Moftys .
The Mofty decides for them and thinks for them.He drives them by remote controle.
it makes them feel better because they take no responsibility for themselves . The mofty takes the responsibility.
it gives them a false feeling of comfort but it is not healthy and very dangerous to the society as a whole .

God help Sara and all the Saras of Egypt.
Sam

 
At 2:56 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

To Egypeter
You made Sara much troubled and a lot more Hysterical than usual !
She beleives her own lies.
I used to take her seriously but no more . She never replied to a single point I put to her and been quite evasive.
Just ignore her and save us the trash vomit that she poures on this respectable blog .
Ikhristos Anesti
Alethos Anesti
Sam

 
At 12:07 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Sara,
I did not know what you think of the Jew yet?
are they Pigs or not

do you really believe in that?
thanks

 

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