Persecution in Egypt

Ever heard the expression "You're just a little fish in a big pond"? Well, you are. Don't get me wrong, everybody is unique, everybody is their own kind of fish, but we do live in a very huge pond. The world is so big and all we see is our own little corner of it. Maybe if you're lucky you get to travel and see other  people's corner, but generally speaking, most of us are pretty confined.

Today as I was trying to beat the 104 degree weather, I came upon a news story from the AP press. (If anyone from the Associated Press is reading, It would be so amazing to work for you!!) It was about the recent violence in Egypt.  I started to wonder why there was so many stories about protests and demonstrations in Egypt, I knew enough to deduce that it was some sort of political disagreement, but I didn't know much else.

I decided that I should know. This issue is obviously important to someone else, and I think if I want to make a difference in this world, I should probably know a little bit about the people in it first. So I did some digging online and here is what I found:

In June of last year Egypt had its first democratic election. (That's what you probably heard about last year, as many protests lead to violence.) The people elected Mohamed Morsi as their 5th president, replacing former president of 30 years, Hosni Mubarak. Hosni wasn't exactly the nicest guy. Although he did negotiate treaties with Israel, and was a key negotiator for the Middle East, he led a very strict regime. The people wanted personal freedom and freedom from his political oppression. After rising pressure from his country and other world leaders including President Obama, Mubarak agreed to step down from office. The people held an election and Morsi barely defeated his opponent, Ahmed Shafiq, the prime minister of Mubarak's reign, with 51.73% of the vote.

Now, here's some back-round on President Morsi. In 1977 he joined a political group called the Muslim Brotherhood. The Muslim Brotherhood is an Islamic political group with more traditional views. Basically these guys are all about Islam, which would be fine if they didn't use violence from time to time to remove opposition, or persecute Coptic (Egyptian) Christians because of their beliefs. (Anybody reminded of 1984?)

The Muslim Brotherhood created the Freedom and Justice party and Morsi was their candidate. Keeping a campaign promise, Morsi resigned from the MB when he was elected. As soon as he was in office though, he appointed several Islamist allies to important positions, leading people to believe that he was still expanding the MB. He continued to seek more power for himself as president and many of his actions sparked outrage. His opposition  accused him and the MB of giving Islamists a monopoly over public institutions. A new campaign has bee started by young activists, they call themselves Tamarud or "Rebel" and claim to have gotten 15 million signatures for a petition to have an early election. The Tamarud consist of liberals, leftists and secularists and its main goals are to reduce Morsi's confidence and gain enough signatures to have an early election.

Tens of thousands of people gathered Friday, June 28th. Supporters and protesters of Mori rallied, and as you might have guessed, violence broke out. Two people were killed, including an American, and at least 85 were injured according to the Associated Press. Citizens fear even more violence will occur at nationwide protests scheduled for Sunday.

Are you still there? I'm sure you're wondering, "why is this so long? why does it matter to me?" Well, first of all, that was the condensed version, and secondly, remember when I mentioned Coptic Christians? They play a role in this, and that is why I am concerned. Coptic Christians are fleeing from Egypt by the masses. The make up 10% of the 85 million people in Egypt, and the current Islamist government does very little to protect them from Muslim extremists'.

Coptic Christians, as a denomination, originated in Alexandria, and acknowledge John Mark (author of the Gospel of Mark) as their founding bishop. They have 10-60 million members world wide and their beliefs are closely related to Catholicism.

Worries have been voiced that the extremists are now free to encourage discrimination on T.V. The government has all but stopped the spread of Christianity. Only the president is allowed to issue permits to build new churches, and Morsi has granted ONE permit. On top of all that, eight people were killed in violence between Christians and Muslims in April, and there is criticism that Morsi isn't doing enough to protect the church. Christians can be arrested for speaking ill of Islam, even if there is no solid evidence, a Muslim's word is worth more than a Christians in court. A Christian school teacher was arrested because a couple of 10 year-olds claimed she looked "disgusted' while speaking of Islamic history. What?! And these "blasphemy" charges against Christians are getting more and more frequent as time goes on. I can see why they are leaving the country.

We have it pretty cushy in America. While Christians risk their lives in other parts of the world, we live a life of comfort and ease. If someone doesn't like that I am a Christian, what's the worst that could happen to me? Certainly not prison. Maybe a dirty look and a cold shoulder. Ouch.

I hope you found this as interesting as I did, and maybe even do a little research yourself. Maybe we can help our brothers and sisters in Christ from across the ocean, or at least show them our support.

"Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you" 1 Peter 4:12-14

-Grace