“March Madness”, Egyptian Style
Violence against the Christians of Egypt, the Copts
by Ed Rizkalla
March is a lovely time in the year, as we experience the transition from the cold of winter to the warmer feel of the spring. Many sports fans in the United States, including the writer, tend to watch basketball games. It is the time to for the popular NCAA college basketball tournaments, fondly known as “March Madness”. Animated- sometimes heated- discussions are common among sports fans at office coffee breaks or at bars over a few drinks. For the most part, discussions among the fans are friendly and aim to please and entertain. This however does not preclude a very small minority of the more zealous drunken fans, on rare occasions, from slipping from a friendly discussion into an unwarranted brawl or get them in trouble.
Most of the readers of this cyberspace forum, if not all, are aware of the fact that Egypt continues to face many pressing economic challenges. Many of us have experienced these economic challenges first hand, and we all hope and pray for brighter economic prospects for Egypt. In fact the vast majority of the Copts in the diaspora tend to help alleviate or ameliorate some of the impacts of these economic conditions either directly or through donations to churches or charitable organizations to help the poor and needy in Egypt. A recent article in al-Masry al-Youm newspaper from Egypt (1) paints a grim picture for the toil and hardships faced by poor peasant women trying to make a living, harvesting vegetables in the fields for long to make ends meet for their families. Another recent article in the Atlantic magazine from the USA (2) also paints a far less than a bright picture for economic prospects. The latter article indicates that Suez Canal, a major source of foreign currency in Egypt, is experiencing less traffic. The Suez Canal has generated about $4.3 billion in revenues in 2008. The slowdown in traffic is attributed mostly to the global economic downturn; however it seems to have been also impacted by the well-publicized actions of the Somali pirates/militant Islamic groups in the Gulf of Aden. Clearly these economic challenges need the concerted and constructive efforts of all Egyptians, both Copts and Muslims, to alleviate or at least ameliorate the impacts on the population. Regardless of this obvious need for concerted efforts by both Copts and Muslims alike, a completely different kind of “March Madness”- a violent, destructive, and divisive one- is taking place instead.
On Friday March 12, 2010, at the village of Reefia, at the province of Marsa Matrouh, in northern Egypt, sheikh Ahmed Khamis, a militant Islamic preacher, incited the worshipers at a local mosque, to wage holy war, a Jihad, against the local Coptic population (3) (4). The claimed pretext for waging such a holy war against the local Copts, was nothing other than building a fence around a plot of land, adjacent to a social services building owned by the local Coptic Orthodox church of the Archangel Michael. The plot of land was legally bought by the church and thus constitutes a part of its property. As a result of the incitement, a large mob of local Muslims went on a rampage and attacked their Coptic neighbors. Many of the Copts had to take refuge inside the building, as the mob pelted them with bricks and chanted hostile slogans for several hours. Initially, the local police force was inadequate to quell the violence of the gathered Muslim mob, however reinforcements were called in and used tear gas to disperse them. About 24 Copts and 4 Muslims were injured due to the mob’s violence. Furthermore the mob destroyed and or torched several properties owned by the local Copts including 17 houses, 12 cars and two motorcycles. To add insult to injury, the Egyptian State Security arrested 13 of the victimized Copts including 4 minors (5), a common practice to pressure the Copts not to pursue legal remedies in the courts of law.
This violent “March Madness” was not limited to northern Egypt. On Thursday march 18, 2010, an Evangelical Coptic church at the city of Luxor, in southern Egypt was also attacked and demolished (6). This attack however was conducted not by mobs but by the security forces armed with heavy machinery. The claimed pretext for this attack was an edict to demolish the building to allow improvements. Though the norm for such actions would be preceded by an order to vacate allowing a reasonable period of time for the owners to vacate the premises and provide adequate compensation, Pastor Mahrous Karam, the minister of the local Evangelical Coptic church and his wife were not allowed adequate time to vacate the premises. They were instead assaulted, beaten, and their home furnishings and belongings thrown out on the street in a frenzy to rush actual demolition of a major portion of the building.
Perhaps, it might have been be somewhat comforting, were these episodes of violence limited to the month of March or even acts of madness. Unfortunately these episodes of violence against the Coptic population of Egypt are frequent and recurring all year round, all over the country from its northern shores to its southern borders.
The Copts form the largest indigenous non-Muslim population in the Middle East. The Coptic population is estimated to be about 15% of the total population of Egypt or about 12 millions. The vast majority of the Coptic population tends to be peaceful, law-abiding and loyal citizens. However over the past 50 years or so, the Copts of Egypt have borne the brunt of covert and overt policies and actions pursued by government institutions, and suffered from a hostile environment fostered by the public education system and the media. The Copts have been the target of more frequent episodes of violence (7). Sadly enough for the Egyptian population, these frequent acts of violence breed polarization and divisions which ultimately detract from and obstruct the real efforts needed to address the economic challenges facing all the Egyptians, Muslims and Copts alike.
The peace of the Lord be with you all.
Irene Passe.
References:
(1) Women of Gardou village: labor in the nation of molokhia, (Arabic) by Marwan abedalaziz, al-Masry al-Youm online, March 24, 2010, http://www.almasry-alyoum.com/article2.aspx?ArticleID=248364&IssueID=1719
(2) Exodus, Less traffic through the Suez Canal means less of everything else for Egyptians-including hope, by Peter Savodnik, The Atlantic magazine, April 2010.
(3) Attacks against the Copts at Marsa Matrouh, (Arabic) by Nash’at Abul-Kheir and Nader Shukry, Watani International, March 14, 2010.
(4) Muslim mobs attack Christians at Church in Egypt, by Mary Abedalmassih, AINA,
http://freecopts.net/english/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1156&Itemid=1
(5) Egyptian State Security arrests Christians assaulted by Muslims, by Mary Abedlmassih, AINA
http://freecopts.net/english/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1155&Itemid=9
(6) An assault against a pastor and his wife (Arabic), by Safwat Yessa
http://www.unitedcopts.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4796&Itemid=1
(7) List of Atrocities committed against the Copts of Egypt (1972 through early 2010), compiled by United Copts of Great Britain
http://www.unitedcopts.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=18&Itemid=33
Ed Rizkalla is a management consultant and freelance writer. He is the founder of Pharos on the Potomac Group (POPG), a non-profit organization at Annandale, VA.