Feature Story - March 2011
Change in Egypt Raises Hope - Concerns
I'm sure there will be difficult days ahead, and many questions remain unanswered. But I am confident that the people of Egypt can find the answers, and do so peacefully, constructively, and in a spirit of unity. For Egyptians have made it clear that nothing less than genuine democracy will carry the day.
Bowing to pressure following 18 straight days of anti-government protests, Hosni Mubarak recently resigned as president of Egypt; as such, he had led the Mideast nation the past three decades.
Hours later, President Obama delivered remarks from the White House, in which he said, in part, "There are very few moments in our lives where we have the privilege to witness history taking place. This is one of those moments. This is one of those times. The people of Egypt have spoken, their voices have been heard, and Egypt will never be the same.
By stepping down, President Mubarak responded to the Egyptian people's hunger for change. But this is not the end of Egypt's transition. It's a beginning.
The military has served patriotically and responsibly as a caretaker to the state, and will now have to ensure a transition that is credible in the eyes of the Egyptian people. Above all, this transition must bring all of Egypt's voices to the table. For the spirit of peaceful protest and perseverance that the Egyptian people have shown can serve as a powerful wind at the back of this change.
The United States will continue to be a friend and partner to Egypt. We stand ready to provide whatever assistance is necessary–and asked for–to pursue a credible transition to a democracy.
We saw people of faith praying together and chanting, ‘Muslims, Christians, We are one.' And though we know that the strains between faiths still divide too many in this world and no single event will close that chasm immediately, these scenes remind us that we need not be defined by our differences. We can be defined by the common humanity that we share," the President said.
The President made an indirect reference to the recent sectarian unrest in Egypt.
On New Year's Day, a car bomb explosion outside a Coptic Christian Church in Alexandria just after midnight mass killed 23 worshipers and injured 79 others.
Also, during the initial stages of the anti-government demonstrations, eleven members of two Coptic Christian families were massacred in their homes in the village of Sharona on January 30th. Assyrian International News Agency reported, the attack was carried out by two Islamist groups, aided by Muslim neighbors.
Many in the faith community are calling for prayer for a peaceful transition in Egypt, and for its minority Coptic Christian population, including the Fellowship of the Middle East Evangelical Churches, which is comprised of 16 Evangelical churches in the region.
"We–in the churches of FMEEC -- call upon you to join us in this prayer–as individuals, and as congregations:
Dear Father and Lord, we beseech thee to look upon your flock in Egypt through the stripes of Jesus; maintain their faith; assure them of your Presence and compassion; make these trying times rich moments of learning about, and experiencing, your love; preserve unflinching the testimony of our Gospel in their lives; grant them safety of body, and peace of soul; teach us, and them, how to pray, especially in these trying moments.
Oh, Holy Spirit of God–the Comforter, help the infirmity of our feeble prayers, and make intercession for your saints in Egypt, according to the will of God."
The World Council of Churches issued a statement of concern for the situation in Egypt.
"Member churches in all parts of the world are praying for the people of Egypt. Our hopes and prayers are for the safety of citizens, for wisdom and compassion on the part of the authorities, and for a non-violent and just resolution of conflicts and grievances."
Also, the Rev. Dr. Michael Kinnamon, general secretary of the National Council of Churches, said the U.S. NCC joins with the World Council's call "for peaceful dialogue and joint efforts at every level of society to find the way forward to a future that brings hope and security for the good of all people and communities. We pray to God for mercy and protection for the Egyptian people and for all religious communities, and we are standing together with the churches in these challenging times."
Open Doors USA President and CEO, Dr. Carl Moeller, said, "We need to remember the church. We need to remember that the Christians in Egypt face the ‘frying pan and the fire.' Their hope is in Jesus Christ and His sovereignty, but the reality for our brothers and sisters in Egypt is that they face an increasingly uncertain future."
Egypt is ranked 19th on Open Doors 2011 World Watch List of the 50 worst persecutors of Christians.
Anne Buwalda, executive director of Jubilee Campaign USA, in an interview with United News & Information, expressed concern that Egyptian Christians were not included in recent discussions with Mubarak regarding the future of the Mideast nation.
"All of the opposition meetings with Mubarak, to my knowledge from my reading and connections with the Christian community in Egypt, not one of those high-level negotiations had one Christian involved. There's been a significant concern that the Christians were not represented.
The Christian community, based upon birth and marriage records within the church, they believe that they could be 15 to 20 percent of the population of Egypt. Yet, once again, they have not been represented within the negotiating process that has taken place, and this really shows the vulnerability that the Christian community has in Egypt."
Although some Christian leaders in Egypt expressed support for Mubarak, Buwalda said others voiced their backing for reform and change.
"There were many Christians within Egypt who also participated with their neighbors to stand shoulder-to-shoulder regarding the issues of calling for democracy.
I think the greatest threat the Christian community have in Egypt is that they will continue to be excluded, and that's particularly true if the Muslim Brotherhood rises to the forefront in claims of leadership within whatever new leadership structure comes to pass in Egypt.
Its roots and its past have demonstrated that it has a very violent component to it, and should that take place, the Christian community is actually very vulnerable to new attacks," Buwalda said.
Buwalda's concerns were echoed by Nina Shea, director of the Hudson Institute's Center for Religious Freedom, who told UNI, "Mubarak's leaving, leaves a very big question mark for the Coptic Christians. They are at the mercy of Islamists who want to destroy them. We saw that recently with the January 1st church bombing in Alexandria.
They're completely defenseless and dependant on the police and military to protect them. Whether this will continue in post-Mubarak, we don't know. It's particularly precarious for them if the Muslim Brotherhood comes into power, because that is a group that is openly committed to forming an Islamic state.
They would be reduced to really a demi-status where they could not even openly display their faith or wear crosses or have public processions or bells ringing," Shea said.
The Institute on Religion and Democracy, in a statement, noted, "Reports coming out of Egypt and elsewhere in the Middle East indicate that the Muslim Brotherhood, an opposition group that strictly adheres to a fundamentalist brand of Sunni Islam, is primed to exploit the chaos. The Muslim Brotherhood has a long-stated intention of consolidating all of the Middle East under one Islamic Caliphate."
When it was founded in 1928, the Muslim Brotherhood's motto was "Jihad is our way." The group was outlawed for most of the past half-century in Egypt.
Israel welcomed a statement by the new military leadership in Egypt, which said Cairo will "abide by all regional and international treaties and agreements and commitments." Israel signed a peace treaty with Egypt in 1979, two years before Mubarak assumed power.
Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, the treaty "has greatly contributed to both countries, and is the cornerstone for peace and stability in the entire Middle East."
At the same time, Netanyahu expressed concern about the future of Egypt, Israel's strongest ally in the Arab world.
"In a state of chaos, an organized Islamic group can take over a country. It has happened. It happened in Iran. A takeover of oppressive regimes of extreme Islam violates human rights, grinds them to dust...and in parallel, also pose a terrible danger to peace and stability."
Jeff King, president of International Christian Concern, assessed the situation in Egypt this way.
"Like the rest of the world, we wait and hope to see what unfolds for Egypt's Christians. Our greatest fear is that the Muslim Brotherhood will slowly gain power and box out the one force capable of holding them in place–the military.
Those that can't imagine this happening should look to Turkey where Islamists have gained power and gutted the army that previously kept the country from veering into fundamentalism.
In this time of upheaval and uncertainty, perhaps the one word on everyone's lips is a prayer for peace," King said.
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