For anyone who had any questions about how Egypt after Mubarak would be for Coptic Christians, the early news is not encouraging. Assyrian International News Agency (AINA) reports that the Egyptian army has attacked the 5th century old St. Bishoy monastery in Wadi el-Natroun, 110 kilometers from Cairo. The attack is the second such attack in five days.
The Copts had built a wall around their monastery to protect it in the wake of the lawlessness that had been widespread after the downfall of Hosni Mubarak. Thieves hiding naked avarice behind a fig leaf of Islamic propriety had been plundering monasteries for icons and religious articles to sell. The fence built by the monastery authorities was to protect it from such criminal attacks.
Instead of being protected by the new government, the Egyptian army attacked with guns, tanks and bulldozers, destroying the fence and leaving the monastery unprotected. As the soldiers demolished the wall around the monastery they shouted ‘Allahu Akbar’ and ‘Victory, Victory”. Six unarmed Coptic Christians were seriously injured, one with gunshot wounds to the chest.
In addition to the attack on the St. Bishoy monastery, the Monastery of St. Makarios of Alexandria in Wady el-Rayan 60 miles from Cairo. The issue was similar, a fence built to protect the monastery was knocked down by the army. Out of ten monks injured, one remains hospitalised in critical condition.
Despite video evidence and spent shells proving otherwise, the Egyptian government denies any wrongdoing, claiming that they were knocking down a fence built on government land.
The St. Bishoy monks are holding a sit down protest in front of their monastery. Meanwhile in Cairo, nearly 7000 Copts staged a peaceful rally in front of the Coptic cathedral in Cairo, where Pope Shenouda III was speaking.
It should be noted that it was Coptic demonstrations back in January that preceded the general unrest that unseated Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. Now that Mubarak is gone, those who opened the struggle have been pushed to the side. Egypt’s Coptic Christians pray in the original language of Egypt that was used in Egypt before Arabic became prevalent. The world needs to hold the new government in Cairo to task for the treatment of their Christian minority. Is this a revolution for justice or the tyranny of the majority. In too many cases, revolutions have ushered in greater bloodshed and intolerance. Egypt may sadly provide another example of this.
No comments:
Post a Comment