Egypt’s ‘Christian Winter’

Brian C. Stiller: Egypt’s ‘Christian Winter’
ICC Note: Egypt’s uprising in early 2011 gave Islamists unprecedented freedoms that were never thought possible under former dictatorships. The fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood is now in power while Salafis and other extremist groups are able to implement their interpretation of Sharia on Egypt’s streets. Moreover, Christian legal rights are practically nonexistent in Egypt’s courts and there is little hope of improvement now that Egypt’s new constitution, which was drafted by the Brotherhood, has been approved. The Arab Spring—at one time a commendable, idealistic dream—has plummeted toward a grave reality: the only freedoms gained were those of Islamists that demand complete submission from the Christian minority. “Indeed. The Arab Spring has become a Christian Winter,” Brian C. Stiller writes in the National Post.
By Brian C. Stiller
2/08/2013 Egypt (NP) -After forcing out Mubarak and electing Mohamed Morsi last June, revolutionaries are back on the streets, this time with cries of “Leave, leave, Morsi.”
As I walked toward the presidential palace in Cairo after Friday prayers, now the centre of protest, I passed families, with children in tow, seemingly not wanting to miss the historic showdown between the power of the mob and police. Soon the festival-like atmosphere turned into Molotov tossing, police in riot gear lobbing tear gas, and in the end, a man shot in the head by the police.
Many factors have converged to create this ongoing backlash. The economy is in tatters: 25% of Egyptians live on $1 a day, while another 25% make $2 a day. There are 45 million Egyptians under 30, and 90% of them are unemployed., providing an ideal breeding ground for unrest and protest. European powers are reluctant to provide financial aid until the social unrest abates.
And yet, looming in the background of every public debate, is religion. The U.S. recently, and European powers historically, have to their discredit blinded their eyes to the fundamental nature of the Middle East. The pressure between the Islamic majority and the Christian minority, but long-established, other faiths is reaching a boiling point.
The Coptic Orthodox were in Egypt long before Islam arrived. Once one of the central branches of Christianity, today, the Coptic Church, along with evangelical Protestants, constitutes 15% of Egypt’s population. Yet it has been this group, especially the Coptic Orthodox, that have felt the heavy hand of Mubarak’s police (or their absence) when attacked by extremists. People have been fired or denied educations, or even harassed and killed, on the basis of their Christian faith, which they are required to declare on official government documents.
Christians and Muslim moderates had high hopes after Mubarak was ousted. They hoped for a modern, progressive Egypt. It hasn’t happened. Morsi stacked the committee to write the constitution with Muslim Brotherhood members and Salafists (fundamentalists) and rushed the draft to a referendum. Christians and moderates were dismayed to see the lack of meaningful protections of religious freedom. But the constitution passed.
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“Many Christians in the rural area today are being persecuted,” Dr. Maurice told me. “Homes and fields and shops are being taken. In cities it is not that bad. But outside them, Islamists take by violence and guns and the government does not protect Christians. If the Islamists take over fully, we expect persecution to move into the cities. The economy will collapse, people will starve.”
“If that comes, the church will go underground and be oppressed. If the [moderates prevail], we will bring truth and love to the people of Egypt. But we are working to prepare ourselves for either scenario.”
Indeed. The Arab Spring has become a Christian Winter. Egypt faces an exodus of its Christian population similar to those that have already been seen in other Middle Eastern states in the grips of Islamist governments. This will be tragic for Egypt.
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