A Prayer for Egypt

I heard some disturbing reports about violence in Egypt last week. As you probably know, Egypt was one of the first great successes of the Arab Spring when popular demonstrations managed to dislodge the dictator, Hosni Mubarak. I thought it was wonderful, and was heartened to hear young Arabs and Egyptians rejecting terrorism in favor of the power of peaceful protest.

Unfortunately, there is a dark side to the revolution. A month ago, Egyptian crowds attacked the Israeli Embassy, and just a few days ago saw a rash of anti-Christian violence.

According to reports, a radical Islamic group called the Salafis are targeting the Coptic Christians with several church burnings and acts of violence. The Copts, who have lived in the country since before the time of Muhammed, are upset by the transitional government's lack of action on the matter. To make matters words, a non-violent Christian protest was attacked by the army leaving at least 25 dead and nearly 300 injured.

The government blames a outside conspiracy that wants to destabilize the country while many on the street think the army may be encouraging chaos in a bid to remain in power. This isn't helped by a the fact that the government controlled media will not report the Coptic side of the story or broadcast any story that accuses government forces or Muslims of wrong-doing.

I believe there are many people in Egypt who want to see peace between the different religions, but it's an uphill battle. What looked like good news for all Egyptians may not be such good news for the religious minorities. Only time will tell. I hope that the prayers of the rest of the world will be with Egypt and the whole Arabic world, and I also hope that the eyes of the world will be on them. May peace prevail on earth but may that peace always include justice for all.

(NOTE: I put this entry aside for a week. In that time there have been huge developments in Libya where dictator Moammar Gadhafi has been killed. My concerns, and hopes, for that country are very much like those for Egypt.)