For the Coptic Christmas mass Thursday night, Egyptian Muslims offered their bodies, and lives, as “shields” to protect the threatened Christian community:
Egypt’s majority Muslim population stuck to its word Thursday night. What had a been a promise of solidarity to the weary Coptic community, was honoured, when thousands of Muslims showed up at Coptic Christmas eve mass services in churches around the country and at candle light vigils held outside.
From the well-known to the unknown, Muslims had offered their bodies as “human shields” for last night’s mass, making a pledge to collectively fight the threat of Islamic militants and towards an Egypt free from sectarian strife.
“We either live together, or we die together,” was the sloganeering genius of Mohamed El-Sawy, a Muslim arts tycoon whose cultural centre distributed flyers at churches in Cairo Thursday night, and who has been credited with first floating the “human shield” idea.
Among those shields were movie stars Adel Imam and Yousra, popular preacher Amr Khaled, the two sons of President Hosni Mubarak, and thousands of citizens who have said they consider the attack one on Egypt as a whole.
January 7th, 2011 | 3:36 pm
I am deeply gratified to read this.
January 7th, 2011 | 3:50 pm
Thankful, Yes! Where can we get more of such Muslims?
January 7th, 2011 | 5:34 pm
I am gobsmacked with incredulity at this report, and am now boiling water so as to eat a few of my words.
January 7th, 2011 | 6:23 pm
Speaking as someone who’s endlessly critical of Islam, this is pretty damn cool.
January 7th, 2011 | 7:04 pm
Joe,
Thank you for posting this article. I find it interesting that this article was openly critical of Mubarak and his hold on power in Egypt.
The NY Times had an article that mentioned some of the expressions of solidarity with the Copts, although not this particular one. But, the sources for that article dismissed much of it as a superficial effort by Egypt’s elite. I suspect the truth lies somewhere between. The elites may have instigated some of these expressions of unity, but then a lot of people responded sincerely and, in this case, they combined the expression of solidarity with the Copts with a protest against the government.
Pastor Spomer,
“Such Muslims” are all over the place, including here in the U.S. Really. The problem is not religion in general or Islam, it is what power hungry men can manipulate others to do in the name of their faith.
As in Northern Ireland, the identity of “Catholic” or “Protestant” have served as effective rallying points for two sides in a centuries long political and economic fight. Yes, the religious differences matter, but that’s not what the fight is really about. Most people are just trying to live their lives and keep their heads down when the bombs and bullets fly.
January 7th, 2011 | 9:57 pm
Amen, to Peter S.
We often forget what has been done in the name of ‘Christianity’ whatever the flavor.
January 7th, 2011 | 11:36 pm
That is awe-inspiring, and, for me, humbling.
January 8th, 2011 | 10:23 am
The flipside to this:
It just goes to show what can happen when there’s a sizeable christian minority in a muslim country and they’re vocal and aggressive about the way the muslims treat them. It might also help that Egypt’s elite is in hock to the U.S.
Because in NO other muslim country will you find christians willing to go into a nearby mosque and throw all their holy books out into the street and then get into a rock/bottle throwing match with the local muslims. Even if that is a rather asymmetrical response to losing 21 people in a bombing, those christians would get killed in most places.
January 8th, 2011 | 12:57 pm
I appreciate pointing this out. Such news are usually forgotten in mainstream media.
I hate to disagree with you Sean. That was not because Egyptian Christians were “vocal.”
“Angry protests” by a few Christians — though wrong — were understandable.
Majority of demonstrations by thousands of Egyptians (Christians and Muslims) against terrorism broke out nation-wide.
January 12th, 2011 | 2:05 pm
Thanx for this post which helps the LIGHT to shine brighter in power than the dark is becoming in destruction – and perhaps some of you may want to see and Comment on my three blogsites?
http://nomorecrusades.blogspot.com/2011/01/muslim-human-shields-protect-christians.html
http://oneheartforpeace.blogspot.com/2011/01/you-tube-url-here-al-jazeeras.html
http://thejourneyofhope.blogspot.com
January 24th, 2011 | 12:14 pm
I work with a Coptic organization that operates throughout Egypt, primarily through church-based volunteers who visit the homes of the fatherless and widow in their areas, and connect them to various resources to break the cycle of poverty.
I do so as a non-Egyptian because I want to strengthen the Body of Christ in Egypt, so that the local church is best able to “persevere in faith and witness to non-violence that comes from the Gospel” (as Pope Benedict said) and continue to be salt and light in Egyptian society.
Coptic Orphans is available to speak in churches about the situation in Egypt. I personally have chosen to sponsor a child in Egypt as a way to encourage and support the Egyptian Body of Christ through an individual family.
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