Disorder spread throughout Egypt’s urban centers as the second
anniversary of the beginning of a popular uprising and overthrow of the
Mubarak regime on Jan. 25 became an opportunity for women, secularists
and Christian Egyptians to protest the nation’s increasing tilt toward
Islamist rule. Protestors demanding the ouster of President Mohammed
Morsi filled Cairo’s Tahrir Square, and parallel protests led to
violence in other metropolitan areas. The chaos accelerated when clashes
flared after a Cairo court handed down death sentences for 21
supporters of Port Said’s Al-Masry soccer club for their part in a 2012
riot that left 74 people dead. Scores have been killed and wounded in
street violence. Egypt’s army chief, Gen. Abdul Fattah al-Sisi, even
warned on Jan. 29 that the political crisis could lead to the collapse
of the state.
In the two years since the Arab Spring reached Egypt, the nation’s
Christians have faced growing uncertainty and intimidation. Thousands
have joined an exodus out of Egypt into the United States, where as many
as 100,000 refugees have swelled a pre-revolution population of
350,000. With the continuing disorder in the streets and the damaged
economy, which relies on a tourist trade that has collapsed, and amid
new threats against Christians emerging from among Islamist groups, that
emigration is likely to continue.
This existential threat has not gone unnoticed by Christian
leadership. In January the Catholic Church in Egypt issued a stinging
critique of President Morsi, accusing him of manipulating public opinion
and acts of gross incompetence that led to the deaths of protestors.
The Rev. Antoine Rafic Greiche, spokesperson for the Catholic bishops’
conference of Egypt, accused Morsi of failing to adequately ready
security forces for the clear likelihood of street violence. President
Morsi “must take responsibility for the deaths of those who were killed
in the recent unrest,” he said. “The security forces were unprepared for
these protests, even though they were predictable. This is the
government’s failure.” By Feb. 1, 57 people had died in clashes with
police and security forces.
“The people are dissatisfied with the Islamist regime,” Father
Greiche said. “Divisions are increasing. The bloody protests in the Suez
region and in Cairo show how the country is falling apart. But perhaps
this will also lead to new reflection and to a new unity about the
future of Egypt. At any rate, it cannot go on like this.” Father Greiche
also condemned Morsi’s initiatives at dialogue as insincere. The
president, he said, “must finally start a national dialogue that is
worthy of the name. We had plenty of staged events that were designed to
produce nice pictures, but were otherwise a waste of time.”
Of key concern to Egyptian Christians, according to Father Greiche,
is the constitution that Morsi signed into law in December in the face
of bitter opposition, not least from the Catholic Church, which withdrew
from the negotiations to draft the document. Bishop Kyrillos William,
administrator of the Coptic Catholic Patriarchate of Alexandria, warned
that the “religious orientation of this constitution prepares the way
for an Islamic caliphate.”
Among other incidents that have concerned both secularists and
Christians since the constitution was approved, an Egyptian woman and
her seven children were sentenced to 15 years in prison for converting
to Christianity. Reports in January describe how thousands of people
emerging from a mosque destroyed a Sunday school under construction in
Fayoum. In a separate incident, on Jan. 18 thousands of Muslim
protestors in Qena reportedly attacked eight Coptic Christian homes and
businesses, torching Coptic-owned pharmacies and vehicles.
Source: http://americamagazine.org/issue/signs/church-official-blames-morsi-deaths-and-disorder
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