Danielle Brown

Exploring Christianity: MWF 9:00 AM

Paper # 2

“If you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything” was a famous quote

from Malcolm X. This quote is most relevant today when referencing the new religious

war in Egypt. After fighting for democracy, Egyptians find themselves in a civil war over

religion. We will analyze what has caused such violent outbursts in the middle of what

should have been a celebration for freedom. The article, found in Time magazine, that we

will be referencing is titled “After the Egyptian Revolution: The Wars of Religion”,

written by Rania Abouzeid, on March 10th, 2010.

In this article, it expresses how stress and intolerance during its recent revolution

has resulted in another war against religion. The author of this article writes about her

experience traveling through a village 130 miles away from Cairo, Egypt.

Rania Abouzeid, begins her article explaining how Muslims had blocked off a

road leading to a Christian church that had been demolished. She writes that after trying

to see the newly dilapidated church, she was assaulted and pushed out of the village.

What had caused the clash between Christian and Muslim, originated in a recent romantic

relationship between a Christian man and Muslim women. Muslims felt it was a direct

attack on the dignity of their family causing the confrontation. The situation only

escalated more when suddenly the father of the woman had been murdered. Shortly after
a viewing of the woman’s father was held, fellow Muslims congregated together in a

manhunt for the “Christian” man who was in the relationship with the Muslim daughter.

When they didn’t find the man they decided to destroy the church. Broadening the issue

further, Christians who were infuriated in Cairo organized a demonstration. Predictably,

physical violence ensued that night- leaving thirteen dead and one-hundred and forty

injured. The fears of Christian Egyptians are heightened, especially after this event and

the church bombing in Alexandria, on New Years day. The church bombing killed at

least twenty-one worshippers, and has been said to have been conspired by the

government. Due to the political conspiracy and recent violent outburst, some Christians

have gone into hiding. However, many refuse to let Muslims destroy Christian territory

and traveled to the state news headquarters, despite the overwhelming feelings of

helplessness due to their country’s lack of support. As a result the Supreme Military

Council released a statement ensuring Christians that their church would be rebuilt by

Easter, and the people responsible for the destruction would be charged. Christians have

ignored this temporary solution to a much greater problem: who will defend them?

The authors’ question of who will defend Christian Egyptians now is the also the

major question I have. The tension, subsequently after the revolt against the Egyptian

government, has left Egyptians with their guards up. To start attacking each other, in a

time when they should be glorifying their new independence, is completely irrational to

me. After watching the news, and reading different articles that reference issues in Egypt,

I haven’t seen much negative coverage from Christians. Yet, they are the ones being

attacked. We must keep in mind that this whole altercation stemmed from a relationship

between two people of different religions. In America, we may have religious tolerance,
but it is evident that in other places diversity is just not welcomed, which this article

illustrates. Egyptian’s religious dispositions today resemble those in earlier times. To

understand this acquired animosity, we much acknowledge the history between the two

religions.

The events most relevant to the ongoing war between Christian and Muslims are

The Crusades. There were four distinctive crusades that contributed to The Crusades. The

Crusades were holy wars between Christians and Muslims during the Middle Ages.

Beginning quickly after the power shift in the “Great Schism”, the division in Christianity

between the Western Roman Catholics and the Eastern Greek Orthodox’s in medieval

Europe, the crusades lasted between the years 1095-1270. The Crusades began because

of the spread of Islam throughout the Mideast to Europe and eventually taking over

Jerusalem. To Christians, Jerusalem is considered their Holy land because it was a place

of nativity, crucifixion, and the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Jerusalem is also significant

to Muslims because it is the place were the prophet Muhammad ascended into heaven. As

a result of these conflicting views, a religious war began that didn’t settle much for

Christians. The war ended with nothing more than extreme resentment towards each

other that still effects us today.

The conflict between Christians and Muslim is evident today, in this article

specifically. Even in times of happiness, the war of religion persists. Some people

speculate that the attacks on 9/11 had a correlation with Christian and Muslim religion,

the United States being considered founded on Christian faith and Al-Qaeda being of

Muslim faith. It is found in Islam the notion of “jihad”, or a holy war. This Muslim

concept is what’s triggering some to justify their violence. It seems that the intolerance
these religions have for each other will continue to come to a head. I consider it

spiritually refreshing that despite attacks on Christians, they are free from avenging

against Muslims. Some Christians are hiding, fleeing, or even denying their faith to avoid

confrontation. However there are Christians who remain truly faithful and refuse to leave

Egypt. You can only compare their admiral courage to the courage of the Christians

during Roman Emperor Nero’s reign, as he savagely persecuted Christians solely because

of their faith. The holy lands that are apart of the foundation of the Christian faith are

being relentlessly beaten, but as history has shown, Christianity can recover and prosper.

Today in Egypt, the physical attacks are not the true issue- who will protect Christianity

without the support of their government is.