Fund Your Utopia Without Me.™

13 September 2012

The Ashes Of Churches Pile Up Across Egypt - I




http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341c60bf53ef0133f595a765970b-800wi

Across Egypt, piles of ash where church pews once stood


Violence against Christians is not new in Minya, where there is a large Christian population. Many residents have vivid memories of attacks during the 1980s and 1990s, when a rising Islamic militant movement targeted Christians, especially in Upper Egypt. They tell stories of Christian pharmacies burned, of Christian university students beaten and tormented.

Under ousted leader Hosni Mubarak, few were held accountable, and attacks were often followed by informal “reconciliation councils” that denied justice to the victims. Violence against Christian rose in the last years of Mubarak's presidency. Under the military junta that took power when mass protests pushed Mubarak from office, there was a surge in church attacks, again with little justice for the victims. 

But many here say life worsened when the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party was elected to office. Islamists in power seemed to encourage local extremists to increase discrimination, insults, and attacks, they say. Most say the wave of attacks on Aug. 14 was backlash from Islamists for being pushed from power. 

And if that was the price that must be paid for removing Morsi from power, then so be it, says church member Magdy Shafiq Saad.



http://csi-usa.org/images/image1.jpg


“They will always try to burn churches, whether in power or not. But in power, they increased the discrimination and the humiliation of Christians,” he says. “You can't go worse than the Islamists.”

The security director in Minya refused a request for an interview, and the Ministry of Interior in Cairo, which controls the police, did not respond to multiple requests for interviews. But government officials have defended the police's failure to protect churches and properties under attack on Aug. 14 by pointing out that police stations also came under attack, often first, keeping police from responding to the dozens of other attacks.

At some churches in Minya, police responded to calls about attacks, but only stayed for a short period of time, and attackers simply returned when police left. At other churches, including one within eyesight of the security directorate building, Christians say police didn't respond to their calls for help until it was too late. 


Constant threats


At the Anba Mousa el Aswad Coptic Orthodox church, where Atallah and Saadallah are members, the courtyard is littered with fallen mosaic tiles and rubble. The interior has been gutted by fire, the fine woodwork reduced to deep piles of black and gray ash. Sunlight shines through broken windows, illuminating the wreckage of what had once been an impressive sanctuary after a renovation finished in 2011.

The renovations were paid for with church members' donations, and though the building is in ruins, the loan payments are still due.


 http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/53408000/jpg/_53408840_011983188-1.jpg

As in most attacks, the mob looted the church before burning it. Several days after the attack, a neighbor brought Atallah and Saadallah's a brass incense lamp, one of the looted objects, saying others wanted the lamp returned to the church. It was that same neighbor who returned a few days later relaying the threat that their home would be burned if they didn't pay 500 pounds.

Saadallah, a laborer, and Attallah, a housewife, could scrape together the money, but they fear simply paying will make them appear weak and invite further threats and abuse.

They already live with threats, like the one recent delivered to their son by a woman in the street. “She said 'Get out of here, you Christian kid, or we'll slaughter you in your homes,'” says Saadallah. “We don't sleep at all at night because we're constantly afraid they're going to come and attack. So we're listening at the window or the door all night.” 


http://www.barenakedislam.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/e7de9c0a-9cfa-4943-9f3f-7b9ce5395c71.jpg

Under Morsi


Thuggery replaces rule of law


In Delja, the violence began when Morsi was ousted July 3. Angry mobs burned and looted shops and homes, and Islamists there issued threats against Christians, says Sakr, the lawyer who moved his family to Cairo. On Aug. 14, Sakr says a cleric used the mosque loudspeakers to call on neighborhood residents to take revenge against the “infidel Christians” for killing Muslims in Cairo.

He and his cousin owned the only Christian homes on the block nearest the mosque, he says, and the mobs attacked both. They killed his cousin before dragging his body through the streets, says Sakr. Sakr was able to escape with his family, the family of his cousin, and other extended family members. Crowds burned and looted his home and office, as well as other homes, churches and a monastery in Delja. 

“After that Wednesday, any Christian in the area was targeted, so the calls started that the Copts have to leave this area,” he says, adding that dozens of Christian families have fled and many of those who remain are too scared to attend church services.

Those who have stayed have also faced the theft of their land and livestock, he says, and many are paying protection money. Armed men in the village fired on security forces when they attempted to enter and restore order.




No comments: