I'm guessing you didn't hear about this, read about it or see it on television. I didn't this either. I didn't know about these events until I heard about them from my pharmacist-yes my pharmacist-a lovely Egyptian Copt whose pharmacy is in the same small very white Anglo-Saxon rural town near where I live.
I Googled the events of June 30, 2013 and the months following only to discover that "lo and behold" the Canadian media were busy elsewhere. Which led me to question the triage system in the media.
Breathing, bleeding, broken bones, burns. This is medical triage; a universally accepted system of prioritizing emergencies. Would that there were in the main stream media a universal system of prioritizing world events. Perhaps then we would hear about "world events" not stories from the same countries over and over again as if life and death, peace and war revolved around only those countries.
Coptic Christians make up about 9 percent of Egypt's population of 85 million, and other Christian denominations about 1 percent. The vast majority of Egyptians are Sunni Muslims.
Approximately six weeks after the overthrow of Mohamed Morsi, the Copts were under attack. Muslim Brotherhood followers roared "Copts and communists are supporting Sisi in the killing of Muslims." Joe Stork, acting Middle East director at Human Rights Watch
said "For weeks, everyone could see these attacks coming, with Muslim Brotherhood members accusing Coptic Christians of a role in Mohammad Morsi's ouster, but the authorities did little or nothing to prevent them. Now dozens of churches are smoldering ruins, and Christians throughout the country are hiding in their homes, afraid for their very lives."
According to reports from the
Washington Times on August 20, 2013, Islamist mobs torched schools and businesses owned by Christians, looted churches and paraded captive nuns through the streets of a city south of Cairo. Morsi's supporters burned at least 44 churches. Human Rights Watch
added that dozens of other Christian religious institutions in the governorates of Minya, Asyut, Fayum, Giza, Suez, Sohag, Bani Suef, and North Sinai were attacked.
Al Jazeera reported that 525 people died in clashes across the country.
Minya Province is home to the largest number of Christians in Egypt.
Anba Macarius head bishop of Minya's Coptic Church spoke of the damage done. "Three hundred homes, 100 businesses, 15 churches and about 10 Christian organizations were destroyed in my province."
The Anglican church of St. Saviour's in the city of Suez was one that was attacked. "They attacked the church with Molotov cocktails and stones, and the car of the priest was completely destroyed," said Egypt's
Anglican Bishop, Mouneer Annis. "Two other churches in Suez were completely burned - and the thugs looted the churches afterwards. It's a mixture between burning and looting."
Bishop Thomas, a Coptic Orthodox bishop in Assiut told Al Jazeera "It never happened before in history that such a big number of churches were attacked on one day.
We normally used to have attacks once a month or so." (my Italics)
It is amazing to me how religious minorities come to accept attacks against them as normal. An attack on the Christian community once a month by Muslims was deemed as "normal"until the all-out "war" against the Copts for apparently supporting the ouster of Morsi by participating in the June 30 protest against him in Tahir Square.
But you didn't hear about this either. Nor did you hear from the main stream media about the
chants aimed at the Egyptian Coptic community prior to the attacks. "Tawadros, (head of the church) you are a coward for the Americans" and "Tawadros, you coward, get your dogs out of the square."
Christians say the Muslim Brotherhood wants to see all of them exiled from Egypt, where they have lived for almost 2,000 years. Sadly this past year 2014, we have watched, like good bystanders, as religious buildings and symbols have been wantonly destroyed throughout the Muslim world by Muslims who have no respect for those of different beliefs. Each time I read about or see attacks against religious symbols, I remember the day that the Taliban gleefully destroyed the
1700 year old Buddhas in Afghanistan in the spring of 2001.
And I still remember thinking that we should have done something then rather than just sit back and say-oh that was too bad. What a shame. We watched then as we watch now.
The past year, 2014, was not much kinder to the Christians in Egypt.
Christians are still in danger.
"Christians in Egypt are expecting death at any time," Macarius head bishop of Minya's Coptic Church said. Days before his interview in the spring with CBN News, Macarius was the target of an assassination attempt.
"I thank the Lord I am still alive but I am like anybody else in Minya, we all face dangers. My life is not more precious than any other soul in Minya."
One member of this Coptic community said "The Muslim Brotherhood's time in office almost destroyed our country but we are thankful they never had the opportunity to finish their term. Now it will take some time to secure our country."
Still security conditions have led several hundred Christian families to consider leaving Minya.
The one report I found from the CBC during the months of attacks came from
The Current.
Canada's Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird and Andrew Bennett, Canada's Ambassador for Religious Freedom expressed their concern.They had issued a statement, saying in part:
"We are concerned by recent attacks on religious institutions in Egypt, in particular the unconscionable attacks on Coptic Orthodox, and Anglican churches, and on Baptist and Franciscan institutions.
"Attacks on places of worship are unacceptable. Canada calls on Egyptian authorities to protect worshipers and religious sites from violence and intimidation."
Canada then and now takes a moral stand against attacks on religious groups. But where are the voices of social justice? Where is the anger at Islam for attacking Christians in Egypt in 2013 and now attacking Christians all over the Middle East? Where is that righteous anger from the United Church of Canada and The American Presbyterian Church? Where are you?
And where are the people who are supposed to keep us informed of these events? Where is our media? Where are you?
