A Bloody Greeting for Coptic Christians

As They Celebrate Christmas

‫معايدة بالدم لمسيحيي المشرق‬
By Jacob Thomas
When the Islamic armies burst out of Arabia in the middle of the seventh century and
began their Futuhat (conquests) of the Middle East, the local populations with differing
religious beliefs, namely Jews and Christians, began to experience what would be a long
ordeal of humiliation and persecution. At times, they paid the ultimate price and were
martyred for their faith. At certain points in the past 1400 years persecution became so
intense that violent massacres of Christians took place. Over 10,000 Maronite Christians
lost their lives in Mount Lebanon during the 1860s.

There was some respite in the persecution of religious minorities after the fall of the
Ottoman Empire in 1918. However, after WWII, when several countries in the area
gained their independence from the British and the French, the lot of Christians and Jews
began to deteriorate. In 1957, the First Civil War took place in Lebanon between
Christians and Muslims. There was reconciliation between the two factions but it was
short-lived; and by 1975, the Second Civil War erupted, which lasted for decades, and
nearly destroyed the country.

It seems that not much has changed over the years. On 12 January 2010, an article
appeared on the Arabic website of the daily Elaph. It attempts to understand and
interpret a horrific event that occurred in Egypt as Coptic Christians were celebrating
Christmas. The headline announced it as “A Bloody Greeting for Coptic Christians as
They Celebrate Christmas.” The Arabic text when translated literally, would read, “A
Bloody Greeting for Eastern Christians.” (Mu’ayadat bil-Damm li-Masihiyee al-
Mashreq) ‫معايدة بالدم لمسيحيي المشرق‬

Here are excerpts from the Elaph article, followed by analysis and comments.

“The murder of several Coptic Christians by an Islamist group in St George’s Church at

Nag’ Hammadi in Upper Egypt on Christmas Eve, 7 January, 2010 1, was not a solitary
act of aggression. These types of attacks against the Copts have been increasing. Their
houses of worship, homes, and places of business are the targets. One could even say that
such acts reflect a troubling aspect of certain parts of Egyptian social life. In fact, we may
expect such barbaric acts in Egypt and in other Arab and Islamic states to increase. This
is because the prevalence of “religious regimes” contributes to the rise of populations
bent on murder and Irhab.
“Thus at the beginning of 2010, another instance of Coptic Christians’ blood being
spilled occurred as Christmas was being celebrated. ‘Greeting’ Eastern Christians in a
bloody fashion is an old matter. Not only in Egypt. It happened not long ago in Turkey;
and today it’s going on in Iraq, and tomorrow it will occur in other parts of the Arab-
Islamic world. In these lands, Christians are no longer considered citizens, but subjects
and hostages. So, we may expect similar attacks on Eastern Christians that change their
celebrations into occasions of mourning. Fatwas have even been issued forbidding
Muslims from participating in any Christian celebrations, or sending greetings to
Christians during their Holy Days.

“I disagree with those who have described what took place in Egypt on Christmas
Eve, as an isolated incident, similar to what goes on from time to time between Christians
and Muslims. Actually, the governmental authorities have been very lax in their attitude
to the radical Islamist organizations, when they attack Egyptian Christians. Christians are
the victims of the political bargaining that goes on between the Government and the
Islamist organizations.

“There are several dimensions to the timing of this crime. It points to the depth of the
‘Coptic wound’ that has been bleeding for several decades. According to the ‘Center for
Arab Studies Ibn Khaldun,’ more than 4,000 Copts have been killed or wounded simply
for being Christians, since September, 1972; not counting the damage caused to churches
and homes, amounting to around one hundred million dollars. All this happened and is
still happening in the “Republic of Fear” 2 and the “State of Failed Ideologies and
Empty Revolutionary Slogans,” 3 built by Gamal Abdel-Nasser and his friends of the
Free Officers Movement. It is this militarized State which is responsible for the political
authoritarianism and communal sectarianism that plagues Egyptian society.

“Nasser and his colleagues nationalized much of the Egyptian economy; confiscating
many enterprises that belonged to the Copts. Article One of the 1956 Constitution of
Egypt stipulates that ‘Islam is the Religion of the State.’ In one stroke, the principle of
equality for all the citizens of Egypt was set aside. After Nasser’s death in September,
1970, Anwar Sadat became the new president. He sought to win the support of the
Egyptian street by promulgating in May 1980, the principle that Islamic Shariah must
become the source of all legislation. This contributed to the ‘Islamization of life’ in
Egypt, a move that led to the strengthening of both the official and popular persecution of
the Christian Copts, as well as their marginalization in society. Copts were no longer
permitted to serve in high governmental positions, their religious freedoms were
abridged, and no new churches could be built, nor old ones enlarged or repaired. The goal
of these chauvinistic and despotic laws was to impose Islam on the Copts, eradicate their
identity as the original inhabitants of Egypt, and force them to emigrate to different parts
of the world.

“The absence of Coptic political and national organizations that would have sought the
recognition of their political and cultural rights and their religious freedoms greatly
facilitated their marginalization. Thus, they have remained outside the political sphere,
even though they represent approximately 10% of the 80 million Egyptians.

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“However, this does not imply that the Copts have accepted the injustices imposed upon
them. Many of them have responded to the attacks by the Islamists by seeking to defend
themselves, and by bringing to the attention of the world the awful conditions of their
daily existence. Those Coptic Egyptians, who have settled in Europe, Australia, and
North America, have been active in supporting their fellow-Copts back in their homeland.
They have become involved in international conferences that drew attention to the plight
of the Copts of Egypt.

“Coptic religious leaders have accused the local authorities in Upper Egypt of
cooperating with the mob that attacked the Christians on Christmas Eve, 2010. They
declared that responsibility for the murders at Nag’ Hammadi lay with them. Ultimately,
it is the Egyptian State that bears responsibility for failing to protect all its citizens.

“Taking into account the communal tensions in Egypt, and the fact that it is the Salafist
and Fundamentalist organizations that stand behind them, such as “Al-Ikhwan al-
Muslimeen,” (The Muslim Brotherhood,) the Christmas Eve Murders might not be the
last ones. The ‘Coptic Cause’ should not be considered as a matter of internal security, or
the absence of social harmony between religious groups. It is primarily a political,
judicial, and humane cause. After all, the Copts are the original inhabitants of Egypt; and
they are being persecuted on account of their Christian faith. This is going on, both
officially and socially. Daily they encounter severe discrimination, having become the
objects of many criminal attacks perpetrated by radical Islamist groups. These problems
should receive the immediate attention of governmental authorities, particularly the
dominant political party of President Hosni Mubarak. The solution must be sought
within the context of granting complete and full citizenship to the Egyptian Christians,
genuine equality between Copts and Muslims, and the ending of all types of
discrimination that has been the way of life for the original people of Egypt.”

Analysis

The murder of Copts following their celebration of Christmas at Nag’ Hammadi was not
an isolated case, but another manifestation of the discrimination, persecution, violence
and death they have endured for centuries. Their conditions have deteriorated since the
rise of the Egyptian Republic in 1952.

Comments

I am grateful to Elaph for publishing this account by a Syrian intellectual and human
rights activist, thus reminding its wide readership of the injustices that go on in Muslim-
dominated lands. The tragedy at Nag’ Hammadi’s Coptic Church should prompt us to
pay more attention to the plight of Eastern Christians and other minorities living within
Daru’l Islam, and seek an end to their persecution.

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I would like to quote from a work that I read in the early 1960s and which is still relevant
today: “A Lonely Minority: The Modern Story of Egypt’s Copts,” written by Edward
Wakin 4, and published by William Morrow & Company, New York, in 1963.

Wakin traveled throughout Egypt, and compiled much research (as a historian and
sociologist,) and wrote a memorable book. These thought-provoking words were a fitting
conclusion to his study:

Both Egypt and Islam, like all other countries and ways of life in the modern world,
must meet the test of toleration. For Islam it is a moral challenge spread over its
proverbial range from the Atlantic to the Indian Oceans. Citing its theoretical
toleration does not silence the cry of its minorities. For a Moslem nation, it is the
practical problem of using human resources. The Copts themselves, within the
microcosm of their history and its manifestations in church, community, nation and
minority, present everyman’s tale of dream and nightmare, fulfillment and frustration
in a world not of their making. Insofar as the Copts have received their due -- without
ignoring their blemishes -- this modern story of Egypt’s Copts is an account of the
human condition.

“At the end of this intimate rendezvous with the Copts, a concluding moral note is
unavoidable. The obligation to oppose tyranny wherever it stands, even when the
tyranny is elusive and unannounced, even unintended. It begins with labeling
injustice long before shop windows are smashed, icons broken, and families torn apart.
This labeling is an antidote to the danger of dulled sensibilities in our time and while
the Copts can be accused of hypersensitivity, their problem is by no means imaginary.
They are feeling pressures that inflict suffering without mutilating, that intimidate
relentlessly without exploding sporadically, that wound without bloodshed.

“The Copts are numbed and helpless as well as anxious as their historic cycles of
acceptance and rejection, their recurring stages of toleration, discrimination, and
persecution move inexorably in the direction of rejection. Persecution is still the
nightmare, discrimination the reality in the latest chapter of a long story of a people.
They are there in Egypt and there they remain, the ‘true Egyptians,’ the ‘original
Christians,’ the four million Copts of the Nile Valley, that troubled, enduring, lonely
minority.” 5. Pp. 175 and 176 (Hard Back Edition)

I highly recommend reading this excellent work, and am thankful that it has been
republished in recent years. See note 4.

Notes

1. The Coptic Church celebrates Christmas on the 7th of January.

2. “Republic of Fear” Reference to Samir al-Khalil’s “Republic of Fear: The Inside Story of
Saddam’s Iraq.” Pantheon Books, New York, 1990

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3. Reference to the total reorganization of the Egyptian Government and society that took
place under the Republican regime of Gamal Abdel-Nasser, after the coup of 22 July, 1952
4. Edward Wakin, Ph.D., was a prize-winning journalist before joining the Fordham
University faculty as professor of communications, where he taught for more than forty
years. He passed away on 13 November, 2009 at the age of 81.
“A Lonely Minority” was republished in 2000 as a paper back, and is available at various
website bookstores.
5. In the 1960s, the population of Egypt was around 50 million; as in the rest of the Arab-Muslim
world, the population growth has been very high. Egypt’s population now stands around 80 million,
10% being Coptic Christians.

The URL for the Arabic report on the murder of Copts at Nag’ Hammadi is:
http://www.elaph.com/Web/opinion/2010/1/522986.html