Source: Roland Clarke, Answering Islam, August 2013
Egypt is embroiled in its worst crisis in thirty years. What does all this bloodshed mean? It seems significant numbers of Egyptians have woken up to the fact that their aspirations for freedom have been hijacked by radical religionists.
Under Morsi’s sharia-driven regime, Muslims attacked churches and Christians with impunity. Not only so, no sooner did the military start disbanding obstinate camps of protesters than a series of attacks broke out against Christians. Within a week, six dozen churches were burned, vandalized, or attacked. Morsi’s supporters also attacked several dozen Christian schools, businesses, and institutions. Among these were two Bible Society shops which were completely destroyed.
During this same period of rage, an article was published online showing pictures of Islamists vandalizing a church (This Is What It Looks Like Just Before the Muslim Brotherhood Jumps You). What makes this incident so astonishing is that it evoked a backlash within the Muslim Brotherhood ranks and caused them to deep embarrassment.
[Another article,] Egyptian Churches Burn as the Muslim Brotherhood Shows its True Face, quotes a Twitter statement by the Brotherhood spokesman, Gehad El-Haddad: “We will always be non-violent and peaceful… Our peacefulness is our strength and we will never be dragged into violence. We unequivocally reject all forms of violence/vandalism.” However, the burning and looting of dozens of churches [tells] a different story.
On August 16, I received a letter from an evangelical church leader in Egypt that voiced similar concerns. Speaking as an insider, he gives a very different picture to reports in the mainstream media.
“I speak with absolute certainty when I say that, for the vast majority of Egyptians, the military are finally doing what the people have been asking – this is not part of a military coup but rather a restoration of control to the majority of Egyptian people. Although the huge number of mortalities is both tragic and regrettable, they could have been avoided, had the MB (Muslim Brotherhood) entered into peaceful productive dialogue with the transitional government, as the military so often invited them to over the past six weeks.”
[In Understanding the Present Situation in Egypt, another respected Egyptian leader, Ramez Atallah (General Secretary for The Bible Society of Egypt), confirms what my friend wrote:
“Many of us involved in Christian ministry in Egypt are appalled at the misunderstandings about the situation in Egypt being propagated by even normally balanced international media like the BBC, and the way it has, in general, portrayed the Muslim Brotherhood as the victims of injustice…
“In November 2012, he [Morsi] illegally gave himself new sweeping powers to act without censure and rushed through a new pro-Islamic constitution despite the protests and boycotts from liberals, moderate Muslims, and Christians, and then he refused to call for new elections – as had previously been agreed to do after a new constitution had been adopted.”
It seems that more and more peace-loving Muslims feel anguish and deep embarrassment at the never-ending atrocities (as well as pervasive deceit) perpetrated in the name of Allah. The bloodshed in Egypt and Syria – indeed, across the Muslim world – is causing many Muslims to feel disillusioned and to yearn for real peace.
» Feel free to ask Roland Clarke any questions related to this article. You may also be interested in these articles he mentions: Egyptian Ambassador: ‘It Became Necessary to Finish This Thing Today’, Muslim Brotherhood Kills Its Own, and Inside Egypt’s Terrorist Camps: Torture, Rape, Mass Murder.