Dahshur district in Giza witnessed terrible sectarian clashes between Muslims and Christians because of a burned shirt that resulted in the death of a Muslim and the displacement of not less that 100 Christian families from the district for fear of their lives !! Yes because of a burned Shirt.
It turned out that the whole fight started when a Christian man who owns an ironing service shop burned by accident a shirt of a Muslim man , the fight developed in to clashes with Molotov cocktails resulting in the death of a Muslim man. After that the usual sectarian clashes scenario , shops owned by Christians are vandalized ,angry Muslim mob heads to the church to storm it but wise Muslims stop them then police tells the Christians in Dahshur it was better to leave their houses for their safety because security can not protect them from any mob !!
This is considered the first sectarian problem in Mohamed Morsi’s presidential term , what did he do then !? Nothing actually , Nada !! For almost four days we heard nothing from his office except he is following the matter according to the spokesperson of presidency on Thursday. A delegation from Church men from Dahshur had reportedly gone to the Presidential palace but failed to meet him or his staff. Then today we found he sent his advisor to Dahshur.
I will not follow up the matter but I will interfere as soon as I heard that there are clashes between Muslims and Christians , I will not wait till Christians are forced to leave their homes. Now they had to leave their homes in fear , the first thing I do as president of Egypt as soon as I heard the news is to order their immediate return and protection. If I were the president of Egypt , I would visit Dahshur as soon as possible and not only to pay a visit to its Church and mosque but to visit the Christians at their homes and their shops.
I will also visit the family of the deceased Muslim who died in the clashes.
From political and social point of views I will win the support and respect of the Egyptian Christians
Some will say that this is a small clash and the president is too busy , well I am sorry but this is not a small thing and the national unity file is from the main issues in the country. Needless to say the opponents of Morsi is saying the clashes to show how dangerous he is on Egypt and how incompetent he is.
Now before anyone speaks and says unrealistic stuff , sectarianism problem is not new and it has not suddenly surfaced as soon as we got Islamist President. It is old and no one can deny it. Already people should not forget that in time of Mubarak Christians were not allowed to hold high positions in army or police.
There is no doubt that part of the Sectarianism problem in Egypt is poverty , you do not find these clashes for instance in higher middle and upper classes in Egypt. Ignorance and poverty are the core problems of Egypt since 1940s , if you put them in your priorities as a president then you know really how to achieve real renaissance.
It turned out that the whole fight started when a Christian man who owns an ironing service shop burned by accident a shirt of a Muslim man , the fight developed in to clashes with Molotov cocktails resulting in the death of a Muslim man. After that the usual sectarian clashes scenario , shops owned by Christians are vandalized ,angry Muslim mob heads to the church to storm it but wise Muslims stop them then police tells the Christians in Dahshur it was better to leave their houses for their safety because security can not protect them from any mob !!
This is considered the first sectarian problem in Mohamed Morsi’s presidential term , what did he do then !? Nothing actually , Nada !! For almost four days we heard nothing from his office except he is following the matter according to the spokesperson of presidency on Thursday. A delegation from Church men from Dahshur had reportedly gone to the Presidential palace but failed to meet him or his staff. Then today we found he sent his advisor to Dahshur.
Now my two cents :
If I were the newly president of Egypt from Islamist background who knows very well that million Egyptians Christians did not vote for me because they are afraid from my background , if I were the newly president of Egypt from a specific group who knows that millions of Egyptians whether Muslims or Christians, whether Liberals or leftists want to feel sure that I will be the president of all Egyptians who will not discriminate between them in favor of certain group I would act in a different way.I will not follow up the matter but I will interfere as soon as I heard that there are clashes between Muslims and Christians , I will not wait till Christians are forced to leave their homes. Now they had to leave their homes in fear , the first thing I do as president of Egypt as soon as I heard the news is to order their immediate return and protection. If I were the president of Egypt , I would visit Dahshur as soon as possible and not only to pay a visit to its Church and mosque but to visit the Christians at their homes and their shops.
I will also visit the family of the deceased Muslim who died in the clashes.
From political and social point of views I will win the support and respect of the Egyptian Christians
Some will say that this is a small clash and the president is too busy , well I am sorry but this is not a small thing and the national unity file is from the main issues in the country. Needless to say the opponents of Morsi is saying the clashes to show how dangerous he is on Egypt and how incompetent he is.
Now before anyone speaks and says unrealistic stuff , sectarianism problem is not new and it has not suddenly surfaced as soon as we got Islamist President. It is old and no one can deny it. Already people should not forget that in time of Mubarak Christians were not allowed to hold high positions in army or police.
There is no doubt that part of the Sectarianism problem in Egypt is poverty , you do not find these clashes for instance in higher middle and upper classes in Egypt. Ignorance and poverty are the core problems of Egypt since 1940s , if you put them in your priorities as a president then you know really how to achieve real renaissance.
Egypt before Mubarak and the Revolution = Egypt after Mubarak and the Revolution.
ReplyDeleteNothing changed, ignorance and poverty will grow until the social fabric of the country disintegrates. Egypt will be a failed state soon enough. The hunger revolution is coming and it won't be with molotov cocktails and rocks. It will be with Guns that are pouring in from Libya and Sudan....
Egypt is a failed state already. Amazingly, Egyptians stubbornly manage to close their eyes to such fact and pretend being special. Religious clashes are a sign of absence of civilization. Z. calls it ignorance - I call it stupidity and arrogance. The Muslims in this country pretend to be "good" Muslims. However, what they do is fighting in Ramadan, burning Churches and dressing up like Saudis. Some are even painting a blue dot on their forehead to show off how "holy" they are.
DeleteWhat they really need is a boot on their neck, pushing their faces down in the mud.
His role is not to bring peace and wisdome to religious clashes in Egypt. His role is to help divide Egypt into 3,or, 4 smaller countries, the same format (regardless of the hugely different size)of India & Pakistan. Breaking Egypt down into smaller weak entities, is a War-less win for Israel. I wouldn't be surprised if Ian/Iraq clashes is revived.
ReplyDeleteAs a linguist I believe the correct wording is not sectarian conflict. The correct wording is pogrom.
ReplyDeleteWise words Zenobia, you could have been a better president than that lame duck called Morsi.
ReplyDeleteBeing a moderate muslim, I am ashamed that our highest executive institutions (the Presidency, the Prime Minister) were and still are too late to react humanly and politically.. A new emergency law, as declared today by the new Minister of Interior, will (and was never) a solution.. But a constitution embracing Human Rights and Freedom of Cult as well as equal citizenship to ALL EGYPTIANS (copts, beduins, nubians, jews, armenians, italians, greeks...etc) along with an elaborated education project targeting new values of tollerance and partnership; all together may confront the tribal medieval culture suffocating our collective behaviour.. It may take one or two generations.. But it must start from the family, the mosque, the church, the school and then it will come from above.. It must be a collective wish translated into a national project driving our efforts together as citizens, enjoying the same rights and bearing the same responsabilities, to make that giant leap out from our present dark age into the present 21st century.. Don't you think?
ReplyDeleteI think that there was no need for Morsi to go personally he is far too busy. What he should have done was announce publically a delegation from the Al Azhar and the Church to go on his behalf. To then both make public statements condemning the violence on every TV channel and in all news reports and front pages of all Egyptian newspapers.
ReplyDeleteRe conciliation over a Ramadan iftar in presence of the delegation in the village. Again highly publicised in the media.
That is how you highlight the problem and tackle it.
I have no idea what can be done about the police. The only solution I can see is to fire them all and have them re apply for their jobs and be vetted and interviewed by Scotland yard for professionalism and knowledge of policing. They clearly are not police in any sense of the word. They do not know anything about crime investigation or law or public interaction. They are a disgrace and should not be called police but some kind of dumb militia force because they certainly are not what any normal person would call police. They cant even do the most basic thing like direct traffic at an accident or provide help or assistance in a traffic accident! They just stand there looking bewildered and lost. They need to be fired en masse and start from scratch.
Totally agree Z , it was the first incident of a sort in his ruling time , if he acted different than ousted Mubarak things would have changed once and for all ... But , unfortunatly we are back to those " Mastaba " ways of security officials sitting with both sides bagging them to kiss each ...
ReplyDeleteExactly!
ReplyDeleteOnly way to get Islamists (or any other party/group) work along democratic principles is to vote them out of office.
It really is that simple, all parties of Egypt should once come in power and get voted out. Teach them a lesson.
Well said Zeinobia.
ReplyDeleteAs an Egyptian, I think Egypt is a Muslim country and Islam is the State Religion. Therefore it is very foolish for Christians to show arrougance and fight against Muslims in Egypt. Egyptian Copts are shooting themselves in the foot, they should expect riots and pogroms if they pick fights with Muslims. The Government should never interfere in these matters, if Morsi tries to do he will be a traitor and a Non-Muslim, the same goes for Tantawi and SCAF. Egypt is Muslim, and it will stay that way.
ReplyDeleteAnybody who says otherwise should buy one-way ticket to Israel or Russia or Iran.
Mr. Muslim Wiseman !! is righ or wrong defined by majority population versus minority!!! then Black and Muslim in America should shut up following your advice... I thought your religion raise the bar for your morals to reach not bring it down ynder your feet. Muslim Chritian and Jews lived happy life in Egypt during Roaylty. learn from your positive history instead of the brainless Salafis ..Sorry they probably pay you to act that way!!! God help you Egypt You survived lot of morons in your history.
DeleteMay Allah forgive you Gamal, because of your sinful words!
DeleteBecause Egypt is a Muslim country, Christians are to be protected.
Our Prophet, The messenger of Allah (PBUH) said that he who destroys a church is equal to having destroyed 100 mosques.
Our Prophet, The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said "This is a message from Muhammad ibn Abdullah, as a covenant to those who adopt Christianity, near and far, we are with them. Verily I, the servants, the helpers, and my followers defend them, because Christians are my citizens; and by God! I hold out against anything that displeases them. No compulsion is to be on them. Neither are their judges to be removed from their jobs nor their monks from their monasteries. No one is to destroy a house of their religion, to damage it, or to carry anything from it to the Muslims' houses. Should anyone take any of these, he would spoil God's covenant and disobey His Prophet. Verily, they are my allies and have my secure charter against all that they hate. No one is to force them to travel or to oblige them to fight. The Muslims are to fight for them. If a female Christian is married to a Muslim, it is not to take place without her approval. She is not to be prevented from visiting her church to pray. Their churches are to be respected. They are neither to be prevented from repairing them nor the sacredness of their covenants. No one of the nation (Muslims) is to disobey the covenant till the Last Day (end of the world)."
The Islamist, please provide reference from Ahadith regarding what the Prophet said.
DeleteI agree that Christians in Muslim countries need to be protected and their places of worship need to be safeguarded. They are Ahl el Kitab.
BUT Christians in a Muslim country should NOT pick a fight with Muslims. Most of these cases you see in Egypt arise when Christians qyuarell or fight with Muslims over small petty issues. Christians should not show arrogance and speak with a loud voice, they should not carry weapons. Why do Copts own weapons including AK 47 ?
Especially when you see the history of the Copts, they have declared themselves non-Arabs, and tried to create their own State during the Sadat regime.
Why Coptic Church gave order to their followers to vote against Muslim Brotherhood ?
Currently now in Egypt there is a huge conspiracy against the Muslim Bortherhod. This is a direct conspiracy against Islam. Why else do you think all sorts of Islamophobics, starting from Tagammu Party, SDP, Leftists, Nasserists have now united with the Liberals, Wafdists, Naguib Sawiris and the Copts, united agaunst MB ? They hate Islam, thats why.
Zenobia, what do you think about my arguments ?
Gamal,You are so naiive or pretend to be. MB are creation of the British colonials to use as a divide and conquer tool. Same as Hamas in Plaestine (check lately their latest leader son being recognized as Mossad agent)...The US creates Kohomeini regime to use as tool in the region , remember war with Sadam, Help from US&Israel (Iran Contra affair..!!), .Young Egyptian should learn not to be stupid and be used as tool for destroying their country, in the name of Islam. Check how your freinds the Salafis act in Europe &US and maybe you can learn.
DeleteYes, you'd make a good President Zee, so would I. :) However, it will never be because those in power are there because they look out first and foremost for themselves, their friends, their cronies. That's life! Less then Idealistic.
ReplyDeleteIt's been a long time since Nassar and Sadat.
It's been a long time since JFK and our country had an intelligent,well balanced leader as well, with compassion for all, intelligent enough to realize, that War is the LAST measure, not the 1st.
Deb.
Excellent comments Deb; you gave good light on stupidity of so called leaders. They are dummies in a bigger hand. Your JFK is a good example what happened to a leader when he acts smart.. If you search, you will find one of the last things he promissed to resolve is the Israeli/Arab conflict (at leat 6 years prior to the 1967 war) and he was pushing for a solution (not attractive to Israel). His proposed solution was to ensure peace in the region but with far less geography for Israel than what resulted from the 1967 war.
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