The Arabic Spring

Deep down in my heart I really hope that the series of revolts, uprisings and insurrections taking place in the Arab world will result in genuine, sweeping and profound reform and democracy. But some may never reap the benefits of their defiance and protests.

Throughout Arab countries both established Coptic and new native Christians face the renewed, reinvigorated force of Islamism and its bigoted policies. Yesterday, in Cairo, Egypt, a peaceful protest staged by the countries Coptic minority was met by a  heavy-handed and extremely violent response by police forces. More than thirty have reportedly been killed and several more injured.

DON'T REPORT WHAT YOU SEE

The reason these Copts were on the streets of Cairo was the recent destruction of a church building - a type of edifice that the diehard Islamists loathe above everything else. This act of vandalism was totally unwarranted, producing only grief and rage among those affected by it. Worse still, in this and many other cases, if a Christian should be as audacious as to report the incident to the local law enforcement body, then the response will be total indifference on the part of the police. Why? Christians are second-rate citizens by law. They are dhimmis, relegated to the position of infidels, those who resist the will of Allah in that they choose instead to follow Christ.

And in a religious climate that has very little tolerance for competing views or alternative visions for how society should be run, the not surprising response to dissenters (infidels) is systematic or sporadic persecution and discrimination. In Egypt the longing for freeedom is overwhelmingly present, but will the Egyptians rally to the support of its minorities once a democratically elected government starts advocating a society fully modelled on the Sharia laws?

COOPERATION AND MUTUAL RESPECT OR....?

I am not contending that all Egyptians adopt extremist views. Far from it. Typically, in the recent uprisings throughout the Arab world, Muslims and Christians have joined hands, creating new bonds of fellowhip - and probably learning a great deal about eachother thay may bode well for mutual respect and peaceful coexistence. But the fact remains that the most likely candidates to run  for offices both on local and national levels, are those belonging to the Muslim Brotherhood. Passing off as moderates, these former political outcasts are anything but that. Their vision of a future Egypt is a country run according to the Koran and not according to any Western-styled idea.

And in such a country, a dissident and an infidel isn't likely to fare any better than was the case under Hosni Mubarak, the former president. Ask Copts residing in Cairo or anywhere else in Egypt, and you will get poignant stories of what it feels like e.g. virtually being banned from certain positions because of your faith.

ONE FAITH IN ONE STATE

Islamism cannot stomach any other state except that which complies fully with their vision of religious law permeating everything. And in no way can there be full democratic rights for anyone not bowing to Allah and his messenger. If they do not, of course, submit to pressure and depart from their state of infidelity.