Some Good News: Christian and Muslim Cooperation in Egypt and beyond

We should not lose sight, in all the bad news, that there is also some good news

We have heard a great deal about the persecution of Christians around the world in recent months. This rising persecution seems to be the result of a violent fanaticism spreading throughout the Muslim world. However, at the same time there also seems to be a promising movement toward cooperation between Christians and Muslims.

P>KNOXVILLE, TN (Catholic Online) - We have heard a great deal about the persecution of Christians around the world in recent months. This rising persecution seems to be the result of a violent fanaticism spreading throughout the Muslim world. However, at the same time there also seems to be a trend toward cooperation among Christians and Muslims. These opposing trends remind me of Saint Paul's well known comment about sin and grace, ". . . where sin increased, grace overflowed all the more. . . " (Rom 5:20).

These opposing trends of fanaticism versus cooperation are reflected in the events surrounding the bombing of Saints Coptic Orthodox Church in Alexandria, Egypt on New Year's Eve. Many people in Egypt, not just Christians, see this incident as something beyond the long-standing discrimination against the Copts (Christian Egyptians): they see it as an attack meant to destroy their country from within.

Thus, the attack not only aroused sympathy for the murdered Copts, but it also ignited a sense of national unity. According to one report on Asia News, many people on radio and TV expressed sympathy toward the Copts, and radio announcers suggested that Muslims go to churches on Christmas Eve to express their condolences to their "Christian brothers and sisters." Apparently, thousands did just that.

Various government officials, including President Mubarak's two sons, attended Midnight Mass at Saint Mark's Coptic Orthodox Church on Christmas Eve where Patriarch Shenouda III presided over the Mass. And groups of Muslims held vigils outside churches during Christmas-Eve celebrations to express their unity with the Copts. One group of Muslims gathered near Saints Church in Alexandria. They shouted, "Long live the cross and the crescent!"

Perhaps the most dramatic expression of cooperation was the idea credited to art tycoon, Mohamed El-Sawy. His idea was for Muslims to offer their bodies as "human shields" at Coptic churches during the Christmas-Eve celebrations. The human-shield idea was meant as a pledge to collectively fight the threat of Islamic militants and sectarian strife in Egypt. Mohamed El-Sawy is also credited with the slogan, "We either live together, or we die together."

This desire for cooperation is not based on youthful idealism; it is based on certain realities. We can easily see these realities for ourselves. For instance, it is well known that Islamic fanatics focus their hatred outward toward Christians, Jews and America, but they also focus it inward, that is, against other Muslims who do not conform to an extremist view of Islam. While this threat is implied for the most part, it can become violent for the pettiest of reasons.

The murder of the governor of Pakistan's Punjab province, Salman Taseer, is a recent high-profile example of Islamic fanaticism turned inward against Muslims. Governor Taseer was shot multiple times at close range by one of the elite police guards assigned to protect him. The reason he was murdered is because he spoke out against Pakistan's blasphemy laws and the death sentence of a Christian woman falsely charged with blasphemy. Consequently, Islamic fanaticism should also be understood as a threat to Muslims and their society.

We can also see cooperation between Christians and Muslims in the ongoing demonstrations in Egypt. Christians and Muslims are demonstrating together because they are suffering together, although Christians have suffered to a greater extent due to widespread discrimination. Nevertheless, despite Egypt's preeminence in the Middle East, the reality is that corruption, oppression, poor healthcare, lack of jobs and food, and rising inflation are hurting the Egyptian people regardless of their religious beliefs.

According to Asia News, an Egyptian man said, "Each morning, you can see people going through garbage to find something to eat. . . . People want broad reform, political, economic and social, because things cannot go on as they are. . . . No one knows in what direction we are going. The only thing that is sure is that we must change this system."

Based on these examples, we can see that modern-day Egyptians share real and important bonds which can foster greater unity. As Christians, we should welcome cooperation with Muslims and all peoples. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states, "The Church, following the apostles, teaches that Christ died for all men without exception: 'There is not, never has been, and never will be a single human being for whom Christ did not suffer"' (605).
 
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Michael Terheyden was born into a Catholic family, but that is not why he is a Catholic. He is a Catholic because he believes that truth is real, that it is beautiful and good, and that the fullness of truth is in the Catholic Church. However, he knows that God's grace operating throughout his life is the main reason he is a Catholic. He is greatly blessed to share his faith and his life with his beautiful wife, Dorothy. They have four grown children and three grandchildren.

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