I mentioned last month that there were some great stories coming out of Egypt. After Islamist attacks on Coptic Christian churches, a number of Muslim newspapers denounced the attacks, and better yet, a huge group of Muslims formed a human chain around the Coptic Cathedral so that the Christmas Mass (celebrated on the Epiphany in the East, Jan. 6). After I wrote that post, of course, things in Egypt changed pretty dramatically. There was an enormous and largely-peaceful movement to topple the dictatorial government of Mubarak, which succeeded, of course.
Egypt’s future hangs in the balance now: it could either become a shining example of a Mideast democracy, permitting religious freedom, or it could try and Muslim into another would-be Caliphate that oppresses Christians and Jews. The struggle for what comes next isn’t settled yet, but I was immensely gratified to see this: during the protests, the Christians formed a human chain around the Muslims while they were praying. The Muslims did the same in return.
On Friday, the holy day for Islam, Christian protesters in Tahrir Square joined hands to form a protective cordon around their Muslim countrymen so they could pray in safety.
Sunday, the Muslims returned the favor.
They surrounded Christians celebrating Mass in Cairo’s central plaza, ground zero for the secular pro-democracy protests reverberating throughout the Middle East.
The article also noted that despite the although “police forces quit protecting anything – including churches – when the anti-Mubarak protests began two weeks ago, not one church has been attacked” since that point..
