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In Egypt, Christians pray, hope for freedom
Erich Bridges, Baptist Press
February 04, 2011
6 MIN READ TIME

In Egypt, Christians pray, hope for freedom

In Egypt, Christians pray, hope for freedom
Erich Bridges, Baptist Press
February 04, 2011

CAIRO — A thunderous roar went up from hundreds of thousands

of Egyptians jammed into Cairo’s Liberation (Tahrir) Square Feb. 1 as Hosni

Mubarak announced he will not run for another term as Egypt’s president.

Mubarak’s pledge likely will do little, however, to calm the social revolution

sparked by protests against his rule. And the euphoria in Liberation Square

turned to rage and fear Feb. 2 as Mubarak supporters violently clashed with

protesters who continue to demand his immediate departure.

Rival groups threw rocks and chunks of concrete at each other as injuries

mounted.

Mubarak loyalists wielding whips and clubs rode horses and camels into

the crowd — and were themselves attacked by angry demonstrators. Shots were

heard in some areas of the square; members of several foreign news crews

reportedly were beaten.

Soldiers circling the square didn’t immediately attempt to stop the fighting.

The army had appealed to protesters to go home the night before, but promised

not to harm those who refused. It was unclear whether the hundreds of Mubarak

supporters were acting on their own initiative or on orders from the

government, but they reportedly were bused to the square and allowed to enter

it by the army. Similar reports of organized pro-Mubarak groups instigating

clashes came from the northern coastal city of Alexandria.

Elsewhere in Cairo — and in other Egyptian cities — living conditions continued

to deteriorate as food shortages grew worse. Clashes and looting were reported

in upscale neighborhoods as the “have-nots” confronted the “haves,” according

to sources reporting from Cairo.

Rays of hope

But rays of hope and unity also emerged as events brought together Egyptian

followers of Christ — who also are forging new bonds of friendship with Muslims

as citizens stand together for peace, freedom or simple personal safety.

“Neighbors are having to side together to protect their homes, and in so doing,

a new community spirit is developing,” said one observer.

The Nile River may be the only peaceful thing flowing through Cairo, Egypt, these days as political unrest continues.

A Southern Baptist representative based in the Middle East offered this

perspective:

“Folks are concerned about their future, about their safety, about their

country. We are praying that the changes don’t create a greater animosity or

enmity between the 10- to 15-percent Orthodox Christian population and the

majority Muslim population. It’s not at root a religious conflict. It’s

political, and we just pray for greater freedom to come out of this for (Egyptian

Orthodox and evangelical) believers to be able to not only practice their faith

but to share it with others.”

One tangible demonstration of new unity: During Friday prayers Jan. 28, Coptic

Christians offered to guard Cairo’s Islamic mosques from potential attacks or

vandalism as Muslims entered them to worship.

“I think this has a great potential for being a unifying thing on a grass-roots

level between (Christian) congregations and the communities that surround them,”

the representative said. “The offer, quite frankly, was really more of a

gesture, because you are talking about literally thousands of mosques and a

very small Christian population. But just the fact that they made that offer

was an attempt on the part of the Orthodox community to say, ‘We want what’s

best for our country.’”

In one Cairo neighborhood, according to news reports, a group of young

Christians with sticks were seen patrolling the streets all night. The

neighborhood church, they said, was protected by local Christians and Muslims. “The

bamboo sticks we used to scare off the looters were used previously to build

our Christmas Nativity scene,” they told a reporter.

Caution and prayer

Elsewhere in the region, movements for political change continued to spread.

Protests in Jordan prompted King Abdullah II to sack his cabinet and name a new

prime minister Feb. 1. Demonstrations also continued in Yemen, where longtime

President Ali Abdullah Saleh announced he will not extend his presidency beyond

2013. The Palestinian government in the West Bank promised long-delayed

municipal elections “as soon as possible.” Organizers in Syria called for

protests. And in Israel, the government and the public looked on with wary

concern.

As calls for change spread across the Middle East and North Africa, however,

one Christian leader with long experience in the region cautioned against

over-optimism about an increase in personal freedom.

“I think it remains to be seen if this is a move toward democracy or not,” he

said. “One of the things that has clearly changed in many of the (Egyptian)

cities is that neighbors are getting to know each other and figuring out how to

work together for their common defense. I think that’s an amazing change,

because people who have just sort of amalgamated together from many different

places within a country now suddenly are connecting. That will change the

internal fabric of the country.

“Whether they actually achieve anything in terms of democracy, though, still

has a long ways to go. The kind of change to be brought about by popular

uprising is quite unclear. It could bring an even more authoritarian type of

government. Right now in Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood (the largest Egyptian

Islamist group, currently outlawed) is far more present and out in public

making demands than they would have been if the secular government kept them

under control. So the likelihood of the country becoming more Islamic is

probably greater than it becoming more secular.”

His main prayer request:

“That we won’t blink. That we will find ways to join the Lord in the midst of

this chaos and let the Good News ring out in ways that will help people find

true freedom in Christ. That’s what I want to see more than anything else. I

want people to know Him — and in knowing Him, to know what it’s like to really

be free.”

(EDITOR’S NOTE — Bridges is global correspondent for the International Mission

Board.)

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