Coptic Christians organized a protest against religious persecution. It was announced in advance, and it was a march to the state broadcasting station to protest the recent burning of churches by Salafi Muslims.
There have been sporadic church burnings over the past year, and the most recent was Sept. 30. The Copts felt they were not being protected — the government was not guarding the churches.
The armed forces — police and military — ruthlessly crushed this protest. There is videotape of an armed personnel carrier going into the mob and crushing six people — running them over. Others were killed as well. A Reutersstory reported that at least 19 died. The Washington Post reported that at least 26 died, mostly Christians, and hundreds have been injured. Coptic sources say that at least 35 died.
The real significance of this is that it signals the future treatment of the Christian Coptic community by the state. The military was their last hope in protecting them from lawless forces in society that were religiously motivated to [eradicate] them, namely the Salafis. Now they know they have no protection.
I think we can expect to see a major exodus of Coptic Christians from Egypt. This is a watershed moment. The whole reason they were in the streets was to protest lawless forces. It extinguishes all hope for them. They are utterly vulnerable.
Read more: http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/watershead-moment-copts-killed-in-clashes?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+NCRegisterDailyBlog+National+Catholic+Register#When:2011-10-10#ixzz1aQuRwO3G
Also reported this week, there isn't a single Christian Church left in Afghanistan.
Unbelievable.
7 comments:
What is happening under Obama was predictable and is frightening. If he gets four more years, our situation in this country will not be too much better than Egypt. We've already lost so much under his 'freedom to worship.' It will be time to move and become an ex-patriot! Malta might be nice. As to Afghanistan, my son who is in Kandahar tells me there is not much access for him to practice his Catholic faith, so I doubt that the Afghans fare much better. When I asked him if his unit will have some kind of Christmas celebration, he laughed and said 'yea, sure.' I hope he is wrong. They sure do bend over backwards though to not offend the Muslims and to share in their customs. Do I sound cynical? My fear for his well being goes way beyond the physical!
Karen, please know your son will be in my prayers. God Bless him.
Oh Karen, I'm so sorry. I'm a 'veteran' 20 yr. military wife, and we've NEVER seen anything, NEVER IMAGINIED anything like this guy's been doing with the military. Your son is in my prayers, as are all our warriors. It's got to be torturous serving under this Commander in Chief. Please, thank him from the bottom of so many hearts and souls who are abjectly grateful for all the sacrifices he (and his fellows) make for us. God bless you both.
Karen, I echo Caroline and Suzy's gratitude and call for prayers to cover the backs of our men and women who preserve freedom. They speak for the multitude. It pains me to hear the practice of our faith is so underground.
I too am deeply concerned that if the communists in the white house have their way, they will mow us all down and the riots are the start of it all...
Karen, I echo Caroline and Suzy's gratitude and call for prayers to cover the backs of our men and women who preserve freedom. They speak for the multitude. It pains me to hear the practice of our faith is so underground.
I too am deeply concerned that if the communists in the white house have their way, they will mow us all down and the riots are the start of it all...
Caroline, Susan and Carol,
Thank you SO MUCH for your prayers! Words cannot express how greatful I am for them! The power of prayer is worth everything to me!
Susan, thank you and your family for your sacrifices as well - 20yrs., wow! My son is only in his second year, so this is his first deployment. He has wanted to be in the military as far back as I can remember and even attended a military college. I on the other hand am a very over-protective, crazy-anxious mother, so not a good combination - God works in mysterious ways, indeed!
Carol, the lack of Catholic priest chaplains (there are lay chaplains, but that actually is a bigger worry for me) and the multitude of outposts and forward bases are probably as much to blame for lack of access to practicing faith as being in a Muslim country. Also, Fridays are the Muslim holy days and Sunday's are normal, business as usual work days. Add the gay agenda, Obama agenda, etc. and, well, the stage is set for relegating God to the smallest of back burners. Our soldiers need our prayers for the salvation of their souls for sure, so again, many thanks for your prayers for mine!
Carol,
You are right about the riots. It is beyond unconscionable that the leader of our country would actually side with the rioters, thus inciting further anger and violence. Anything that will propel his agenda forward and get him reelected is fair game for him. How divisive can you get!
My biggest fear is that I'm already on some terror watch list as a 'right wing extremist' for writing so many letters to him expressing my displeasure with his policies and administration that I will not be able to board a plane and leave the country!
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