A FB Comment (now even more public)

Jan 31, 2011 @ 20:14 By 8 Comments

I don’t know how to retweet FB status updates, but here’s a sign of wonder: “As a Coptic orthodox Egyptian I can say that never in my life have I seen Muslims and Christians come together in Egypt as they are now. I cried on Orthodox Christmas hearing about how Muslims protected churches from extremists by becoming human shields.” From Richenda Ghebrial-Ibrahim.

Filed Under: Uncategorized 8 Comments
About Scot McKnight

Scot McKnight is a recognized authority on the New Testament, early Christianity, and the historical Jesus. McKnight, author of more than thirty books, is the Professor of New Testament at Northern Seminary in Lombard, IL.

  • Randy Gabrielse

    Richenda,
    Praise God.
    Years ago, my wife and I, on a Easter morning were in an Arab-owned convenience store where we turned to watch Christian peace activists obstructing the Israeli IDF’s efforts to seize Mr. Arafat in what was then his compound.

    Good friends of mine do Christian work by meeting with their Islamic counterparts to discuss how to enrich the lives of the Christian and Islamic brothers and sisters.

    This Friday I will host an open house for friends, supporters and anyone interested in Christian Peacemaking Teams, the group that asks “What if Christians demonstrated the same commitments to peacemaking that our armies demonstrate to war?”

    Peace,
    Randy G.

    Peace,
    Randy Gabrielse

  • http://www.rethinkingfaith.com Dave Leigh

    Curious: Is the post from before or after the protests that have broken out. I was of the impression that the opposition to Mubarak’s government poses a threat to future Christian security. Is there any justification of that?

  • mark273

    I remember reading about that a few weeks ago. I also remember in the account I read that Mubarak’s sons were either also involved in the action or were even leading it to some extent. I may be wrong, but I read that they were involved. I think it raises the question to what extent momentum in that direction could be lost by the sweeping changes going on now. I pray they are not.

  • Daniel S

    @Dave (#2): I believe Christians in Egypt are somewhat divided at the moment. Certainly many are involved in the protests. Some slogans that I read last week used phrases such as “Crescent and cross” or “Muslims with Christians” to indicate a unified opposition to the government (and calling to mind the flag used in the revolution against the British in 1919 – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Revolution_flag_of_Egypt_1919.svg.) On the other hand, some Copts are nervous about what kind of government could replace Mubarak; the senior Coptic Church hierarchy appears to be supporting Mubarak for this reason. I think CBS has a good summary: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503543_162-20030057-503543.html.
    In any case, we should remember our brothers and sisters in Egypt in prayer.

  • Grupetti

    “Muslim, Christian, we are all Egyptian.”

    …from a hopeful report:
    http://www.democracynow.org/blog/2011/1/29/live_from_the_egyptian_revolution_by_sharif_abdel_kouddous

  • Aaron

    #5 – And the Copts will be less Egyptians if the Muslim Brotherhood gets a leg up on the country. Pray the church in Egypt will persevere.

  • http://readingcirclebooks.com Andrew Wetzel (@CircleReader)

    Does anyone have a direct link to the source of this FB status? I’d like to have a little fact-checking…

    Here’s a recent tweet that came across my screen:

    RT @David_Dobbs @tomdaylight @samuelcoates Amazing photo from #Egypt of young Christians protecting Muslims as they pray http://yfrog.com/h02gvclj

  • http://readingcirclebooks.com Andrew Wetzel (@CircleReader)

    Aha! Found it!

    Egyptian Muslims had promised to act as human shields for the Coptic Christians in their Christmas Eve mass, and they were true to their words….

    Read the whole heartening report.

    In Iran, however, it looks like Christians are being rounded up.

    A step forward, a step back. A long and much too-deadly dance.

    ~ http://www.patheos.com/community/theanchoress/2011/01/07/muslims-protecting-christians-with-their-bodies/