Egypt: Sons of Ishmael

"It is time for the scattered sons of Abraham to be gathered together in unity.  Who can unify the scattered? Who can change the hearts and renew the spirits? Who can bring about peace, mercy, and love? Who can reconcile heaven with earth? Reconcile one with oneself? Reconcile man with his fellow man? Who is that great man who can do all this?" -Into the Den of Infidels

Egypt has long been known as an ancient land of wonder and mystery.  The land of the Nile and the pyramids; we think of Moses and the Israelites and their great exodus after God sent the ten plagues upon the land.  While all these things are known and familiar to us, the lives of the persecuted Christians in Egypt may be unfamiliar to us. Their stories may be less well known, but these Christians are sacrificing much for their faith.  In the library, we have a DVD that shares some of the testimonies of the believers, many of them converts from a Muslim background.  We also have the book "Into the Den of Infidels" which is a collection of testimonies from Muslim converts in Egypt to Christianity and their search for the truth. I would recommend borrowing both items and losing yourself in the sometimes heartwrenching, but always compeling testiment of these Christians' lives.  Despite centuries of persecution, the church has survived in Egypt.  Now the time has come again when the church is facing extreme persecution and the believers there have said that they believe a time of testing has come for them and will remain for several years.  May they stay strong in their faith against the hatred and fury that is being thrown their way.  And while it saddens us to hear about their struggles, may it also embolden us to make the most of every opportunity as we proclaim our faith in our Creator and all He has done to reconcile us to Himself. 

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Egypt

Basic Info: Egypt is located in Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Libya and the Gaza Strip, and the Red Sea north of Sudan. It is slightly more than three times the size of New Mexico, and the country controls the Sinai Peninsula, which is the only land bridge between Africa and the rest of the Eastern Hemisphere. Egypt also controls the Suez Canal, a sea link between the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. Due to its size and proximity to Israel, Egypt plays a major role in Middle Eastern geopolitics and the country has influxes of refugees from Sudan and the Palestinian territories. The population is 82,079,636 (July 2011 est.) and while Arabic is the official language, English and French are widely understood by educated classes. About 43% of the population is urban. Some problems for Egypt are that agricultural land is being lost to urbanization and windblown sands. The desert is getting larger; oil pollution is threatening coral reefs, beaches, and marine habitats; other water pollution is coming from agricultural pesticides, raw sewage, and industrial effluents; there are limited natural fresh water resources away from the Nile, which is the only perennial water source; rapid growth in population is overstraining the Nile and natural resources. Egypt is a transit point for cannabis, heroin, and opium moving to Europe, Israel, and North Africa. It is a stop for Nigerian drug couriers, and there is concern about money laundering due to lax enforcement of financial regulations. By 2007, Egypt had taken in 60,000-80,000 refugees from Iraq; 70,198 from the Palestinian Territories; and 12,157 from the Sudan.

Government: Egypt has a long history of great civilizations, partly due to the Nile River and because deserts to the east and west of the country allowed for it to be semi-isolated. A unified kingdom arose around 3200 B.C., and a series of dynasties ruled for the next three millennia. The last native dynasty fell to the Persians in 341 B.C., who in turn were replaced by the Greeks, Romans, and Byzantines. The Arabs took over in the 7th century and ruled for the next six centuries. A local military caste, the Mamluks took control about 1250 and continued to govern after the conquest of Egypt by the Ottoman Turks in 1517. Following the completion of the Suez Canal in 1869, Egypt became an important world transportation hub, but also fell heavily into debt. To protect its investments, Britain seized control of Egypt's government in 1882, but allegiance to the Ottoman Empire in name only continued until 1914. Partially independent from the UK in 1922, Egypt acquired full sovereignty with the overthrow of the British-backed monarchy in 1952. However, they would soon trade one form of oppression for another. Muhammad Mubarak was appointed Vice President of Egypt in 1975, and assumed the presidency in 1981, following the assassination of President Anwar El Sadat. He served as the fourth President of Egypt for 30 years. During this time, Emergency Law was in place (and was renewed every 3 years) which meant police powers are extended, constitutional rights are suspended, and censorship is legalized. The law does not allow any non-governmental political activity, street demonstrations, non-approved political organizations, and unregistered financial donations are formally banned. Some 17,000 people have been detained under the law, and estimates of political prisoners run as high as 30,000. Egyptian youth and opposition groups were inspired by the Jasmine Revolution to organize a “Day of Rage” campaign on January 25, 2011. This campaign included non-violent demonstrations, marches, and labor strikes in Cairo and other cities which focused on police brutality, state emergency laws, lack of free speech and elections, high unemployment, rising food prices, inflation, and low minimum wages. Within several days of the onset of the protests, President Mubarak addressed the nation pledging a new form of government, and he offered to repeal the Emergency Law. However, this failed to satisfy protesters, which is not surprising considering that in 2006 Mubarak promised to end Emergency Law and then renewed it. On February 11th Mubarak resigned and leadership was assumed by a Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF). The SCAF dissolved the Egyptian Parliament, suspended the nation’s constitution, and formed a committee to recommend constitutional changes. Elections for a new Parliament and the Presidency have taken place. Mohamed Morsi, chairman of the Freedom and Justice Party, and Ahmed Shafik, a former Prime Minister of Egypt, received the most votes for the Presidency and will contest a runoff election on June 16-17. Mubarak is now awaiting the verdict from his trial on his complicity in killing protesters during the revolution.

Economy: Most economic activity takes place around the Nile River. Egypt’s economy was very centralized under former President Nasser, but opened up during President El-Sadat and President Mubarak’s rule. From 2004-2008 the Egyptian government pursued economic reforms in order to attract foreign investments. A rapidly growing population (the largest in the Arab world), limited arable land, and dependence on the Nile all continue to overtax resources and stress society. The government has struggled to meet the demands of Egypt's growing population through economic reform and massive investment in communications and physical infrastructure. Despite economic growth in recent years, the average person did not see an improvement in his/her living conditions and remained poor. In 2005, about 20% of the population was below the poverty line. All of this contributed to the public discontent which was sparked by the Jasmine Revolution. In January 2011, the government drastically increased social spending due to the public’s outrage, but political instability caused economic growth to slow which reduced the government’s revenue. Tourism, manufacturing, and construction suffered the worst setbacks and growth is likely to stay slow for at least the rest of the year. The government is utilizing foreign exchange reserves to support the Egyptian pound and the country may have to get a loan from the International Monetary Fund. Media is a mixture of state-run and private broadcast. State-run TV has 2 national and 6 regional networks, as well as a few satellite channels. There are about 20 private satellite channels and a large number of Arabic satellite channels are available for purchase.

Religion: Muslim (mostly Sunni) 90%, Coptic 9%, other Christian 1% In the early centuries after Christ, Egypt was predominantly Christian and a major centre for Christian scholarship. However, from the initial Islamic invasion in 639 AD, Muslim rule and religion have dominated this ancient land. In 969, the country was conquered by Jawhar al-Siqilli and Cairo was founded as the new capital. Egypt's Coptic Christian church never disappeared despite centuries of persecution and discrimination. Today, Egypt has the Middle East's largest Christian community. Some government figures have suggested that Christians make up twelve percent of the country’s population, with Christians claiming up to twenty percent. Despite the prominent Christian community, the country's constitution gives preference to Muslims and Christians are treated as second-class citizens, denied political representation, and often discriminated against in education and employment. While the constitution allows for freedom of conversion, Muslims converting to Christianity have often been unable to change their religion or their name on their identification cards. This means Christian women remain designated as Muslims and are unable to marry Christian men. Children of those designated Muslim (even if they are, in fact, Christian) are educated as Muslims and those with Islamic names are routinely turned away from entering churches by police. Consequently, Christians have frequently had false ID cards produced, only to face prosecution for falsifying government documents. However, Christians who convert to Islam face no difficulty in changing their ID cards. Egyptian Christians face ongoing challenges in building and repairing church buildings. The government requires permits for such construction but frequently refuses to grant them to churches. When applications are approved, they are often delayed by local authorities or security officials. Another serious problem facing Christians in Egypt is the kidnapping, and often the rape, of Christian girls who are often then forced to marry a Muslim (even their attacker). There have been a few hopeful decisions made by the Egyptian government. Some educational materials are now recognizing the Coptic contribution to Egyptian society. As well, the Coptic Christmas was officially recognized as an official national holiday in January 2003 (the Orthodox Christmas is celebrated on January 7).

Info compiled from CIAWorldFactBook "Egypt"; VOMC "Egypt"; Reuters news
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Egypt treatment of Christians part 1 (2008) Egypt treatment of christians part 2 (2008) Treatment of Christians in Egypt By Religion of Peace!  (2009) Egypt: the uncertain future for Coptic Christians (2011) Inside Story - Egypt's Coptic Christians (2011)