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Nazareth, Pa., United States

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Coptic Christians: What Us, Worry?

Allentown blogger Michael Molovinsky has from time to time chronicled the plight of Egypt's Coptic Christian community. They constitute 10% of that country's population, making them a significant minority. They worry about the country's newly-elected President, Muslim Brotherhood's Mohamed Morsi.

His campaign slogan? "Islam is the solution."

Sounds very tolerant, doesn't it?

Then there's the Jews. During the campaign, Morsi's supporters spoke wistfully of restoring the Muslim Caliphate, with Jerusalem as its capital, of course. A strict Islamist who has at times called Israeli leaders "vampires" and "killers," Morsi is all about peace now.

Lehigh Valley Congressman Charlie Dent, a member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations, has this reaction to Morsi's election.

“I applaud the people of Egypt for completing the nation’s first democratic election for President. Egypt has chosen Mohammed Morsi, the first freely elected President in the Arab World, to lead its ongoing transition to a modern democracy. It is crucial we support these efforts, provided Mr. Morsi and his party abandon their anti-American rhetoric and develop a cooperative relationship with the United States.

“Mr. Morsi’s task is extremely complex and I believe it must include two particular objectives in order to preserve American support. First, to promote stability in the region, Mr. Morsi must respect Egypt’s treaty obligations and provide a safe, secure and peaceful border with its neighbor Israel. Second, he must work to ensure the rights and security of Egyptian minority groups are guaranteed under a newly formed government. In April 2012, I shared my concerns about the treatment of religious minorities, specifically Christian communities, in a letter to Sameh Shourky, Egypt’s Ambassador to the United States. If Egypt is to become the democracy envisioned by its people, the new administration must ensure the rights of all minority groups, including Egyptian Christians, are respected and promoted.

“Egypt has long been an important economic and political partner to the United States. I am hopeful our nations can maintain this vital relationship under Egypt’s new leadership.”

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

The Christians are toast. While peaceful, they are infidels and their very existence in the new caliphate is an affront to Allah. Listen to the Flight 93 cockpit recording. Killing infidels in the name of Allah the merciful is a necessary evil.

Ronnie said...

That same "tolerance" is slowly creeping into the United States and if we don't stop it now, we'll be the next victims here.

Lighthouse said...

“I applaud the people of Egypt for completing the nation’s first democratic election for President... the first freely elected President in the Arab World"

During the so-called "Arab Spring", as US journalists and politicians were giddy at the "spread of democracy" in that part of the world, the old adage "be careful what you ask for" was what I thought of.

"...provided Mr. Morsi and his party abandon their anti-American rhetoric and develop a cooperative relationship with the United States"... that's the thing about democracy, free elections also mean free to elect anti-western governments.

Of course, realpolitik can (and has) produce its own blowback down the road when "friendly leaders" we support get overthrown--or fall to "democracy."

Bernie O'Hare said...

Lighthouse, I do not think we have any obligation to support democracy in other governments. We do have an obligation to ensure our national security. If that can be better assured with an anti-Democratic regime like the Saudi monarchy, I'm all for it.

To be clear, I would not support the human rights violations that often accompany anti-Democratic regimes.

Anonymous said...

Democracy doesn't necessarily equal liberty. Especially when the mob is clamoring for Sharia.

Thanks for the article, Bernie, and for pointing out Congressman Dent's reaction. Eeesh.

Anonymous said...

"...the first freely elected President in the Arab World." I guess political science was not Mr. Dent's strong suit. The Republic of Turkey has been democratic, constitutional republic since 1923, with Mustafa Kemal Ataturk the first President of the Republic of Turkey. There presence within the Arab world has been a steadfast example for the other states.

Anonymous said...

Bernie,

Democracy is a tyranny of the majority unless the rights of minorities are guaranteed. That remains to be seen in Egypt and other Arab Spring" countries.

Scott Armstrong

Bernie O'Hare said...

""...the first freely elected President in the Arab World." I guess political science was not Mr. Dent's strong suit. The Republic of Turkey has been democratic, constitutional republic since 1923, with Mustafa Kemal Ataturk the first President of the Republic of Turkey. There presence within the Arab world has been a steadfast example for the other states."

Actually, political science is Dent's strong suit. Turkey is not an Arab country. Its largest population is ethnic Turks, followed by Kurds.

So while Turkey is an example to the Middle East, it is not an Arab country.

Anonymous said...

A key moment in the Arab Spring was Condoleezza Rice's 2005 speech at Cairo University when she told students that despite all efforts to balance Middle East peace with security had failed to deliver either. She encouraged them to go ahead and have their revolution. It's ironic that she and her administration-mates were often accused of being a not-so-secret cabal of neo-cons controlled by the pro-Israel lobby. Arab democracy hasn't (e.g. Hamas) and won't (e.g. Egypt) go well for Israel.

The Coptic Christians? They're as good as gone. Their churches have already been bombed and burned. Their protection by Mubarak is gone and soon they will be too. They are safe in Israel, again, ironically.

Mark Baker said...

all white people, epecially women are toast. arabs, asians and ricans will rule

Anonymous said...

Keep protecting Dent's six o'clock O'Hare. How is the air down there?

Bernie O'Hare said...

I see. Correcting someone who mistakenly claims that Turkey is an Arab nation is covering Charlie Dent.

You would rather let misinformation stand, uncorrected, so long as it makes Dent look wrong. That is a typical political hack attitude, where the truth is meaningless and outright lies are condoned. And them every two years, when Dent kicks the shit out of the latest sacrificial lamb, you wonder why.

Look in a mirror asshole. People don't like campaigns based on deception, but morons like you will encourage it.

Anonymous said...

Until Nassar Egyptians were not widely considered Arabs either. They were Egyptian .