Questions Facing Egyptian Christians

This link is to an article in the local news that deals with a couple of questions confronting the Christians in Egypt:
1) is it Biblical for Christians to be involved in political revolution?  Apparently, a key congregation at the heart of the revolution in Tahrir Square not only had to work through this question, but lost membership in the midst of it.

and,
2) can the Coptic (Orthodox) Church sincerely recognize and partner with the Evangelical (Protestant) groups?  Sadly, Christians can tend to cluster and point out differences rather than lift up Christ who makes them one.  Yet, at such a time as this, there continues to be a drive to partnering together.

It's Maundy Thursday, in the western calendar, reminding us of the night Jesus spent humbling himself before the disciples and leaving them an example to serve one another.  Even in that Passover celebration, the disciples were arguing over who was greater.  Yet, Jesus shows the full extent of love.  Hopefully, Christians in all countries can put aside differences, serve one another and together, and let love be demonstrated fully that the world may see Jesus again in his Church, the Body of Christ.

Brotherhood Charting a Different Revolutionary Course

While there are continuing signs of political "wheel spinning", like the desire for the tourism sector to be "properly represented" in the drafting of the constitution (see this article), there is momentum in an alarming direction.

The Muslim Brotherhood's new presidential candidate (see post on this irony), Khairat al-Shater, spent several hours broadly defining the goal of "Sharia law" for Egypt.  Not only would such an Islamic-state be contrary to earlier statements of the Brotherhood's political parties throughout the first year of revolution and re-organization, but he went on to articulate some other positions counter to the spirit of the revolution.

He articulated desire for some control of future media, stating that the media was a weapon of the revolution--he says that this weapon was wielded against the revolutionaries and Islamists in particular; however, it was through news outlets as well as the freedom of expression through social networking such as Twitter and Facebook that the revolution found strength and accountability to prevent situations that squashed similar "Arab Springs" in neighboring countries.   Currently, the ongoing debates among the universities, in media, and by young adults in open-mic forums to bookstores is on the issues of "freedom of expression."  Such debates have been the dominant result of the revolution among the people while the politicians attempt to sort out governance issues.  If the Brotherhood, either by the new Presidency or their majority in Parliament, attempts to censor media and/or freedom of expression, the previous revolution could look like a "hiccup" compared to the "seizures" that would result through the country.

In addition, al-Shater apparently also prefers a "semi-presidential" system, though would go along with a parliamentary system if that's what is decided.  Semantics aside, this sounds like a candidate who is a bit power and control hungry.

It will be interesting to hear the resulting conversations and debates among the people we've been interacting--both the Christians and the more moderate-Egyptians.   We will be traveling to Alexandria and Kafr el-Dawarr this weekend, as well as meeting with several Christian and community families throughout the next 2 weeks for Easter holidays (remember, there are 2 Easter here; the 15th is Orthodox and the 8th is Western).  Continue to pray for Egypt...

Muslim Brotherhood Fields Presidential Candidate

In a reversal from previous statements by the majority party of the Parliament, the Muslim Brotherhood has now entered their own candidate into the Egyptian Presidential race, according to this article.

There are two ironies in this announcement, which you will see if you read through the article.  First, Khairat al-Shater is technically on criminal probation, which makes his candidacy illegal under current Egyptian law.  Secondly, one of the leading candidates, Aboul Fotouh, was removed from the party because he did not respect the party's previous position to not have a candidate in the race.

Meanwhile, revolutionary activist and presidential hopeful, Khalid-Ali continues to give speeches that speak of reform and actually actionable steps to change.  However, in speaking with a few Egyptian young adults today, they did not give his candidacy any strong chance against perceived Islamic front-runners.

One of those front-runners, Abu Ismail, is attempting to get one poster for each Egyptian citizen--and they're beginning to show up all over--so much so, that it is becoming a popular punchline to new jokes.  His likeness has also apparently been growing on the internet, as fun-loving and tech-savy Egyptians have been photo-shopping the image with their own clever slogans or casting the image onto blockbuster movie posters.  Here are a few...