Muslims turned up in droves for the Coptic Christmas mass Thursday night, offering their bodies, and lives, as "shields" to Egypt's threatened Christian community.
Egypt's majority Muslim population stuck to its word Thursday night. What had been a promise of solidarity to the weary Coptic community, was honoured, when thousands of Muslims showed up at Coptic Christmas eve mass services in churches around the country and at candle light vigils held outside.
From the well-known to the unknown, Muslims had offered their bodies as "human shields" for last night's mass, making a pledge to collectively fight the threat of Islamic militants and towards an Egypt free from sectarian strife.
"We either live together, or we die together," was the sloganeering genius of Mohamed El-Sawy, a Muslim arts tycoon whose cultural centre distributed flyers at churches in Cairo Thursday night, and who has been credited with first floating the "human shield" idea.
Among those shields were movie stars Adel Imam and Yousra, popular preacher Amr Khaled, the two sons of President Hosni Mubarak, and thousands of citizens who have said they consider the attack one on Egypt as a whole.
"This is not about us and them," said Dalia Mustafa, a student who attended mass at Virgin Mary Church on Maraashly. "We are one. This was an attack on Egypt as a whole, and I am standing with the Copts because the only way things will change in this country is if we come together."
In the days following the brutal attack on Saints Church in Alexandria, which left 21 dead on New Year' eve, solidarity between Muslims and Copts has seen an unprecedented peak. Millions of Egyptians changed their Facebook profile pictures to the image of a cross within a crescent - the symbol of an "Egypt for All". Around the city, banners went up calling for unity, and depicting mosques and churches, crosses and crescents, together as one.
There is a time for unity, a time for coalescing, a time for merging purposed in confronting an evil.
Now is that time.
A hearty hats off to the Muslim community in Egypt who participated in this. Most hearty hats off.
Might we see more of it, much more, across the globe.
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Comments (15)
"A hearty hats off to the M... (Below threshold)1. Posted by GarandFan | January 8, 2011 10:59 AM | Score: 7 (9 votes cast)
"A hearty hats off to the Muslim community in Egypt who participated in this."
Ditto!
And if the rest of the Muslim world would take note and act in the same manner, the jihadi minority would be isolated and defeated.
1. Posted by GarandFan | January 8, 2011 10:59 AM |
Score: 7 (9 votes cast)
Posted on January 8, 2011 10:59
2. Posted by gary gulrud | January 8, 2011 11:37 AM | Score: 1 (5 votes cast)
And a caveat for Cougar Katie, these are, indubitably, nominal Muslims.
2. Posted by gary gulrud | January 8, 2011 11:37 AM |
Score: 1 (5 votes cast)
Posted on January 8, 2011 11:37
3. Posted by G. | January 8, 2011 11:50 AM | Score: 5 (5 votes cast)
Amen
3. Posted by G. | January 8, 2011 11:50 AM |
Score: 5 (5 votes cast)
Posted on January 8, 2011 11:50
4. Posted by jim m | January 8, 2011 12:06 PM | Score: 6 (6 votes cast)
As the west is pushed closer and closer to taking up arms against the entirety of the muslim world, muslims are waking to the fact that if they allow their radical elements to push this far enough that they will be the ultimate losers in this fight.
4. Posted by jim m | January 8, 2011 12:06 PM |
Score: 6 (6 votes cast)
Posted on January 8, 2011 12:06
5. Posted by mpw280 | January 8, 2011 12:24 PM | Score: 5 (5 votes cast)
Good on them, lets hope it is the start of something and not a one off happening. mpw
5. Posted by mpw280 | January 8, 2011 12:24 PM |
Score: 5 (5 votes cast)
Posted on January 8, 2011 12:24
6. Posted by 914 | January 8, 2011 1:05 PM | Score: 4 (4 votes cast)
Super!!
6. Posted by 914 | January 8, 2011 1:05 PM |
Score: 4 (4 votes cast)
Posted on January 8, 2011 13:05
7. Posted by Bruce Henry | January 8, 2011 1:25 PM | Score: -8 (12 votes cast)
Hats off to you for posting this, Rick. I wouldn't have thought you would. There's hope for you yet.
7. Posted by Bruce Henry | January 8, 2011 1:25 PM |
Score: -8 (12 votes cast)
Posted on January 8, 2011 13:25
8. Posted by James H | January 8, 2011 1:35 PM | Score: -10 (14 votes cast)
I'm surprised to see this story offered up on Wizbang as well.
8. Posted by James H | January 8, 2011 1:35 PM |
Score: -10 (14 votes cast)
Posted on January 8, 2011 13:35
9. Posted by sarahconnor2 | January 8, 2011 1:48 PM | Score: 3 (3 votes cast)
God bless all those brave Muslims who openly stood up against terrorism in Egypt.
9. Posted by sarahconnor2 | January 8, 2011 1:48 PM |
Score: 3 (3 votes cast)
Posted on January 8, 2011 13:48
10. Posted by rodney dill | January 8, 2011 2:08 PM | Score: 1 (1 votes cast)
Metsuyan
10. Posted by rodney dill | January 8, 2011 2:08 PM |
Score: 1 (1 votes cast)
Posted on January 8, 2011 14:08
11. Posted by Bruce Henry | January 8, 2011 3:44 PM | Score: 2 (2 votes cast)
Pardon my ignorance, Mr Dill, but what does 'metsuyan" mean?
11. Posted by Bruce Henry | January 8, 2011 3:44 PM |
Score: 2 (2 votes cast)
Posted on January 8, 2011 15:44
12. Posted by rodney dill | January 8, 2011 4:07 PM | Score: 2 (2 votes cast)
It means "Excellent"
12. Posted by rodney dill | January 8, 2011 4:07 PM |
Score: 2 (2 votes cast)
Posted on January 8, 2011 16:07
13. Posted by Bruce Henry | January 8, 2011 9:54 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Thank you. In what language? Arabic?
13. Posted by Bruce Henry | January 8, 2011 9:54 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on January 8, 2011 21:54
14. Posted by rodney dill | January 8, 2011 10:11 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Hebrew
14. Posted by rodney dill | January 8, 2011 10:11 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on January 8, 2011 22:11
15. Posted by SCSIwuzzy | January 9, 2011 10:39 PM | Score: 1 (1 votes cast)
This is truly heartening, that such a large segment of Egypt truly do see that the jihadi path of murder is a dead end path. As tastes of modern advances and thought has become their normal diet, they don't want to go back to the bile the radicals want them to feed off of.
Next thing I'd love to see is the (state run) news papers in Egypt give up the blood libel against Israel as part of their regular copy.
15. Posted by SCSIwuzzy | January 9, 2011 10:39 PM |
Score: 1 (1 votes cast)
Posted on January 9, 2011 22:39