Un-merry Christmas in Egypt

The situation in Egypt for Christians is becoming increasingly dire.Quoted from Silent Night:

In Egypt, the “Arab Spring” is going so swimmingly that Copts are already fleeing Egypt and, for those Christians that remain, Midnight Mass has to be held in the daylight for security reasons. In Iraq, midnight services have been canceled entirely for fear of bloodshed, part of the remorseless de-Christianizing that has been going on, quite shamefully, under an American imperium.

Quoted from A prayer for brothers and sisters:

But of course, formal restrictions on Christian life and worship in Muslim countries - which would be considered outrageous if they were applied to Muslims in any western country - are endemic. They vary not so much in content, as in enforcement, and as a rule, become heavier when any society is in convulsion, lighter when it is not. In other words, Christians, formerly Jews (before their general exodus, when Israel was founded), and other minorities such as Shia Muslims in Sunni lands, are accustomed to becoming scapegoats when things having nothing to do with them go wrong.



And this is the case now. The “Arab Spring,” which was welcomed this year as an expression of “democracy” by the West’s political, media, and chattering classes, has brought social convulsion to one Arab state after another. Against the background of what is to my view instead a large catastrophe, Christian communities that have existed in each state since centuries before the arrival of Islam, are being eliminated.



Joy was expressed in the U.S. this week, at the return of remaining American troops from Iraq (except those guarding extensive diplomatic enclaves), “in time for Christmas.” Promptly upon their departure, all the democratic arrangements for which these troops had fought, began to unravel.

Quoted from Islamists consolidate gains in 2nd round of parlimentary elections:

CAIRO — Islamist parties have consolidated earlier gains in Egypt’s multistage parliamentary elections, winning nearly 70 percent of the seats determined so far, according to results announced Saturday.

Election commission chief Abdel-Moez Ibrahim announced results from the second round of three rounds, which was held Dec. 14-15, followed by a run-off this week. The second round was held in nine provinces, and Ibrahim said turnout reached 65 percent.



Based on the results he gave, the Muslim Brotherhood says it won around 86 of estimated 180 seats up for grabs in the round, or 47 percent.

Quoted from Will Desperate Egyptian Christians Seek Refuge in the U.S.?:

As political and economic conditions in Egypt deteriorate, a new kind of refugee is beginning to appear, one that will test America’s character. Violence against Christians is growing; bad economic times, the inability or unwillingness of security forces and police to keep order, and the growing tide of Islamist political and religious mobilizations is making life increasingly insecure for Egypt’s eight million Christians.

An article in the Wall Street Journal offers a harrowing picture of a minority that is beginning to come under siege. Christians are being threatened with violence if they fail to convert; women who do not cover their hair are harassed, harangued and threatened on the street; churches are burned and the wall of isolation around this ancient community deepens every day.



Under US and international law, growing numbers of Egyptian Christians will qualify as refugees if these conditions continue to worsen.