Hmmm, the lady has been returned to the Church, after being under some kind of house arrest. But the tensions are only covered under the surface and it is waiting to errupt. H.H. Pope Shenouda has objected to the repeated attacks on Copts in the many forms it takes, and has withdrawn in his monastary (where he was under arrest from 1981 till 1986) in an act of protest and for prayers and he refused to meet with the officials from the government.
For the elements of tensions are still present, and are escalating.
1) The state is adopting a very dangerous agenda of islamizing the Copts. It is not only the descrimination in schools, work places, building of churches, ...., but now it has released 3,000 terrorist from prisons because they "repented". These were arrested because of murder,theft, burning of churches and plotting to assassinate many public figures. So, in which respected country are criminals freed for "repentance" ?
Although the previous president, Saddat,has paved the way for islamists since his ascension to power in 1970, he was the first prey of their vicious attacks in 1981 when they assassinated him, cutting his body in two pieces with their bullets. The state does not learn that they will be the first to be overthrown.
In 1999, and in 2001, many coptic villagers were killed by muslims in avillage, and the court , led by a judge known for his islamic motives, freed the murders and only coptic men were convicted of "causing trouble that disturbs the unity of the country"
:- :'(.
The police assists in kidnapping Coptic girls and in many places , they frame Coptic young men in crimes like drug dealing and they offer them Islam to be aquitted.
In addition, the state controlled media is a more vicious propaganda machine , better than any Bin Laden tapes. Every day, egyptian wake up on articles titled :" Crusaders rape women in Afghanistan" or " Martyrs (suicide bombers) kill the pigs" and many other terror inciting articles.
2) Egypt, once a prosperous place and the corn supplier for the whole Roman Empire, is in a very bad economical state now, and has been for a long time, and this gives way to islamists to control the mobs in the street. Education is ruined except in the christian, foreign and nun schools, which is afforded only by the rich. All the elements are ideal for a radical terrorist ideology, and the first to fall under their wrath are the Copts.
Even if the State does its job, they will not be able to control the anti-christian sentiments in the street. It is beyond control.
I can only cite the question of Sextus in the movie Ben Hur to Mesala :"
How can you change an idea?" And the answer of Mesala :"
By another idea" is not practical in this case.
One can go on for hours to discuss the different aspects of this fundamentist dominance in the Middle East, from a historical, ideological, social , economical, educational point of view, but it saddens the heart that a country like Egypt, that is so beautiful and that can be a great place, is in such a miserable state. And outsider would do it with more ease, having to struggle with none of these feelings. :'(
Peace.
