The great Pope Shenouda III (1971 – 2012)
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THE GIFT OF EID
“Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid, O ye earth.”[1]
I. Introduction
We heard the news of the Suez[2] incident with great agony. Such was the generous gift on [the Muslim festivity of] Eid[3] from our Muslim compatriots who keep calling for the unity of the two elements of the nation and the embracing of the Crescent and the Cross! The summary of the story, which brothers from Suez have relayed [to us], is as follows: Christians were set on fire; their charred bodies were paraded in the streets [of Suez] and then cast into the church [of St. Anthony in Suez]; and the church afterward was torched to the ground.
II. Where was the Government[4]?
Such a thing can happen only in barbaric countries, or during the eras of paganism, slavery and bestiality. When it occurs in the twentieth century, however, and in Suez, which possesses a governor, a prosecutor, police and public order enforcement agents, it can only lead to bewilderment and puzzlement. Suez is not an isolated village far removed from the control of the administration but a governorate capital; so, one can rightly ask: Where was the Governor when the savage attack occurred? What were his men, who were supposed to ensure security and protect the public, doing?
We demand that the Government – if it is really serious on these matters, and keen about respecting the feelings of over three million of its subjects[5] – put the Governor on trial, so that we may find to what extent he was discharging (or not discharging) his duty and undertaking his responsibility, and punish them [should they found guilty] according to the dictates of the law of the land.
III. The shame of the Interior Minister
Recently, the church in Zagazig[6] was set on fire, and its holy scriptures were burned[7] – which shocked Egypt and all civilised countries that respect the freedom of religion and the sanctity of churches and holy books. And today, the torching of human beings, which is more sinister, has been added to the burning down of churches.[8] Faced with this escalation [in violence], we ask: What will be next?
A few days ago, the press reported that the Interior Minister[9] had visited His holiness, the Papal Patriarch,[10] and handed him a report that had been published abroad on the persecution of the Christians of Egypt. Many wondered what the Government’s response to the report will be. But, before the Minister of Interior could formulate his response and covey it via the Foreign Minister[11], the response came from the Fedayeen[12] in Suez. Did their action reflect the thoughts of the Interior Minister as he was contemplating a response? We wonder.
But, let us hope that the world has come to know now that the Christians of Egypt are not only forbidden from constructing new churches, but that their existing churches are torched to the ground; that they are not only discriminated against in jobs, transfer, promotions and external [scientific missions], but that they are attacked and torched to death in the streets [of Egypt].
IV. An embrace and 5,000 guineas[13]
The Prime Minister[14] went to His Holiness, the Patriarch, and hugged him; and the Cabinet decided to offer 5,000 guineas as reparation to restore the church – a matter which the entire Coptic people declined to accept it. The courtesies by the Government do not induce us to ignore the bitter truth – that our most sacred have been attacked. To make this clear, let us just imagine if the opposite had happened: What if a group of Christians, impossible as it may be, burned a mosque down and torched to death a few Muslims? Would the matter have passed in peace and calm? Would hugging the Shiekh of al-Azhar[15] by the Patriarch and an apology from the Majlis al-Milli[16] and other Coptic institutions have sufficed? I do not think so!
It is not a personal issue between the Cabinet and the Papal Patriarch [to be solved by an embrace and an apology], but a matter of disrespect of the feelings of millions of Copts and an insult to Christians all over the world. This problem cannot be solved by a hug or an apology or some courteous words or promises. It requires an immediate, positive action to reassure the Christians of Egypt and make them feel that they really live in their country; that there is law and order [to protect them]; and that there is deference to their feelings.
As for the offer of 5,000 guineas, it is a despicable act that we better not talk about – and even more despicable, as we have been told, is the request to the Cabinet made by the Coptic minister[17] to lower the offer to 2,000 guineas.
V. There is so much talk but little is done
We have read that the Prime Minister and his Ministers, the Chief of the Diwan[18] and chief officers, most political leaders, the Shiekh of al-Azhar, the Mufti of Egypt[19], many Muslim clergy and others have all visited His Holiness, the Papal Patriarch, expressed good feelings and denounced the incident – this is a good thing and a duty for which they should be thanked.
We have also read in the newspapers that some institutions, such as the Lawyers Syndicate and the Faculty of Medicine, have denounced the incident. We thank them from the bottom of our hearts. We thank, also, the venerable writers who shared us in our feelings, such as Ustaz Muhammad al-Tabi’i.[20]
All this is beautiful. However, it is sheer talk. The matter requires, as we have said, an immediate and positive action, for the [Coptic] people need to be reassured and appropriately calmed. Al-Ahram[21] newspaper has reported that the Minister for Social Affairs, Abdel Fatah Hassan Pasha,[22] went to Suez, “… and decided to visit the Coptic church, its charity society and its school before going for the Friday prayer [at the mosque]; and, there, he conveyed to those who met his Highness his dismay at the incident that had occurred in recent days; and he stressed that the Government was resolved to deal firmly and harshly with anyone who would play with security or try to disturb order or think of stopping the country from continuing its struggle [against the British].”[23]
These are nice words; but, we were not assaulted by words so that words should address the problem. We want to see the “firm and harsh steps”, which the Government promises in order to address the situation, put in action – and let these steps be taken swiftly, for the church is still in ruins, and the blood of our dear martyrs that was shed in the land is still shouting [for justice].
VI. The farce of the Coptic Minister
At this juncture, we must frankly say that the term “Coptic minister”[24] is meaningless. These Coptic ministers do not represent the Coptic people at all. On the contrary, some of them often ignore or oppress the Copts, or relinquish the rights of his Church in order that they may not appear to the Muslims as a radical men, and so that they may keep their [ministerial] post.
What did this Coptic minister do? And what noble feelings did he show to the Church?
What did Dr Naguib Pasha Iskandar[25] do when the church in Zagazig was burned down? We visited Naguib Pasha then, and he addressed us in these words: “For whom do you work? The Mudir[26] has made up with the Metropolitan, and the matter is [thus] closed. You are a threat to the unity of the two elements [of the country]!” However, he later changed his view and softened his tone when he realised that our intention was good and our position was right.
And what about Ibrahim Faraj Pasha?[27] He tried hard to encourage the Patriarch to meet with the Prime Minister, saying, “It [meeting the Prime Minister] is a duty in order to foil the plots by the English who want to undermine the sacred union between the two elements of the nation!”
The expressions of the two ministers are almost the same; and they both abuse the phrase, “unity of the two elements”.
VII. Unity of the two elements[28]
It is astonishing how the Copts are exclusively asked to preserve the “unity of the two elements”! When a church is torched; when our Holy Scriptures are burned; when Christians are set alive on fire; this is not labelled as an attack on the unity of the two elements. When, on the other hand, the Copts protest, they are shouted at: “Unity of the two elements! Unity of the two elements!” “For whom do you work?!” And the answer, Your Highness, the Pasha, is that we work for the Church, Christ and religious freedom. This will make sense to you only if the words, “Christ”, “Church” and “religion” find still a place in your political vocabulary while you hold the position of a cabinet minister.
The unity of the two elements must be understood right. The matter is not a mere acting or pretence that we exchange with our Muslim compatriots. No, we should have a pure, heartily-felt union, mutual love, and sincerely motivated cooperation; and, at the same time, we should have full equality in all matters. The Christians [of Egypt] have always displayed this kind of love, which is evident in history, recognised by all citizens, and has been documented in the register books of the Cabinet. It remains for the other element to show their love, so that the unity between the two elements may be preserved. For we cannot remain silent at all when a church of ours or the holy Scriptures are burned. Further, we cannot shut up when a Christian is set on fire for no reason other than them being Christian. I am sure that our Muslim compatriots [themselves] would agree with our protest; and probably they would regard it as too gentle and subdued. If we should keep silent, the Muslims, I suspect, would label us as cowards and weak in faith. The Christians have never been cowards of weak in their faith at any juncture in their long history since the Muslims came to inhabit Egypt with them, and for many generations prior to that.
VIII. And what about you, Coptic people
Arson is not new to you – your persecution history is full of such incidents, even worse and more atrocious ones. Christianity in Egypt has walked the narrow path since the martyrdom of its founder, St. Mark the Evangelist, and for all many generations after him. It suffered fires, crucifixions, stoning, scourging, cutting in half, racking, throwing to fierce beasts, and much more.
So, be patient. “Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you.”[29] Your Fathers used to rejoice as they were being martyred. But, this must not prevent you at all from demanding your rights!
Paul the Apostle was beaten, put in prison, flogged and stoned until he thought he had died, and he tolerated all persecution with joy. It, however, did not prevent him from saying to the centurion in condemnation, “Is it lawful for you to scourge a man that is Roman, and uncondemned?”[30] and so, the centurion and the governor were afraid, and referred the case of the Apostle to Caesar’s court.
However, in your protest, be reasonable, and be Christian. Demand your rights, exploiting all legal means permitted by the law. And above all, raise your hearts [in prayer] to God. I am sure that neither Cabinet minister nor Prime Minister nor any party [or group], however dangerous, can endure a prayer raised to God from a pure heart. In fact, I am afraid for all of these from your prayers.
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[1] Jeremiah 2:12. This is my literal translation of Nazir Jayyid’s Arabic version. The King James Version of the Bible has it as follows: “Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid, be ye very desolate, saith the Lord.”
[2] Suez, a seaport in the north-east Egypt, located on the north coast of the Gulf of Suez, near the southern terminus of the Suez Canal.
[3] Eid al-Adha (Festival of the Sacrifice) in the year 1371 AH.
[4] The government of the day was formed by the leader of the Wafd Party, Al-Nahas Pasha (1879 – 1965). It was his seventh term as prime minister (12 January 1950 – 27 January 1952).
[5] Egypt’s official figures for the Copts in the 1947 census (the census before the Suez massacre of the Copts in 1952) put their number at 1,502,000 out of a total population of 18,967,000, that’s 7.9% of the total population (See: Cornelis Hulsman, Discrepancies between Coptic Statistics in the Egyptian Census and Estimates Provided by the Coptic Orthodox Church, MIDEO, Cairo, 2012, p. 7). Nazir Jayyid (Pope Shenouda III) in his article claims that the Copts were over three million in number, which is 16.9% (if we take Jayyid’s estimate to be 3.2 million). The Egyptian Muslim authorities have always underestimated the population of the Copts for obvious political reasons.
[6] Zagazig is the capital of the Governorate of Sharqia in Lower Egypt. It is located on the eastern part of the Nile Delta.
[7] After the Arabi Revolution in 1882 and the occupation of Egypt by the British, the Copts enjoyed an era of unprecedented security, peace and religious freedom. But, since the establishment of the Muslim Brotherhood Society in 1928 and the loosening of British hold on Egyptian internal affairs following the 1936 Anglo-Egyptian Treaty, the Copts started to see again the ugly face of the Muslim fanatics. The Muslim Brotherhood’s propaganda against the Christians and the Copts, filled with lies, fanned the flames of religious hatred and led to acts of violence against the Copts, their properties and worship places. The first incident that shattered the peace was the torching of the church in Zagazig on 26 March 1947. Nothing was done to apprehend the attackers; and this encouraged the fanatic Muslims to attack more churches: in April of the same year, a church in Alexandria (in al-Hadra neighbourhood) was torched, and in April 1950, the historical church of St. George in Mit Damsis, in Dakahlia Governorate, was burned down.
[8] The incident at Suez on 4 January 1952 represented an escalation in the attacks against the Copts. Prior to that, the attacks were directed towards church buildings and contents (as explained in n. 7); however, the Suez attack on the Copts by the Muslim Brotherhood members, who were fighting the British in the Canal region, was not confined this time to that, but targeted as well the lives of the Copts, murdering three: Ghatas Takla, Wadi’a Siliman Hanna and Zaki abdel-Massih. The savage manner in which they were murdered shocked the Copts: “On January 4, 1952, at 2pm, a Muslim mob, after hearing the Friday sermon in a mosque in the city of Suez, went after the Copts and caught nine Christians. The Muslims dragged them in the city street using butcher hooks, passed by the residence of the city governor, and burned them alive in the St. Antonious Coptic Church. This massacre shook up the Copts all over the country. As usual for anyone who murders Christians, the criminals or the sheikh who exhorted to eliminate the infidels were not apprehended. The Coptic Patriarchate cancelled the Christmas celebrations on January 7, 1952.” Shawky F. Karas, The Copts Since the Arab Invasion: Strangers in Their Land (US, 1986), p. 86.
[9] Muhammad Fouad Serageddin Pasha (1911 – 2000).
[10] Pope Yousab II (1946 – 1956). Following the Zuez massacre of the Copts on 4 January 1952, Pope Yousab announced the cancellations of public celebration of Christmas on the 7th of January in protest.
[11] Muhammad Salah al-Din Bey.
[12] The Egyptian gruella fighters in the Suez Canal area against the British who were concentrating their troops there.
[13] Guinea is the Egyptian pound. In the period from 1885 to 1949, one Britain pound (sterling, £) had the value of 0.975 Egyptian pounds (E£). Currently, £4 is officially exchanged for around E£25.
[14] Mostafa al-Nahas Pasha (1879 – 1965), leader of the Wafd Party after the death of Saad Zaghlul Pasha in 1927, and a prominent political figure in Egypt’s politics before the 1952 coup d’état. He formed seven governments during his political career, the last being from 12 January 1952 to 27 January 1952, during which the massacre of Suez occurred.
[15] The Shiekh of al-Azhar (or the Grand Imam of al-Azhar) is head of the al-Azhar Mosque, the most prominent Sunni religious leader; and, together with the Grand Mufti of Egypt, he dictates Egypt’s official matters. At the time of the Suez massacre, the Sheikh of al-Azhar was Ibrahim Hamrush (1951 – 1952).
[16] The Coptic Orthodox Lay Council, which represents the laity of the Coptic Church.
[17] Ibrahim Faraj Pasha (1903 – 1994). He was Minister for Towns and Villages’ Affairs in the seventh government of al-Nahas Pasha.
[18] Head of the Royal Court.
[19] The Grand Mufti of Egypt, the chief Islamic jurist of the state, giving fatwa (opinion) on points of Sharia (Islamic law). At the time of the massacre of Suez, Sheikh ‘Allam Nassar was Mufti (1950 – 1952).
[20] Muhammad al-Tabi’I (1896 – 1976), a prominent Egyptian journalist, called ‘Ustaz’ (Master) and ‘Prince of Journalism’.
[21] Al-Ahram is the most widely circulating Egyptian daily newspaper. It was established in 1875 by the Lebanese brothers, Takla, in Alexandria, but in 1899 it was moved to Cairo.
[22] It appears that when the seventh government of al-Nahas was formed in January 1950, Abdel Fatah Hassan Pasha was not part of it, and Ahmad Hussain was the Minister for Social Affairs, but then Ahmad Hussain was replaced by Abdel Fatah Hassan at some point.
[23] Britain was still occupying Egypt then, though its control of internal affairs was largely in the hands of the Egyptians after the Treaty of 1936.
[24] After the 1919 Revolution, and apart from the short government (26 January 1024 – 24 November 1924) headed by Saad Zaghloul, leader of the 1919 Revolution, which included two Coptic ministers (Morqos Hanna Bey for Public Works and Wasif Butrous Ghali Afendi for Foreign Affairs), the Copts were allocated a maximum of only one ministerial post in subsequent governments. Four Coptic politicians exchanged that post: Makram Abeid Pasha, Salib Pasha Sami, Nguib Pasha Iskandar and Ibrahim Faraj Pasha. When Nazir Jayyid uses the term “Coptic minister”, he means the Coptic minister in the government of the time.
[25] Naguib Pasha Iskandar was the Coptic minister in the cabinet formed by Prime Minister, Mahmoud al-Nokrashy Pasha (9 December 1946 – 28 December 1948). It is while he was “the Coptic minister”, serving as Public Health Minister, that the Coptic church in Zagazig was burned down by the Muslim fanatics. His silence secured for him being appointed a member of the Senate Council in 1951. He also became the first Egyptian to be chair of the management board of the prestigious Heliopolis Sports Club, which had previously been chaired by British men only.
[26] Head of Security or Chief Constable.
[27] See n. 17.
[28] It is customary in Egypt to refer to the Copts of Muslims of Egypt as two elements of the one nation.
[29] Matthew 5:11 (KJV).
[30] Acts 22:25 (KJV).