Violence in Egypt: Christians are Taking the Brunt

Three weeks after the military forcefully removed President Morsi, Egypt is sinking into violence as the Muslim Brotherhood tries to regain power. We all know that. What is less visible is that Christians are taking the brunt: when they are attacked, the police (or military) do not seem to hurry to come to their help, on the contrary. Within a longer New York Times article on the situation in Egypt, there is a small telling paragraph, and I quote:

On July 5, the authorities stood by as an angry crowd set upon Christian families near Luxor, killing four, after the body of a Muslim was found near Christian homes. Amnesty International said in a report issued Tuesday 'Security forces on the scene made only halfhearted attemtps to end violence' (highlighting added)

To read the whole NYT article, click here.  The article is in the right-hand column.

Of course, there have been terrible episodes of violence between Sunni and Shiite Muslims leaving four dead last month in a village near Cairo (see here). It is only a sad coincidence that four were killed in each case. But there's no question that both episodes are a tragedy.

Oh, why is Religion allowed to interfere in politics?

Comments

Anne R. Allen said…
Flash blogging. Sounds like an intriguing idea! It is so weird, isn't it--that religion sparks so much of the world's violence. Why do people think that killing people is a good way to prove their god is the best god? And why do they need everybody to believe exactly what they believe? Do they doubt their own beliefs so much they need to have mass confirmation of them? Hey, if I thought I had the one true conduit to God's ear, I think I'd keep it to myself.
Anne, that's very funny, yes, I'd keep it to myself too! But you're right, the believers' insistence on being the Only One in the Right sounds as if they have a chip on their shoulder...Very insightful. I'd never quite thought of it that way...

As to flash blogging,that's an example and even a long example, it could be shorter!
Anonymous said…
Thought-provoking post!