Egypt's Christians keep wary eye on Muslim Brotherhood

c. 2011 USA Today


CAIRO (RNS) In Magdi Shnouda's cafe in Cairo, pictures of Jesus and the
saints hang on the shabby walls, and the men playing backgammon and
dominoes are a mixture of Christians and Muslims.


Sucking down glasses of sweet tea and strong coffee, they drape arms
around one another and talk of how well they get along. They live in a
neighborhood dotted with mosques and churches, and grew up like
brothers, they say.


Another thing they agree on is the toppling of the regime of Hosni
Mubarak, who left office after 17 days of anti-government protests. The
country is now being run by the military, which has dissolved a
parliament full of Mubarak cronies.


"It's excellent what's happening," said Nasraddin Mustafa, 55, a
decorator and friend of Shnouda's. "Christians and Muslims are the same
... there will now be more safety and more friendship between Christians
and Muslims."


The revolutionary solidarity in Shnouda's cafe was shaken, however,
when the subject of the Muslim Brotherhood came up.


"If the Brotherhood take control, I will be the first to leave the
country," said Baha al-Rashid, 40, a driver playing backgammon.


The Brotherhood, a strictly Islamic political party, is the
country's most organized opposition group. Some Christians fear that if
it gains more influence, it would impose Shariah, or Islamic law, and
forbid them from practicing their faith.


"Neither Christians nor Muslims like them, because they are a group
with their own ideas, but the rest of the Muslims are good with
Christians," said Eid Ibrahim, 41, also a driver and a Christian.


Egypt has about 8 million Christians, the largest Christian
population in the Middle East. Most belong to the Coptic Orthodox church
("Coptic" means "Egyptian"). The faith has been in Egypt for 2,000
years, they say.


The Bible says Mary and Joseph fled to Egypt with the infant Jesus
to escape King Herod's decree that baby boys in Bethlehem be killed.
Tradition holds that St. Mark brought Christianity to Egypt in the first
century. Islam did not arrive until six centuries later.


Christians here have long complained that they are shut out of some
government jobs and treated as second-class citizens.


Christians have been targeted by terrorists in attacks that
Mubarak's Interior Ministry blamed on "foreign elements." In the largest
of many attacks against Christians last year, a car bomb in the northern
city of Alexandria killed 21 people in December at a Christmas ceremony.


But during the recent demonstrations in Cairo's Tahrir Square, many
Christians joined in, protecting Muslims from police and Mubarak
supporters while they prayed. Christian doctors manned some of the
first-aid stands, and posters with a crescent moon and a cross
proclaimed unity.


At St. Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral on Sunday (Feb. 13), there
were christening parties and worshipers caressed babies and chatted.
They agreed that a new Egypt is a good thing but that there could be
problems ahead.


"In the last year, there (have) been a lot of demonstrations," said
David Samuels, 31, a master's student and a Christian, speaking in a bar
near the upscale Heliopolis area of Cairo. "They were protesting because
of anger and discrimination against them."


Many Christians say they suspect the government was involved in the
attacks to keep Egyptians divided.


"When the demonstrations started, I doubted that what would happen
in Tunisia would happen here," Samuels said. "But then I understood that
there was real anger and people were talking about being Egyptian, not
about being Christians or Muslims, and my Muslim friends were angry that
the government was making conflict between Christians and Muslims
worse."


Despite the euphoria, he, too, is nervous about the Brotherhood.


"I read a lot about the history of the party," he said. "They know
there are a lot of bad vibes against them, so they will first try to get
to the top of all the syndicates and then come to power, which would be
the worst for Christians.


"Christians have been raised on fear, and they are always afraid,"
he said.


In Shnouda's cafe, the owner was quiet as his friends chattered
about the revolution, about how the political elite who stole all the
money had gone, how Egypt was entering a time of more freedom and how
the new government would not try to divide Christians and Muslims as the
old one did.


Asked whether he agreed that the government would bring people
closer, Shnouda paused. "Come and ask me this question in a year," he
said. "We hope it will be better."