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Looking for peace

18 Jan 2009 - Preaching the News for Sunday

"What are you looking for?" Jesus asks the disciples of John who approach him in this Sunday's gospel. Egyptian negotiators were asking the same question of Israel and Hamas this week in hopes of reaching a cease-fire in the devastating war in Gaza. As the Palestinian death toll passed 1,000 midweek, a proposed 10-day cease-fire appeared to be gaining support. Egyptian and Palestinian officials said they hoped to seal Hamas' agreement on a temporary halt in fighting, which would be presented to Israel for acceptance. Key uncertainties remained for a longer-term deal under which Gaza's borders would be open and Israeli troops would withdraw, but Egyptian officials expressed public optimism that momentum toward a deal was growing. "We're working with Hamas and we're working with the Israeli side. We hope to reach an outcome soon," Hossam Zaki, a spokesman for Egypt's Foreign Ministry, told the BBC. A Hamas spokesman said he also believed an agreement was possible. "There is good progress in Egypt. We hope that now Egypt will contact Israel and talk about all issues," said Ghazi Hamad, a senior Hamas adviser. Asked if a negotiated settlement could also include a deal between Hamas and the rival Palestinian administration, led by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank, Hamad said he was hopeful. "I am optimistic now because I think there is no other choice for us," he said. Egypt's foreign minister, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, said details on the proposed cease-fire would be kept "under a lid of secrecy" until all parties agreed but said issues included an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, opening crossings into the blockaded territory, and some kind of international monitoring. Source: An article by Salah Nasrawi for the Associated Press

gaza strip hamas israel cease-fire hossam zaki egypt palestinian authority ahmed aboul gheit
Egyptians to their president: Let your people go

06 Feb 2011 - Preaching the News for Sunday

The Egyptian people have endured some harsh experiences in the past week as they have risen up with a purpose that echoes the instruction in this Sunday’s first reading to “remove from your midst oppression” and “satisfy the afflicted” so that “your wound will quickly be healed” and “light shall rise for you in the darkness.” They want President Hosni Mubarak and those in his regime to resign immediately, but Mubarak has only offered not to run for reelection in September. The government struck back at its opponents on Wednesday, allegedly unleashing waves of pro-government provocateurs armed with clubs, stones, rocks, and knives in and around Tahrir Square in a concerted effort to rout the protesters who are calling for an end to Mubarak’s near-30-year rule. Egypt's health minister said the violence killed at least one person and wounded nearly 600. Several foreign journalists attacked by pro-government forces were among the injured. The military, which has stayed mostly on the sidelines during the weeklong unrest, broadcast a message on state television Wednesday night warning people to evacuate, saying that “violent groups” intended to burn down the square. Some fear the military will now get involved, heightening violence. In the face of calls from leaders in Washington and Europe for peaceful and rapid political change, the Egyptian foreign ministry released a defiant statement in state news media saying that such calls from “foreign parties” had been “rejected and aimed to incite the internal situation in Egypt.” After years of tight state control, protesters emboldened by recent unrest in Tunisia took to the streets and have mounted a once-unimaginable series of protests across the nation of 80 million people--the region's most populous country and the center of Arabic-language filmmaking, music, and literature. In related developments Jordan's King Abdullah II fired his government Tuesday in the wake of street protests and asked an ex-prime minister to form a new cabinet, ordering him to launch immediate political reforms. In the face of growing protests Yemen's president Ali Abdullah Saleh also announced political reforms and said he won't seek another term and his son won't be his successor, though in the past he has reneged on a similar promise. Source: Articles by Jamal Halaby, Sarah El Deeb, and Hadell Al Shalchi for the Associated Press, msnbc.com, Borzou Daragahi for the Los Angeles Times, and Anthony Shadid, David D. Kirkpatrick, and Kareem Fahim for the New York Times

egypt yemen ali abdullah saleh abdullah ii jordan hosni mubarak
Arab spring may leave region’s Christians out in the cold

02 Oct 2011 - Preaching the News for Sunday

“Change is always uncomfortable. Some kinds are traumatic,” writes Alice Camille in "The endangered vineyard," this Sunday’s Prepare The Word scripture commentary. Christians in Syria face an uncertain future as Syria plunges further into unrest every day. They fear that in the event President Bashar al-Assad falls from power they may be subjected to reprisals at the hands of a conservative Sunni leadership. For many Syrian Christians, Assad remains predictable in a region where unpredictability has driven their brethren from war-racked places like Iraq and Lebanon and where others have felt threatened in post-revolutionary Egypt. They worry that the struggle to dislodge Assad could turn into a civil war, unleashing sectarian bloodshed in a country where minorities, ethnic and religious, have for the most part found a way to coexist. The plight of Christians in Syria has resonated among religious minorities across the Middle East, many of whom see themselves as facing a shared destiny. In Iraq the number of Christians has dwindled to insignificance since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein, driven away by bloodshed and chauvinism. Christians in Egypt worry about the ascent of Islamists. Christians in Lebanon, representing the largest minority by proportion in the Arab world, worry about their own future in a country where they emerged as the distinct losers of a 15-year civil war. But while the promise of the Arab revolts is a new order shorn of repression and inequality, worries linger that Islamists, the single most organized force in the region, will gain greater influence and that societies will become more conservative and perhaps intolerant. Source: An article by the New York Times

iraq egypt lebanon religious minorities islamism christians syria bashar al-assad
Egypt erupts when Coptic Christians clash with council

16 Oct 2011 - Preaching the News for Sunday

Conflicts between church and state are as timeless as the answer Jesus gives in this Sunday’s gospel when asked whether it was lawful to pay the census tax: “Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.” Conflicts between Egypt’s Coptic Christian minority and the military council now ruling the country burst into violence this week when at least 24 people were killed and more than 200 wounded in the worst clash since the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak in February. A demonstration by Christians angry about a recent attack on a church appeared to explode because it was aimed squarely at the military council that has ruled Egypt since the revolution at a moment when the military’s latest delay in turning over power has led to a spike in public distrust of its authority. When the clashes broke out, some Muslims ran into the streets to help defend the Christians against the police while others said they had come out to help the army quell the protests in the name of stability, turning what started as a march about a church into a chaotic battle over military rule and Egypt’s future. The protest took place against a backdrop of escalating tensions between Muslims and Coptic Christians, who make up about 10 percent of the population. Christians had joined the pro-democracy protests in large numbers, hoping for the protections of a pluralistic, democratic state, but a surge in the power of Islamists has raised fears of how much tolerance majority rule will allow. Pope Benedict XVI said Wednesday he is “deeply saddened” by the violence and condemned what he called attempts to “undermine the peaceful coexistence” among Egyptian communities. Sources: Articles by Leila Fadel and Ingy Hassieb for the Washington Post,David D. Kirkpatrick for the New York Times, and Religion News Service

egypt copts coptic christians
Egypt protestors: Boot the military and reboot the revolution

27 Nov 2011 - Preaching the News for Sunday

“Why do you let us wander, O Lord, from your ways?” grieves the prophet in this Sunday’s reading from the Book of Isaiah. Egyptian citizens, deeply suspicious that the military is trying to hold onto the power it has held since mass protests unseated President Hosni Mubarak in February, have taken to the streets this week to express their frustration that the Egyptian revolution has wandered from its original purposes. Tuesday, seeking to defuse the street protests that have left at least 37 dead, Egypt's army chief promised a swifter handover to civilian rule but failed to convince thousands of hardcore demonstrators, some of whom battled police through the night. Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, 76, who has run the ruling military council since February, made a faltering televised address Tuesday in which he promised a civilian president would be elected in June, about six months sooner than planned. Confirming that Egypt's first free parliamentary election in decades will start next Monday, the council also accepted the resignation of the civilian prime minister and his cabinet, who had incensed democrats with a short-lived proposal that the army remain beyond civilian control under any new constitution. Tantawi was hanged in effigy in Tahrir Square in an echo of Mubarak's final days but seems intent on preserving the armed forces' vast business interests built up over six decades of effective military rule, said observers. “Leave! Leave!” came the chants in Cairo and, reminiscent of February's chorus: “The people want to topple the marshal.” Police have denied using live ammunition, but most of the dead have had bullet wounds, medics said, and demonstrators have shown cartridge casings they said come from weapons authorities use. Using a computer analogy, protester Abdullah Galal said: “There are many viruses in the system. It needs to be cleaned out entirely. We want to delete, reformat, and reinstall . . . . We need to change the regime like they did in Tunisia and Libya.” Source: An article by Patrick Werr and Alastair Macdonald for Reuters

egypt protests mohamed hussein tantawi
Christian persecution continues worldwide

15 Jan 2012 - Preaching the News for Sunday

On his way to becoming a prophet, young Samuel learned how to hear and respond to the call of God, we learn in Sunday’s first reading. In many countries, Christians who dare to do the same openly risk persecution. The international Christian organization Open Doors released its annual World Watch List this week, naming the 50 countries where it says Christians face the worst persecution--and the situation is not improving. For the tenth year running North Korea topped the list. Christianity has been driven so far underground in North Korea, Open Doors said, that parents wait until their children are old enough to understand the dangers of practicing their faith before teaching them about it. The organization also estimated that between 50,000 and 70,000 Christian are currently interned in labor camps in North Korea. For the first time in the 20 years the list has been compiled, the situation for Christians did not improve last year in any country, Open Doors said. Christians also are under attack in Nigeria, where the radical Muslim Boko Haram sect killed 44 people after it promised to murder Christians living in the predominately Muslim north of the country. Speaking Saturday to journalists, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, president of the Christian Association of Nigeria, vowed the group's members would adequately protect themselves from the sect. He declined to offer specifics, raising concerns about retaliation. "We have decided to work out means to defend ourselves against these senseless killings," Oritsejafor said. He added: "We cannot sit back and watch people being slaughtered like animals every day, going to the church, shooting people, killing them. This is unacceptable." In Egypt, Coptic Orthodox Christians last weekend celebrated their first Christmas since the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak and an escalation in violence associated with the growing power of Islamists. Celebrations of Orthodox Christmas began amid tight security and a show of national unity. Mass at Cairo's main cathedral was attended by prominent figures from across Egypt's political spectrum, including leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist group whose associated political party has won nearly half the seats in parliament. Members of the ruling military council that took power after Mubarak's Feb. 11 ouster also attended, as well as the visiting top U.S. diplomat for the Middle East, Jeffrey Feltman. Coptic Pope Shenouda III commended their presence and appealed for national unity for "the sake of Egypt." The 88-year-old church leader said: "For the first time in the history of the cathedral, it is packed with all types of Islamist leaders in Egypt. They all agree . . . on the stability of this country and in loving it, and working for it and to work with the Copts as one hand for the sake of Egypt." Coptic Christians comprise an estimated 10 percent of Egypt’s population of 85 million. Sources: Articles by ENI News, ReligionClause.com,and Njadvara Musa and Sarah El Deeb for the Associated Press

egypt world watch list boko haram ayo oritsejafor christian association of nigeria muslim brotherhood pope shenouda iii coptic christians copts nigeria christians islamism persecution north korea open doors
U.S. to Egypt: Let my people go

05 Feb 2012 - Preaching the News for Sunday

Job hits bottom in this Sunday’s first reading, describing his life as drudgery and his days without hope; he is convinced he “shall not see happiness again.” Relations between Egypt’s caretaker military government and Washington hit a new low on Monday when several U.S. citizens working for democracy groups in Egypt, barred from leaving the country and fearing arrest, took asylum in the U.S. embassy in Cairo. The asylum-seekers are employees of U.S.-based nongovernmental organizations that have loose links to America’s two leading political parties. They say they have been accused of running groups that were not properly licensed in Egypt and of receiving foreign funding illegally. U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood's son Sam LaHood, the director of the Egyptian program for the International Republican Institute, is among those on the Egyptian government's "no-fly list." Egyptian authorities raided more than a dozen offices belonging to local and foreign rights groups in late December, including at least two American ones, drawing a sharp rebuke from the U.S. State Department, which said it was "deeply concerned" about the actions. Adding to the atmosphere of uncertainty and instability in the country, at least 73 people were killed when riots broke out after a soccer game Wednesday, Egypt's deputy health minister said. At least 180 others were injured in the riots. The fighting occurred in a stadium in the northeastern city of Port Said after a match between the Al-Ahly team and Port Said's Al-Masry team. "It's not unheard of to have organized violence between football clubs, but something on this scale has never been seen before," said CNN contributor James Montague. Sources: Articles by David D. Kirkpatrick for the New York Times, Ben Hubbard for theAssociated Press, Tom Perry for Reuters, and Mohamed Fadel Fahmy for CNN International

egypt port said ngos nongovernmental organizations international republican institute sam lahood
Anxious Egyptian Christians grieve fallen patriarch

25 Mar 2012 - Preaching the News for Sunday

Only when a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies can it produce much fruit, Jesus teaches his followers as he prepares them for his approaching death in this Sunday’s gospel. Coptic Christians in Egypt might have been prepared for the death last Saturday of the elderly and ill Pope Shenouda III, but his demise nevertheless leaves the Christian minority unsettled and worried in a time of transition.Shenouda, 88, led the Coptic Orthodox Church in Egypt for four decades, expanding the church’s presence around the world as he struggled, often unsuccessfully, to protect his Christian minority at home. He had suffered from cancer and kidney problems for years.His death comes at a time of rising fears for Egypt’s 10 million Coptic Christians, who have felt increasingly vulnerable since the fall of President Hosni Mubarak and amid attacks on churches by hard-line Islamists and repression by Egypt’s security forces.The rise to power of conservative Islamist parties has also raised concerns that Egyptian national identity is becoming more closely bound to Islam. “It’s an injection of uncertainty for Copts at a time of transition in the country,” said Michael Wahid Hanna, a fellow at the Century Foundation. “Whether people were fond of him or not, this will cause anxiety.” Source: An article by Kareem Fahim for the New York Times

egypt islamism copts coptic christians michael wahid hanna shenouda iii
At last Egypt lets its people go to the polls

27 May 2012 - Preaching the News for Sunday

The psalmist this Pentecost Sunday calls on the Lord to “send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.” Egyptians have been called to the polls to vote in what observers call the first truly competitive presidential election in the Arab world and have responded with enthusiasm. Voters hope their spirited effort results in a renewed and more democratic Egypt.More than 15 months after autocratic leader Hosni Mubarak's ouster, Egyptians streamed to polling stations Wednesday and Thursday to freely choose a president for the first time in generations. A sense of amazement at having a real voice in a presidential election pervaded the crowds in line.Some backed Mubarak-era veterans, believing they can bring stability after months of rising crime, a crumbling economy, and sometimes violent riots. Others were horrified by the thought, believing the "feloul" —or "remnants" of the regime—will keep Egypt locked in dictatorship and thwart democracy.Islamists, particularly the Muslim Brotherhood, hope to be chosen to lead a country where they were repressed for decades and to implement their version of Islamic law. Some of their opponents, however, fear they will bring theocracy.The two-day first run is not expected to produce an outright winner, so a runoff between the two top vote-getters will be held June 16-17. The winner will be announced June 21.The feeling of choosing at long last was overwhelming for some voters. Medhat Ibrahim, 58, who suffers from cancer, waited in line at a Cairo poll. "I might die in a matter of months. So I came for my children, so they can live," he said. "We want to live better, like human beings." Source: An article by Maggie Michael and Aya Batrawy for the Associated Press

egypt elections
Egyptians thwarted at the polls?

24 Jun 2012 - Preaching the News for Sunday

Fear came upon the neighbors of Elizabeth and Zechariah at the birth of John the Baptist as they tried to understand the import of the signs that accompanied the event. In the wake of a delay in official results in the first free presidential vote since the ouster of authoritarian leader Hosni Mubarak 16 months ago, Egyptians nervously tried to understand the actions of the ruling military elite, the former prime minister, and the Muslim Brotherhood in what has become a chess game for power in the post-Mubarak era. Allegations of fraud delayed the result of Egypt’s presidential election on Thursday, fraying nerves as the Muslim Brotherhood, which claimed victory, threatened to take to the streets in protest at moves by the ruling generals to deny them power. Thousands of protesters gathered in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, cauldron of the revolution that overthrew Mubarak, to demand the officers who pushed him aside keep their word and hand over power to civilians by July 1. Adding to a sense of unease, Mubarak was himself back in the news. He was let out of the prison, where he began a life sentence this month, for treatment at a military hospital where the 84-year-old was said by security sources to be slipping in and out of a coma but “stabilizing.” Many Egyptians suspect fellow generals of exaggerating to get their old comrade out of jail. With Egypt’s economy suffering from prolonged uncertainty, Ahmed Shafik, the former general and Mubarak prime minister running against the Brotherhood’s Mohamed Morsy, called for national unity, suggesting the losing candidate might serve in the winner’s administration. The state election committee has spent three days collating counts from the two-day runoff ballot but said it would miss a target of Thursday for announcing the result because it was going through hundreds of complaints submitted by both sides. As the weekend starts on Friday, that may mean a wait until Sunday. In a nation where vote-rigging was the norm during 60 years of military rule, and which is reeling from what critics called a “soft coup” by the generals in the past week, the delay has poured fuel on raging mutual suspicions of foul play. Whoever is declared the winner, the next president’s powers have already been curbed in a last-minute decree issued by the army after it ordered the Islamist-led parliament dissolved. The European Union on Wednesday joined the United States, both major aid donors, in expressing “concern” at what the army moves meant for a promised transition to democracy, but with the Egyptian army still—as it was throughout Mubarak’s 30 years in power—a major ally in the confrontation with militant Islam, Western pressure on Cairo’s generals may be limited. Sources: Articles by Alastair Macdonald for Reuters and Maza Nedawi for the Associated Press

egypt elections hosni mubarak muslim brotherhood

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