The President of Egypt, President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, promises that everything will be done to bring a Muslim mob to justice for parading an elderly Christian lady naked through the streets. El-Sisi rightly condemned the brutal attack against Coptic Christians in the village of Karama in the province of Minya. This applies to Christian homes being burnt along with the brutal and terrifying assault against an elderly Christian lady of 70 years of age.
Institutional discrimination against Coptic Christians in Egypt is sadly a historical reality in this nation. Despite this, the bringing to power of el-Sisi promises to alter the traditional order based on reforms being implemented. However, the leader of Egypt faces an uphill struggle because of Sunni Takfiris, the Muslim Brotherhood, weakened state institutions, economic problems related to past leaders, the intrigues of foreign nations, cultural religious discrimination against the indigenous Coptic Christians, liberals demanding rapid change despite the threat of Islamists – and other important realities related to recent political upheavals in this nation.
The Guardian reports “A Muslim mob stripped a 70-year-old Christian woman and paraded her naked on the streets in an attack last week in which seven Christian homes were ransacked and torched in a province south of the Egyptian capital.”
Muslims in the area were angry because of rumors stressing that a Christian male was having an intimate affair with a female Muslim. According to Sharia Islamic law, it is forbidden for non-Muslim males to marry Muslim females. Of course, it is fine for Muslim males to marry non-Muslim females because future children will be brought up Muslim.
In other words, Sharia Islamic law and cultural traditions that remain in Egypt can lead to anti-Christian pogroms at the drop of the hat. Indeed, in recent times, the minority Shia also face growing hostilities at the hands of Sunni Muslims in this nation. This reality is nothing to do with radical Islamists because the perpetrators are ordinary Sunni Muslims. The same applies to ingrained institutional discrimination against Coptic Christians. Not surprisingly, the same happens in other nations like Pakistan – while in other parts of the world like Saudi Arabia non-Muslim males would face prison or death.
The elderly 70-year-old Christian female was targeted because her son was allegedly involved with a Muslim female. Therefore, a Muslim mob stripped her naked and paraded her through the streets while chanting Allahu Akbar (God is greatest).
Since taking power the new leader of Egypt promises to not only safeguard Christians but to also implement reforms in order to create a society for all based on being equal before the law. Yet, given the historical reality of Egypt, the intrigues of the Muslim Brotherhood, and the interests of conservative Sunni Muslim clerics that seek to preserve traditional power bases, then el-Sisi faces an enormous uphill struggle.
The Independent reports “President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, who led the military ouster of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi, has vowed to purge extremism from the country’s religious discourse. However, Egypt has witnessed a surge in blasphemy charges in recent months.”
President el-Sisi spoke on television after the attack against Coptic Christians and stressed, “We are all one and the law must take its course.” He equally vowed to bring all involved in the brutal attack against an elderly Christian lady to justice.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/may/26/muslim-mob-in-egypt-strips-elderly-christian-woman-in-violent-attack
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/egypt-sentences-four-christian-teenagers-for-contempt-of-islam-a6895381.html
http://www.voanews.com/content/egypt-leader-christian-womans-attackers-will-face-justice/3351711.html
http://moderntokyotimes.com Modern Tokyo Times – International News and Japan News