Challenges
I’m back.
I just returned from a month and half journey across Egypt. It was truly a humbling experience to discuss the issues close to my heart with the common man. Their openness and genuine hospitality over shadowed their close minded nature. Their ideals of freedom, life, liberty mimics our own here in America. They too dream for their children to grow free without the troubles of poverty, racism, and gender equality. They too aspire to have control over their daily lives without the intrusion of the ever power government. However, Egyptian society has a lot of ‘growing-up’ to do in the coming years. The ideals of equality for all Egypt’s citizens regardless of race, religion or gender have still not gained traction among the common man. The average Muhammad is fed-up with the current political situation that he has espoused a hard-line response to the lack of freedom and democracy. The lack of opportunity and the slow pace of reform have forced millions of Egyptians to turn to Islam as a salvation from their day to day problems.
The situation isn’t any better when I discussed the problems of the Coptic Church with family members and church laymen. Many believed the church was on the right track and the main issue lies not with reform but how to safeguard the Coptic nation from the sword of the Islamic fundamentalist. A part of me believes that the sectarian events that occur in Egypt are isolated and are similar to the hate crimes that occurred in America’s south during the turbulent ‘60s. The issue of reform with the hallowed walls of the Coptic Orthodox Church remains close to my heart.
I come from a family that has served the Church each in different capacities. My uncle in an undisclosed location in Egypt has worked over the decades to restore Church property that was once taken away due to President Nasser’s nationalization of private property. Just last year, he turned in the final paper work to regain a Coptic school for Girls back to a diocese in the Delta. Even my father began a campaign of democracy in our annual church council elections. When I was growing up many of these elections was nothing but forums of approval for the candidates that the priest handpicked. Now thanks the effort of my mother and father all members of the church above the age of 18 are able to contest, participate and vote in these elections. Instead of being handpicked they are chosen from a list of candidates and narrowed down over the successive elections. It’s a small victory but we still have a lot more to do.
More to come…
Fcuk the System.
I just returned from a month and half journey across Egypt. It was truly a humbling experience to discuss the issues close to my heart with the common man. Their openness and genuine hospitality over shadowed their close minded nature. Their ideals of freedom, life, liberty mimics our own here in America. They too dream for their children to grow free without the troubles of poverty, racism, and gender equality. They too aspire to have control over their daily lives without the intrusion of the ever power government. However, Egyptian society has a lot of ‘growing-up’ to do in the coming years. The ideals of equality for all Egypt’s citizens regardless of race, religion or gender have still not gained traction among the common man. The average Muhammad is fed-up with the current political situation that he has espoused a hard-line response to the lack of freedom and democracy. The lack of opportunity and the slow pace of reform have forced millions of Egyptians to turn to Islam as a salvation from their day to day problems.
The situation isn’t any better when I discussed the problems of the Coptic Church with family members and church laymen. Many believed the church was on the right track and the main issue lies not with reform but how to safeguard the Coptic nation from the sword of the Islamic fundamentalist. A part of me believes that the sectarian events that occur in Egypt are isolated and are similar to the hate crimes that occurred in America’s south during the turbulent ‘60s. The issue of reform with the hallowed walls of the Coptic Orthodox Church remains close to my heart.
I come from a family that has served the Church each in different capacities. My uncle in an undisclosed location in Egypt has worked over the decades to restore Church property that was once taken away due to President Nasser’s nationalization of private property. Just last year, he turned in the final paper work to regain a Coptic school for Girls back to a diocese in the Delta. Even my father began a campaign of democracy in our annual church council elections. When I was growing up many of these elections was nothing but forums of approval for the candidates that the priest handpicked. Now thanks the effort of my mother and father all members of the church above the age of 18 are able to contest, participate and vote in these elections. Instead of being handpicked they are chosen from a list of candidates and narrowed down over the successive elections. It’s a small victory but we still have a lot more to do.
More to come…
Fcuk the System.
posted by Koptikjihad at
6:21 PM
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