Yesterday was my first official inauguration into the world of street demonstrations in Cairo. Encouraged by Samer who has a long history in the matter, I finally got to join, listen, observe, and finally get warmed up and scream at the top of my voice “Tell the ruler in his palace, that WE are the protectors of Egypt [and not him]“

The main reason for the stand-up demonstrations? Random firing killing 6 Christians in the South of Egypt while they’re leaving the Church after Christmas prayers at night. Horrible! By all means a terrible incidence and right at the moment when the annual celebrations of Orthodox Christmas were taking place.

The heightened feelings on the street were coming from two main streams of people: those who felt a personal hurt because they felt like those who died were their personal family members because they’re also Christian, and those who considered this a crime in the face of the whole country and felt deep anger. The two groups had two very different points of view … different slogans to use and different implications from each.

I saw the heated-up Christians who were shouting “Coptic blood is not cheap” and “Coptic honor will not be left unpunished” and “It’s all inspired by the Muslim terrorism” and it was about to explode into worse situations except for the solid control exercised by the National Committee Against Religious Violence which was the main sponsor of the event. Their hearts were literally breaking with every scream they repeated and one really could not deny their anger and hurt. Yet, the rest of the group felt harshly alienated, especially the large crowd of non-Christians who were probably more than half the crowd in fact!

The second group was the more nationalistic type, and their slogans were the ones everyone could scream while feeling the words and taking part of the action … “Egypt for all … Muslims and Christians” and “Don’t betray yourself Egypt … killing of Copts is a shame to you and me” and “Egypt my beloved country … your people were always one [group] not two” and finally my favorite and also everyone’s by the sound of cheering and the amount of repetition by both groups “Tell the ruler in his palace, that WE are the protectors of Egypt [and not him]“.

I was looking around and realized how close I feel to everyone that stood in that group. I knew many faces from my previous years, but that instant I felt a new type of closeness: I have a lot more in common with this group demonstrating in the street than with the people killed down there in the South. Although I feel the latter, I belong to the earlier.

How I wished to show this to everyone who thinks that religion brings them closer to each other! How I wished to just give those blind killers a small preview to see that those they killed in their own towns are their own friends, playmates, colleagues, teachers, students, neighbors or doctors. And that their Muslim “brothers” in Cairo or Delta are really as distant as those oversees.

How I wished to show the angry Christian demonstrators in Cairo that they have many allies and friends right next to their feet and not where the killings took place!

It was very obvious how the use of religion has split everyone from their neighbor and gave them the illusion that they have more in common with people with whom they share beliefs. They lose sight of their next door neighbor who stood by them in their darkest moments and demonstrated next to them in the streets of Cairo.

While we blindly look out for the distant relationships, I wonder how much better, greater and more wonderful this country and society would be if everyone just took a small glimpse on their left or right and saw what’s driving us all away from the true essence of our being.

Yes, indeed! WE ARE THE PROTECTORS OF EGYPT

 

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