c. 1998 Religion News Service
CAIRO, Egypt _ For evangelical Christians such as Luis Palau, nothing is as important as “making disciples of all nations.” They say Jesus Christ himself gave this command to convert non-Christians.
But this country follows the prophet Mohammed with equal fervor. It rejects the notion of converting its people _ particularly to a religion associated with the West, a religion, it’s still remembered, that persecuted Muslims during the 11th century Crusades.
That’s why the gathering last February at Kasr el-Dobara Presbyterian Church in Cairo is so radical _ and so dangerous. Here, Palau, of Beaverton, Ore., is proclaiming that Christ is the way.
The only way.
Five blocks from the Nile River, tucked into a crowded neighborhood, the narrow five-story building _ the largest Protestant church in the Arab world _ is easy to miss on most nights. But this is no ordinary night.
Worshippers jam the sanctuary and pour into nearby rooms fitted with closed-circuit television. Hundreds more press against a gate, where armed police stand guard.
For four nights, to the melody of Western songs translated into Arabic, Palau preaches the message of salvation.
At crusades in the West, converts commonly flock to the altar in a public acknowledgment of conversion. But if anyone converts during this crusade, the rest of the worshippers never see it.
Why? Arab authorities say the effort to “save” Muslim souls, though not against Egyptian secular law, is certainly against Islamic teaching, which prohibits conversion and, according to some interpretations, decrees punishment by death.
What’s more, they say such conversion is unnecessary because Islam is a more advanced relative of Christianity, recognizing both Jesus and Mohammed.
“If you’re a Muslim, you’re a Christian-plus,” says Mo’ti Bayoumi, dean of Islamic theology at Al-Azhar University, the Harvard of the Islamic world.
Although some point to evangelical churches like Kasr el-Dobara as evidence of Egypt’s tolerance, the U.S. State Department and human rights organizations such as Amnesty International cite instances of arrest and torture of converts in Egypt. In addition, they allege that Christians are underrepresented in Egypt’s government, discriminated against in education and business, and increasingly targeted by terrorists.
“Whoever is baptized will be persecuted,” said the Rev. Menes Abdul Noor, who heads Kasr el-Dobara and hosted Palau’s visit.
Noor said converts he has baptized face rejection by family and friends and as many as 10 converts a year have been arrested and some have been tortured.
The U.S. State Department says there have been “credible reports” of at least two converts being physically abused by state security officers.
Egyptian authorities interrogate him almost monthly, Noor said. He suspects his office and telephone are bugged.
“Am I in danger? Of course. So was the Apostle Paul. So was James, the second martyr. So was Stephen, the first martyr. These are the facts of life.”
Evangelicals are Christians who believe the Bible is God’s word, salvation comes through Christ alone, and everyone in the world must hear this message. American evangelicals provided much of the impetus for a law enacted by Congress last month that requires the president to take action against countries that persecute on the basis of religion.
But Egypt is a key U.S. ally, acting as a stabilizing force in the volatile Middle East. It receives $2.1 billion a year from the United States, the second-largest recipient of aid behind only Israel.
The U.S. State Department has criticized Egypt’s mistreatment of converts. The issue could become more volatile if that mistreatment is cited as a reason for a sanction under the new religious persecution law.
The new law says freedom of religion is an inalienable right not just in the United States but everywhere, and it cites international documents to prove its point.
The 1948 U.N. Universal Declaration of Human Rights, for which Egypt voted, states that every person has an inherent right to worship as he or she pleases. That right, according to the declaration, “includes freedom to change his religion or belief.”
But some Asian and Islamic countries have argued since then that the religious clause of the declaration strongly reflects Western values, at their expense.
The 1948 U.N. declaration creates a dilemma for Muslim countries. Do they abide by the international standard and disobey Islamic law? Or do they honor Islamic law and risk the disapproval of other countries?
“The challenge for us as Muslims is to either subscribe to what we have already committed to or provide an alternative, universalist vision,” said Abdullahi An-Naim, an expert on Islamic law and a professor at Emory Law School in Atlanta. “On the question of freedom of religion, are we saying Muslims have the right to convert others to Islam but not allow them the right to convert Muslims to their religion?”
Even without converts, Egypt is the most Christian country in the Middle East, owing to the efforts of evangelists nearly 2,000 years ago.
By the early seventh century, nearly all Egyptians were Christians. According to tradition, it was St. Mark, a companion of Paul, who founded the Egyptian Orthodox Church about 60 A.D.
After Muslims invaded Egypt from Syria in the 7th century, most Christians converted to Islam. Those who did not are called Copts _ a derivation of the word “Egyptian.” According to government statistics, there are 6 million Copts, but Egyptian Christian leaders claim at least 10 million.
The vast majority of Copts belong to the Egyptian Orthodox Church, which emphasizes liturgy and ritual and de-emphasizes evangelism and conversion.
Compared with some Islamic countries, Egypt is a haven of freedom. Christians walk the streets wearing crucifixes. Many Copts still follow the centuries-old practice of tattooing a small blue cross on the inside of their wrists.
But that doesn’t make them immune. In March, Islamic militants wearing masks and military fatigues walked into the predominantly Christian village of Ezbet Dawoud, 300 miles south of Cairo, and shot everyone in sight. Thirteen men were killed. In February, gunmen killed nine Christians who were attending a youth meeting at a Coptic church in Abu Qurqas.
The Egyptian government strongly denies that Christians are persecuted. Still, shrill advertisements placed in American newspapers this year by the American, Australian, Canadian, British and European Coptic Associations hold the government responsible. They say that the situation of minority Christians in Egypt is “akin to Jews during Nazi domination of Europe on the eve of being sent to the gas chamber _ or like Armenians about to face Turkish massacre in 1915.”
Privately, many Copts say their situation is more subtle and complex.
Copts have risen to prominence in some business circles, but of the 400 members of Parliament, only five are Christian. The nation’s most influential university, Al-Azhar, is open only to Muslims. Students say a double standard exists in the way they are treated at colleges as well as in the workplace.
“If you are in the workplace and are up for a promotion against a Muslim, you won’t get it because you’re a Christian,” said a 21-year-old student at the University of Cairo. “Sometimes, though not usually, Muslim professors make it more difficult for you to get a good grade.”
Although evangelical Christians challenge the Muslim majority in Egypt, most Coptic leaders emphasize getting along. Privately, some say they fear that making a fuss about religious persecution could haunt them.
“It’s not a matter of Christianity vs. Islam but a question of who will rule the country _ the civil government we have or an Islamic regime?” said the Rev. Safwat N. el-Baiady, president of the Egyptian Council of Protestant Churches. “It’s wise that the church support the government; otherwise we’ll face an Islamic regime, which isn’t good for the church.”
The Orthodox patriarch, Pope Shenouda III, has taken a conciliatory approach and most Copts have followed his lead.
“We live in a better situation than any other religious minority in the world,” said Nasim Mijalli, a literary critic and one of a handful of Christian professors at the University of Cairo. “Historically, we have lived in peace with the Muslims for hundreds of years.
“I don’t feel Christians are persecuted in this country. There are some problems, some troubles, but there is no persecution at all.”
An indentation just above the bridge of Mustapha el-Sharkawy’s nose tells a different story.
The scar developed when police put a blindfold over Sharkawy’s face, then tied a rope around it, said the 38-year-old father of two.
That was in 1991, during a 10-month prison stay. When the rope was finally loosened after two weeks, the blindfold stuck to Sharkawy’s face, he said. It took five minutes to peel it off.
Even though no formal charges were filed against him, Sharkawy said he was interrogated for two weeks, then put into solitary confinement and tortured.
Sharkawy said his crime was conversion and afterward international human rights organizations and members of the U.S. Congress complained to the Egyptian government. But his problems didn’t end.
He said he was fired from two jobs after policemen told his Muslim employers he was an apostate. He started his own business making jackets, but said that ended when police told his customers not to buy from him. His most recent job ended with a call from the police.
“I can work as a Muslim. I can work as a Christian,” he says. “But I can’t work as a (known) convert.”
In 1991, when human rights organizations and some members of the U.S. Congress complained of Sharkawy’s jailing, an Egyptian government spokesman said “rumors” that Sharkawy was subjected to torture “are absolutely false and unfounded.” The Egyptian government didn’t respond to more recent requests for comment.
In March, Britain gave Sharkawy and his family temporary refugee status on the grounds he was persecuted because of his conversion to Christianity.
Noor expects Muslim converts to Christianity to continue to be mistreated. He says he will continue to preach and to baptize until he dies or is jailed.
“We have to expect persecution,” Noor says. “This is part of our Christian faith. Why run away from it?”
DEA END RNS
