More on Egypt

New information has come to my attention, which requires me to change some previous statements I made and in the end, bring me to a clearer conclusion on what should happen in Egypt.

In my previous post on Egypt, I was not very clear on the current living situation of the Coptic Christians in a post-Nasser Egypt and in this entry, I will touch on their plight, which also brings about some more concrete positions regarding the current situation in Egypt.

When Gamel Abdel Nasser came to power after dethroning King Farouk in 1952, he moved to a governmental practice of socialism (nationalizing industry in Egypt; much of which, was owned by Coptic Christians) and pan-Arabism (uniting the Arab world under a single banner); both of which wronged the Coptic Christian population of Egypt; undermining their identity and standing in the way of a peaceful practice of their religion.

As Egypt moved away from pan-Arabism in the late 1960s, and Sadat took power, the situation did not improve, as it should have for the copts, with, most notably, the house imprisonment of Pope Shenouda III.

Sadly, the treatment of Christians under Mubarak's rule did not improve, as during his reign there were many incidents consisting of the El Kosheh Massacres, the Nag Hammadi shootings, and the New Year's Day 2011 Alexandria Church Bombing, along with continued persecutions and crimes against Christians in Egypt.

After hearing first hand stories of the social and religious conflicts in Egypt, as well as furthering my research, two things are clear to me. First, when America gives foreign aid, that compassion must be done with conditions; in the case of Egypt, providing services to their people, providing freedoms and making sure sectarian violence does not take place. Second, it is clear that Mubarak has become complacent and derelict in his leadership, therefore he needs to go. Copts have faced discrimination and persecutions under Mubarak and the population at large face high unemployment rates. I am still concerned about more radical groups like the Muslim Brotherhood hijacking the Egyptians' justified calls for change.

It is my hope a new government that may be formed in Egypt continues and improves its status in relations with the West and Israel, gives freedoms to its people for which they yearn and does not ally with Iran or form a government similar to that of Iran. The "what's next question" makes it imperative the American and Israeli goverments keep a close eye at what is going on in Egypt and do their best to make sure Muslim Brotherhood does not take power. "The 'Right' Solutions" continues to pray for the people of Egypt and safety of its people in these very trying times.

UPDATE 1/31/11: A good column by Christoper Ruddy on Mubarak and why he needs to go.