It is essential that Egypt maintains its characteristic tolerance and moderation.
New Year has begun tragically and dangerously in Egypt with the killing of 21 people in a church in Alexandria with 79 injured in a terrorist attack.
The early theory espoused that Al-Qaeda was responsible for the attack cannot be ruled out. Al-Qaeda in Iraq has been conducting a deadly campaign against Christians following the reported conversion to Islam by two Egyptian Christian women. The group says the women are being held against their will by the Coptic Church.
But at this time there is no firm evidence of an Al-Qaeda fingerprint. Meddling from abroad cannot be denied but does not address the issue in its fullest. The case is closed but not resolved, leaving everyone dissatisfied with the outcome.
No one can deny homegrown Muslim-Christian tension in Egypt: The seven Christians who were killed in a drive-by shooting on a church in 2009; the death of a Christian last November when hundreds of Christians rioted in Cairo after police suddenly stopped the construction of a church; and when a man with a knife stabbed worshippers in 2006, leading to days of clashes between Copts and Muslims — all point to the fact that sectarian violence is not new in Egypt and is arising with greater frequency. The country's characteristic tolerance and moderation has been starting to be replaced by an environment of sectarian exclusion and tension, undermining its tradition of religious coexistence.
The root cause: A tendency, across Egypt's sectarian divide, to place religious affiliation above the bonds of citizenry. It is through this narrow perspective that some people regard others, whether Muslims or Christians, in an exclusivist manner. It is through this flawed viewpoint that some people seek to live in a place of religious "purity." It is this quest for religious purity, which started in the 1970s, that is scuttling the boat. Under such circumstances, sectarian violence finds justification and religious hatred finds a cause. And this tendency for exclusion and the quest for religious purity are no longer confined to certain sectors of Egypt's Muslims. Even the Copts are now catching on.
Just as seriously, some sections of society have begun to accept only those versions that concord with their own views without even thinking that there may be another side to the story. Each side constructs its own theories of injustice. The normal objectivity and enlightened views of the parties concerned has turned into a one-sided attempt to lay the blame completely on the other.
To eliminate the root cause of the resentment, Egyptians should adopt a national spirit, with national identity taking precedence over narrower sectarian divisions. This is the only means to develop a modern nation state that respects citizens, upholds the values of tolerance and respects pluralism, whether religious, cultural, or political.
Christians, who make up about 10 percent of Egypt's population of 84 million people, are, first and foremost, citizens and members of the Egyptian community and are not seen as a separate group or closed entity. As such, despite the Alex attack and those before it, Egypt continues to maintain a relatively cohesive national fabric. But simply depending upon a strong history of national unity is not enough. Egypt cannot afford to remain passive about sectarian tension; it cannot afford to alienate and exclude people on the basis of their religious affiliation. To break the cycle, it needs to revive its tradition of enlightened civil and religious rights.
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