A firsthand account: Marching from Shubra to deaths at Maspiro

I was sent this article by a colleague this morning which provides an eye-witness account of the ongoings in Maspiro last night. It is a tragic article, yet the message at the end is what I hope will stand out to everyone. It is time that Egypt stops trying to place the blame for internal issues on external forces. This country needs to heal from within; as long as these invisible lines of division continue to be drawn and played upon there is little hope for Egypt to ever fully rebuild itself.

Written by Sarah Carr, taken from Al-Masri Al-Yawm, here is the article. My thoughts are with everyone, both on the side of the military and civilians, who lost their lives in the brutal violence last night.

Image from Al-Masri Al-Yawm, photographed
by Mohammed Hossam Eddin

The march from the Cairo district of Shubra was huge, like the numbers on 28 January. In the front row was a group of men in long white bibs, “martyr upon demand” written on their chests. A tiny old lady walked among them, waving a large wooden cross: “God protect you my children, God protect you.”

The march started down Shubra Street around 4 pm, past its muddle of old apartment buildings, beat up and sad but still graceful compared with the constructions from the Mubarak era next to them - brutish and unfinished-looking.

A man explained why there were bigger numbers than the march last week in response to the attack on the St. George’s Church in Aswan: the army had hit a priest while violently dispersing Coptic protesters in front of the Maspiro state TV building on Wednesday. A video posted online showed a young man being brutally assaulted by army soldiers and riot police.

At a traffic underpass at the end of Shubra Street, at around 6 pm, there was the sudden sound of what sounded like gunfire. Protesters at the front told those behind to stop - the march was under attack. Rocks rained down from left and right and from the bridge, underneath which protesters were taking shelter.

Some threw stones back. Behind them, protesters chanted, “The people want the removal of the Field Commander.” The stone throwing eventually stopped sufficiently for the march to continue. A teenage boy crossed himself repeatedly as he moved forward toward the rocks.

Darkness fell just as the march reached Galaa Street. “This is our country,” protesters chanted, led by a man on a pickup truck full of speakers. An illuminated cross floated through the darkness. At the headquarters of state daily newspaper Al-Ahram, a single rock was thrown at the door, likely a comment on its coverage of violence against Copts.

Outside the Ramsis Hilton Hotel, the chanting stopped momentarily - the exuberance of having escaped the attack in Shubra faded as the march rounded the corner toward Maspiro.

It was immediately met with gunfire in the air. As protesters continued moving forwards, the gunfire continued.

Suddenly, there was a great surge of people moving back, and something strange happened. Two armored personnel carriers (APCs) began driving at frightening speed through protesters, who threw themselves out of its path. A soldier on top of each vehicle manned a gun, and spun it wildly, apparently shooting at random although the screams made it difficult to discern exactly where the sound of gunfire was coming from.

It was like some brutal perversion of the military show the armed forces put on for the 6th of October celebration three days before. The two vehicles zigzagged down the road outside Maspiro underneath the 6th of October Bridge and then back in synchronicity, the rhythm for this particular parade provided by the "tac tac tac" of never-ending gunfire, the music the screams of the protesters they drove directly at.

And then it happened: an APC mounted the island in the middle of the road, like a maddened animal on a rampage. I saw a group of people disappear, sucked underneath it. It drove over them. I wasn’t able to see what happened to them because it then started coming in my direction.

Later, as riot police fired tear gas at another small attempt at a demonstration and fires burned around Maspiro, I found on the floor part of one of the white “martyrs upon demand” bibs the men had been wearing, and took it home. It had been ripped in half.

**

The Coptic Hospital tried its best to deal with the sudden influx of casualties. Its floors were sticky with blood and there was barely room to move among the wounded, the worried and the inconsolable.

A man asked if we were press, and whether we’d like to film the morgue if we “were strong enough.”

The morgue was a harshly lit two-room building surrounded by men and women screaming and hitting themselves in paroxysms of grief. In the first room there were two bodies, middle-aged men on the floor next to the fridge, which we were told held three bodies. In the other room there were the bodies of 12 men of varying ages.

A young woman sat by one of them clasping his hand and wailing. Vivian and Michael, who were engaged to be married. Michael had been crushed, his leg destroyed. Next to Michael was the body of a man whose face was contorted into an impossible expression. A priest opened his hands and showed me the remains of the man’s skull and parts of his brain. He too had been crushed.

Outside a woman said out loud to the dead, “How lucky you are, now in heaven!” A man screamed, “We won’t be silent again.”

**

Even while the wounded were still being brought in, state TV was reporting that Christian protesters stole weapons from the army and killed soldiers, and that the busy foreign hands are back again, still trying to destabilize Egypt.

There should be a finality in death, an unchallengeable truth when it happens with the simple brutality of last night. But even when death happens on Maspiro’s doorstep, it can be rewritten, in order to lend a twisted sense where there is none, to justify the impossible and, above all, to sabotage any attempt to consider that the problem is within us, not without.

Attack on Church in Cairo

Over 10 people were killed and more than 200 injured in an attack on the St. Mina Church in Imbābah, Giza, which took place overnight on May 7, 2011. The following information is taken directly from the testimony of two Christians of the church, one named Rimon, the other wishing to remain anonymous.

Approximately 4pm following afternoon prayers, Imām Muhammad Zughbī led between 150-200 armed Muslims a distance of one kilometer to the St. Mina Church. There he inquired about a Coptic woman who, he believed, had converted to Islam who, he believed, was being held in the church. Both sources believe this rumor was completely unfounded, and this was only a ruse by these Muslims to instigate conflict.
Shortly after their arrival church officials called the police. The police were invited to enter and search the premises, but found nothing. They carried this report back to the crowd, and then withdrew.

Having originally arrived with weapons of all varieties – clubs, swords, and automatic guns – the Muslim group began to use them. Christians rallied to defend the church, largely weaponless, but with a few simple pistols. One source said local Muslims participated in the defense of the church; the other denied this, saying they joined in the attack. It is possible both reports are true. Sources say that community relations between Muslims and Christians had been good.

Around 5:30pm Muslims from other nearby areas – Warāq, Haram, Faysal, 'Umrānīyah – heard the news and joined the attack, increasing the number to over 400. Eventually their total was estimated at 3,000. The dead and injured were carried into the church, and fighting continued at the local homes as Christian residents hurled stones from their balconies. In all, three homes near the church were burned, and over 50 shops were vandalized in the area.

The army did not arrive until 10pm, at which point it launched tear gas at the church. Sources stated this was aimed at them, even landing inside the walls, rather than at the Muslim attackers. The Muslims also began attacking the army, launching Molotov cocktails. The army responded by firing into the air, and sources stated they did not actively intervene to end the rampage. Instead, they arrested those in the immediate vicinity as they were able, including many Christians.

The presence of the army did disperse the assailants, who then scattered and attacked other area churches. The nearby Church of the Holy Virgin was set ablaze and completely destroyed around 2am. Three other local churches also suffered damage.

Gunshots continued throughout the night. The next day the army placed the area in complete lockdown mode, arresting anyone coming out of their home. Sources say the area around the church also had water and electricity cut. The minister of the interior and governor were set to visit the area, which was under a 24 hour curfew.

Both sources identified the attackers as Salafī Muslims, due to their appearance with beards and white robes, typical of their traditional dress. They cried ‘Allahu Akbar’ during the attacks. Salafī Muslims are adherents of a conservative interpretation of Islam that desires strict application of the Sharī'ah in imitation of the era of Muhammad and his companions. Following the revolution they have been vocal in calling for an Islamic state and have been accused of multiple sectarian attacks on both Christians and other Muslims. Though admitting to their particular religious interpretation, Salafī leaders have either denied their involvement or condemned such violent incidents.

Regardless of the original intention of the attack organizers, accusations of the illegal imprisonment of Coptic converts to Islam in churches or monasteries have been rampant both pre- and post-revolution. A woman named Kāmīliyā Shihātah, to be mentioned below, is the cause célèbre in this effort. Following the attack on a church in Baghdad in October of 2010, the Qā'idah declared Coptic Christians to be fair game for attack for this alleged crime. Yet rumors are also rampant that sectarian conflict in Egypt was stoked by the former security forces under the Mubārak regime, which have allegedly continued this policy since his resignation.
The above testimony was provided by two sources directly involved in the evening’s altercation. Independent verification of their testimony is not possible at this time.

Since the attacks public response has been both swift and polarized. Prime Minister Sharaf cancelled a scheduled visit to the Gulf region and called an emergency cabinet meeting. The army has arrested 190 individuals and will try them in military courts. Furthermore, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), currently governing the nation, has threatened the death penalty for anyone found inciting fitnah tā'ifīyah.

Salafī leaders and popular preachers, for their part, labeled attackers ‘thugs, not Muslims’, and fully condemned the action. Similarly, many Imbābah Muslims harshly condemned the action as un-Islamic, and said the thugs were tied to the old regime.

Meanwhile, Copts took to the street to protest. A small group went to the US Embassy to demand a meeting with the US ambassador and ask international protection. A much larger and more representative group began assembling at Maspero, site of the Egyptian Radio and Television headquarters. Here, only a few weeks earlier, thousands of Copts protested over several days to demand official inquiry into an attack on a church in 'Ātfīh, an area to the south of Cairo. Instinctively, following this conflict, they return again.
Along the way they were met with derision and minor attacks from Muslim youths and other ‘thugs’. Once there, a few suffered injuries as stones were thrown upon them from the balconies above. Yet they were joined by significant numbers of Muslims, including fully covered women, declaring that Muslims and Christians in Egypt were ‘one hand’. Eventually, the opposition settled down and the protest is ongoing.
The rumor about the convert to Islam being protected has received more investigation since the initial altercation. Apparently, a woman named 'Abīr from Upper Egypt married a Muslim and adopted his faith. Though not required by Islam it is the near cultural necessity, especially in traditional areas, as both religious groups ostracize members who either convert to another faith or marry outside their faith community. Apparently, 'Abīr later on ran away from her husband, who later received a phone call that she was in hiding near the St. Mina Church in Imbābah. The official version related by the government is that her husband contacted Salafī groups in the area, and asked for their intervention.

Other sources relate that the incident/rumor circulated widely on Facebook and Twitter, identifying the location of the woman by the very street name of the church. The campaign picked up speed, and resulted in large numbers of protestors demanding 'Abīr’s release. Yet to date, no woman fitting this story has been identified at all.

Of consequence is that the social media campaign began a mere hours after Kāmīliyā Shihātah appeared on a foreign Christian satellite program, denying she had ever converted to Islam. Previously, Salafī groups had organized seventeen separate demonstrations to demand her release from the monastery where she was allegedly being held. Pictures appeared of her wearing a hijāb, but may have been easily Photoshopped. Meanwhile the church released a video of her Christian confession, but this was either ignored or dismissed by salafists. Poignantly, she never appeared in a live setting to settle the matter once and for all. That is, until this satellite program, which was announced a day before.

Does this suggest the assault on the church was planned in advance, and that the rumor, however true the story of 'Abīr may be, was constructed to play on the emotions of disturbed salafists reacting to their mistaken fury over Kāmīliyā Shihātah?

This is impossible to ascertain at this point, but the location of Imbābah would have been well chosen as a Cairo neighborhood easily ignited by such a spark. Imbābah is one of the poorer districts of Cairo, hastily and haphazardly constructed in the 1970s following large scale population transfers from Upper Egypt to the city. Basic services such as water, sewage, and paved roads were absent, and the poverty combined with the resurgence of strident religious identity drove many toward extremist Islam. The conditions led local Muslim leaders to declare themselves ‘the Emirate of Imbābah’, which successfully secured practical independence from the state, keeping out all unwanted visitors, including police, for a period of weeks. During this time, there were few Christians in the area at all.

After the police broke the siege and reestablished government control, in the 1980s Egypt cooperated with USAID, an American aid agency, to bolster living conditions. The program was largely successful, improving infrastructure and microenterprise, but was also subject to local criticisms. Over time, Upper Egyptian Christians also relocated to Imbābah, and though there were occasional sectarian tensions between them and Muslims, nothing to the extent of this attack had ever been witnessed before. Yet given that community growth was random in constitution, the centuries-long historical bond between Muslims and Christians in traditional village settings, however tested on occasion, was absent from Imbābah.

What is next? It is too difficult to judge all the different conclusions being paraded. Christians are furious at the police and armed forces for taking so long to contain the violence. Accusations are that they deliberately stood aside, yet it may well be they were simply ill equipped to confront such a large, apparently organized attack in an urban setting. Some in Maspero were heard chanting, similar to the revolutionary cry, ‘the people want the downfall of the general’.

Others say this and other sectarian conflicts have been engineered by forces of counterrevolution. Most major former regime members are in prison, and Mubārak himself was recently cleared by doctors to be interred with them as well. Salafists traditionally and in their theology had always sided with the Mubārak government as being established by God. Assumptions abound that they are heavily financed by Saudi Arabia, which was loath to see an autocratic ally ousted from power, and now under judicial trial. With these allegations, the army could either still be implicitly aligned with the old order even as they ‘protect’ the revolution, or, such incidents are meant as a wedge to drive people against the army, invalidating their popular stand with the revolutionaries. Or, it could simply be the interweaving independent errors of misguided action coalescing into deep conspiracy.

Yet on the side of the Christians there is conspiracy-worthy evidence as well. Why was Kāmīliyā Shihātah silent for so long, only to appear on a foreign, not Egyptian, program? Her lawyer chastised her publically for going against his advice to speak on Egyptian television, and legally with the public prosecutor. This was only days after he procured a photo with her reconciled with her husband, with public documentation he was entitled to speak on her behalf that she was a Christian, never having converted to Islam.

Interestingly, even if irrelevantly, the satellite program she appeared on is produced in the United States, and carries frequent testimonies of Muslim converts to Christianity. Provocation could have been anticipated.
Arab West Report has been able to secure an interview with Kāmīliyā and her husband. She admitted to marital problems which caused her to run away. Likely ashamed, as often occurs in such situations in Upper Egypt, local Christians and perhaps her family instigated protests claiming she was kidnapped by Muslims. This played into a known narrative which Muslims picked up on, then assuming the reality that she did in fact convert to Islam.

As protests about her increased, Kāmīliyā testified she was a Christian online, but this failed to convince the hardened Salafī audience, believing the YouTube video was a fake. She grew and is increasingly terrified for potential violence against her, understandable given the events in Imbābah. All the same, her testimony in this case puts aside the many conspiracy theories surrounding her. She is simply a woman who made a mistake, which amplified exponentially and engulfed a nation.

Yet to return to conspiracy along the same lines, the subsequent Coptic protest at Maspero was their natural destination point. Why then did a few hundred gather at the US Embassy, demanding international protection? This call is consistently rejected by local Christians as being traitorously fatal to their interests as citizens of Egypt. It is heard from Copts abroad, but almost never internally. Simultaneous to their denouncing of the Imbābah attacks, Salafī leaders criticized Copts for appealing to America. Are elements of the Coptic Church or community, perhaps even the United States, also aligned with counterrevolutionary forces?
Or, does all this simply represent the coalescence of error in the midst of confusion? In all likelihood, yes. Deep conspiracy helps to make sense of facts difficult to connect together. Egypt is undergoing significant changes, and these are uncomfortable for all. Conspiracies such as these are on the lips of many, which do not help the effort to foster national unity and democratic development.

Yet it could also be said that once again this tragedy has engendered demonstrations of Muslim support for their Christian kinsmen. The revolution unleashed clear evidence of Muslim-Christian unity from Tahrīr Square, confirming the solidarity witnessed after the church bombing in Alexandria. Then, Muslims around the country surrounded churches and joined Copts inside, willing to die with them should the act be repeated.
Now, Christians are worried that Islam in the hearts of Muslims will ultimately make them side against Christians in times of fitnah. Unfortunately, Imbābah offers evidence of this. Yet even during the hours of attack in Imbābah, groups of Muslims came together in demonstration, proclaiming Muslims and Christians to be ‘one hand’. Post-revolutionary freedom has also unleashed Salafī activity and fervor, threatening the revolution in the eyes of many. Or, could Salafī drum-beating cloud over the essential unity which normal Muslims assert has always been characteristic of Egypt?

Many Egyptians are tired. They have crafted a great revolution but are now running into the realities of their success. Interruption of the national economy has exasperated an already poor multitude. Freedom of expression has brought unwelcome views to the forefront, regardless of perspective. Governance is entrusted to military forces simultaneously valuing stability and seeking to carry out revolutionary demands, all the while having little experience in day to day management and public relations. Political factions argue over issues both major and minor, with consensus rarely apparent.

It is understandable to be tired; yet now more than ever commitment and resolve are necessary. Christians must cling to faith, both in God and their fellow citizens.

Democrats must navigate political streams yet maintain unity in the reconstruction of government. Islamists must curb their quest for influence developed over long years of oppression, while continuing sensibly to shape society as they believe God intends.

Salafists … I don’t know what is needed here; may God guide them as he guides all the above. May each commit to the other as an Egyptian, and refuse to allow legitimate differences to divide them in essentials. Egyptians have always been one people; perhaps there are forces, both internal and external, which seek their unfastening. Yet these are days of opportunity; a great future is before them. May the issues of Imbābah be brought justice in all its forms; may these be the labor pains following a great revolutionary conception. May belief be held that a baby is soon to be celebrated.

Taken from Arab-West Report.

Sectarian clashes break out in Cairo

I am both shocked and saddened to wake up to this news today, although unfortunately this is not the first time to have heard of such incidents. My prior work with Arab-West Report exposed me to many shocking reports of sectarian aggression, either from Muslims against Christians or visa versa.

The underlying current that ties all these stories together however, is not necessarily violence, but rather a lack of awareness and understanding corroborated by vicious rumours and angst. Indeed, even Western media outlets hold blame when it comes to fanning the flames of sectarian tension in cases such as the one from yesterday.

The BBC reports that "At least one person has died in clashes between Coptic Christians and Muslims in Cairo," quoting an Egyptian official. Yet heading over to al-Jazeera, headlines blast that clashes in Cairo killed at least 11. Al-Masri al-Youm in contrast notes figures from the Egyptian Health Ministry quote 10 dead, with over 100 injured. The disparity in figures is not surprising for anyone familiar with previous incidents of sectarian tension in Egypt. Often there is a hidden agenda, with many elements influencing the story to serve one purpose or another. My previous years of work with AWR helped me to understand some of the intricacies involved in people's perceptions of such events. Many Muslims will claim that the number of Copts killed are inflated to help stir up support from expatriate Copts living overseas, primarily in the United States. It is this same group of people that will throw around beliefs that much of the financial aid that comes from the United States, in particular from development projects such as USAID, are funneled into Coptic agencies. This fuels anger; with Copts making up less than 10 percent of the total population in the country, it would not be surprising for people's anger to stir if it were in fact true that most aid went towards Coptic avenues.

These claims however, are mere rhetoric. I have yet to find proof that the majority of any financial aid sent to Egypt goes towards Coptic channels; in fact, when looking into the aid sent by the U.S., it becomes clear that much of it is in fact military aid. Based on figures from 2009, Egypt received a whopping 1.3 billion U.S. dollars in military aid. (Source)

Looking back a few years helps to shed light on how difficult it can be to ascertain accurate figures in sectarian violence in Egypt. One of the more infamous stories of sectarian tension arose with the 2008 attack on the Monastery of Abu Fana.

Abu Fana Monastery is located approximately 210 kilometres south of Cairo, in the province of Minia which has had previously reported incidents of sectarian strife. On May 31, 2008, the Monastery of Abu Fana was attacked by a group of Muslim men, allegedly armed with rifles and sticks. According to reports from the monks within the Monastery, the men proceeded to fire upon the monastery, injuring two, and attacking the walls surrounding the monastery. Photographic evidence would later appear to indicate the level of the damage inflicted upon the monastery.

From the outside, this appears to be a clear cut case of Muslim aggression against an innocent group of men of God. How could it be possible for Monks to have aggravated this attack? Digging back, al-Jazeera's report on the incident makes little mention of possible motivations behind the attack, other than "Muslim residents of the area claim the agricultural land on which the monastery's wall is being built as theirs, and say it is damaging their crops." It further links the attacks on the Monastery to heightened aggression against Copts in the rest of the country, including attacks on a jewelry shop in Cairo.

AWR sent a team to investigate the truth behind the incident, and what was discovered was far from the truth as portrayed by the media. Drs. Cornelis Hulsman noted that many of the religious iconography that was alegedly burned during the fire that was set by the Muslim aggressors, appeared to have been placed after the fact. There was no burn markings around where the pictures would have hung on the walls, indicating that these images and icons were hung and possibly burned after the initial fire.

Alongside this, the causes behind the dispute were not sectarian in nature and instead stemmed from a land dispute. As one report from AWR states:

"Due to the pervasive media reporting both inside Egypt and in the international community, the violent incidents of May 31, 2008 at the Abu Fana Monastery is widely viewed as a sectarian conflict between Christians and Muslims. Though this is not without merit, especially through the subsequent escalation of the tensions, at its core the controversy is a landownership dispute with competing claims from different local actors. Unclear regulation about registration of land led to a situation with two groups maintaining ownership of the same parcels, and the additional aspect of archaeological land and artifacts at an ancient Christian site further completed the issues.

The Muslim villagers claim the right to own the land through traditional “wad al-yad” claims, which demonstrate ownership of previously unused land, if development is evident. The Christian monks claim the right to own the land through traditional “urfi” contracts, with money transacted and signatures affixed, but with no official documentation in the government. Neither of these measures is recognized by the authorities, but since Egyptian laws are unclear and often unenforced, the measures remain in frequent popular use."

Taking the story of Abu Fana as an indication of what happened in the recent clashes in Cairo, let's examine what the claims behind the story are. 

Coptic protesters took to the streets in the city to demonstrate against the burning of a Coptic Church in Helwan, a province in Cairo. They claim this was a clear act of aggression, and immediately sought a resolution to the conflict. 

The Muslims in contrast, claim that the reason they set fire to the church in the first place was in response to a Coptic man attacking the "virtue of a Muslim woman." 

For those unfamiliar with the intricacies of the Islamic faith, here's a brief synopsis. A Muslim man may marry and have relations with either a Jewish or Christian woman. However, a Muslim woman may not have relations with anyone other than a Muslim man. The primary reason behind this lies with the religion that the children will then be brought up. In Islam, the religion is handed down on the paternal side; thus even if a Muslim man marries a Christian woman, their children will automatically be considered Muslim. 

To return to the story. 

For a Muslim woman to have relations with a Christian man is already a difficult situation in Egypt. Particularly when you consider that the backgrounds of the two families involved are likely to be very traditional. It is simply unacceptable to consider the possibility that the woman had relations with the Christian man of her own volition. It is simply easier to say that she was pushed into the affair, and take retribution on her behalf. Now even if it were true that this woman's virtue was somehow violated, it should never be responded to with an act of aggression against a house of God. This is the saddest underlying fact in the whole story, that to respond to alleged violations a group of Muslim men set fire to a church. This goes against what became a prevalent undercurrent of the Egyptian Revolution - Images of Christian men standing guard while their Muslim counterparts performed the Friday prayers, further images of Muslim youth protecting Christian churches during the violence and looting. 

Where has this sense of camaraderie disappeared to, and who has really stoked the fire of sectarian tension. These should be the questions on people's minds, not an immediate call for retribution. Not an immediate indication of sectarian violence and a return of hatred between Muslims and Christians. The youth here have already demonstrated their very evident appreciation and respect of each others faith - who is being served by creating this atmosphere of unease? 

The youth have responded again to these "sectarian crimes" and have called for a peaceful march of solidarity on Friday to express their solitude with both the Coptic and the Muslim victims of these acts of aggression. More information can be found here.

My only hope is that people do not jump to conclusions, or believe the hype raised about such events. When alleged crimes of a sectarian nature erupt in Egypt, it is always wise to look a little deeper than the surface before coming to any conclusions.