The 11 articles below were first published in the Copts Digest and the Coptic Daily Digest between September 14 and November 10, 1999. I have no plans to write more on this subject in the Copt Digest because I have little more to add and the Digest may not be the perfect place for it. Most responses were shallow and not serious. Also the clergy who have the power usually choose to be silent till the issue is forgotten. I will be happy if you can publish all what you can, because the issue is a threat to the survival of the Coptic Church and still it is not taken seriously.
Dr. Rodolph Yanney, M.D.
January 9, 2001
Editor RNSAW:
The discussion around Awan el-Ward showed the difficulties around Muslim men marrying Christian women and conversions to Islam. We are therefore grateful for Dr. Rodolph Yanney’s permission to publish his articles on conversions to Islam in the RNSAW. The 11 articles of Dr. Yanney were interspersed by responses from Coptic readers on the Copts Digest and the Coptic Daily Digest. We have brought them together in one text, making each article one chapter in his report. Coptic readers who responded wrote in English, a language which is not their own. We have corrected spelling errors but did not further edit their language.
Dr. Rodolph Yanney (71) is a retired physician internist and President of the Society of Coptic Church Studies and founder and editor of Coptic Church Review in 1980 (now in its 22nd year). Dr. Yanney studied medicine at Cairo University, graduated in 1952 and obtained three post graduate diplomas (in Internal Medicine, Cardiology and Pediatrics). In 1968 he emigrated to the USA. Dr. Yanney is a member of The American Medical Association and of the North American Society for Patristic Studies. He is also a Fellow of the American College of Physicians. Dr. Yanney’s work in the field of patristic studies made him one of the most well known members of the Coptic Orthodox Church in the USA.
Dr. Yanney borrows heavily from a report Drs. Cornelis Hulsman, editor-in-chief of the RNSAW, wrote for the New York Council of Churches on conversions to Islam. His report called "Forced Conversions or Not? - RNSAW, 1999, week 26, art. 37 - was written in response to two full page advertisements in the Washington Times of May 25 and June 30, 1999 asking President Mubarak, shortly before his visit to the US, to "Stop the Kidnapping, Rape, and Forced-Conversion of Young Coptic Christian Girls." The advertisements had been sponsored by eight Coptic organizations in the US, Canada, Australia, Great Britain, France and Germany." Hulsman’s report undermined the claims that Christian girls are physically forced to convert to Islam for which he was attacked in the Copts Digest and Coptic Daily Digest. Dr. Yanney, however, took another approach and checked Hulsman’s information on the factors leading to conversion with several Coptic sources which led to the report below.
Editorial Board RNSAW
On the Occasion of the Feast of Nayruz
THE OTHER SIDE OF PERSECUTION
1. Conversion to Islam:
The feast of Nayruz is usually a very happy celebration that commemorates the triumph of the martyrs, these true witnesses, whose blood has been described as the seeds of the Church. It is the feast of their passage from this world, crowned and carried on the wings of angels to heaven where Christ himself will wipe up all their tears. The joy of the feast is reflected here on earth in the different ways the Copts celebrate it, from the celebration of the Divine Liturgy, and singing the doxologies of the varies martyrs, to the tradition of eating dates and cakes and having various drinks.
It is time to remember that the story of persecution is not always that happy. History has repeatedly shown us that in most eras of persecution, the number of those who deserted their faith has far exceeded the number of martyrs. We always hear about the martyrs who have refused all offers of worldly wealth, power, or marriage to high officials if they deny Christ. But we rarely care to read about the thousands and thousands who failed to witness for their faith, preferring better to accept the kingdom of this world from Satan than to carry their cross and follow their Lord.
I do not intend to speak past history today. The sad stories of Copts deserting their faith nowadays are numerous. As in the case of Judas, Christ is easily sold for silver, or even for lust as in the following sad and real story that came at my request from a representative of ’Coptic Orphans’ in Egypt:
"Here is the story of the conversion of Marina’s father. I met Marina and gave her a gold cross; she was very happy to have it. I told her when you succeed in 3rd grade we will give you the chain for it. Marina’s father never went to church; there was no problem between him and her mother. The terrorist organization made friends with him and brought him a woman to marry her. He suddenly disappeared from work. The organization hid him somewhere where nobody could reach him. The mother looked everywhere to find him and persuade him to return back. She went to a senator at ’Magles Elshaab’ to find a way to return him back. The senator advised her that if she could find where he was he might try to push him to return. Then one day the police called the mother and her brothers to make them sign a statement promising that they would not override him nor harm him in any way, and that she had to leave his house. The mother left the house with Marina and she now stays where we found her together with her daughter.. That has affected the child very much. She is usually sad. Her health deteriorated, and she became anemic. She cannot play much with the children. Her gait was affected; she frequently falls down and hurts her legs". (PUBLISHED IN COPT N NET DIGEST & COPTIC DAILY DIGEST ON SEPTEMBER 14, 1999)
2 - The Escalating NUMBER OF CONVERSIONS TO ISLAM:
On March 8, 1999 I read a posting on the Internet authored by Mr. Nabil Abdel-. Malek, President of the Canadian Egyptian Organization for Human Rights, that says:
"The issue of the conversion of Copts to Islam or Islamization must be studied from all angles: religious, psychological, economic and legal. Time has come for the Coptic Church, in particular and the whole community as scientific body to study this problem which is sapping the community for centuries."
Since then I was trying in vain to gather information about the real size and gravity of the problem. The only statistics I got was in the report presented by the Dutch reporter, Kees Hulsman, in the report he presented to the New York Council of Churches on June 28 this year. He says:
"The number of Christians converting to Islam is very large. Except for figures within the Ministry of Interior (which are not available to the public) no statistics exist. (Non Orthodox) Church leaders, however, estimate the number of converts to be thousands a year. The highest estimates mentioned were around 15,000 to 20,000 per year. Various church leaders give estimates varying from a few thousand per year to even 20.000 per year. ... The Orthodox bishops I spoke to wouldn’t give any other estimates than saying it is ’several thousands’. Several years ago I went to the Azhar, the committee where the conversions are registered. They have a book in which they register all conversions through the Azhar which is an estimated 1000 per year. But the Azhar is not the only place where conversions take place"
These are the only statistics that I could gather in the last 6 months in order to estimate the size of the problem. For those readers who do not trust Mr. Hulsman’s
estimates, I just ask, please give me more correct figures. However, I had to wait for more first hand information before writing this posting, Knowing that "Coptic Orphans" is the typical society that works directly and personally in Egypt and does not just collect money for Egypt, I asked them if they have any statistics about the children they work with, and how many children have a parent who converted to Islam. I mention the figures here, hoping that one of the readers who works with statistics can tell us how serious the problem is and what it is heading to:
* "I went through my database of 1400 children and have found 67 children who have been effected by a conversion. That means either their father (predominately) or mother has converted (4.8%)."
* "One more note, as I was researching, I found that more and more of these cases have come at the end of the database, which means as time goes on, it will become a larger percentage."
* "I reviewed the data for 1998. We added 371 new children. Of those, 22 children are effected by a parent converting (6%)"
I see that the problem is escalating and can only conclude with the same words of Mr.. Abd-el-Malek, "The issue of the conversion of Copts to Islam must be studied from all angles: religious, psychological, economic and legal. Time has come for the Coptic Church, in particular and the whole community as scientific body to study this problem which is sapping the community for centuries." (Published in CN NET & Digest on September 15, 1999)
3 - Causes and Background of Conversion To Islam:
As a physician I think that once the cause (etiology) of a disease is discovered, it is usually the first step in combating it and preventing its spread. Otherwise we will be giving symptomatic treatment that may not prevent the inevitable outcome of the disease nor its spread in an epidemic form. I do not know if social scientists will agree with me but this is the only way I can discuss the serious problem that the Church is facing with the escalating conversions in Egypt. Being away from Egypt for so many years, I have to depend upon the vision of others who have observed the problem first-hand, or studied it more closely. I start with thanking Dr. William Hanna who has recently visited Egypt and discussed in detail, on the Coptic Daily Digest of September 19, his findings and his insights on the problem. Also I thank Mr. Nabil Abdel-.Malek, President of the Canadian Egyptian Organization for Human Rights, who in a personal letter enlightened me more on the subject. Also again I have to refer to the report of the Dutch reporter, Mr. Kees Hulsman, which he presented to the New York Council of Churches last June.
From all these sources together with my study of the early Church, when the blood of the martyrs was described by Tertullian (second century) as the seed of faith, I find that the escalating conversion to Islam in the present persecution in Egypt can be attributed to the following factors (in order):
1. Inadequate Christian Teaching
2. Economic Factors
3. Family problems, love and divorce
4. Social pressure and intimidation at work and in school
I hope to study these factors and how to face them in detail, one by one, God willing, starting to morrow. Dr. William Hanna mentioned another factor, "Dissatisfaction with conditions in our church either at a local level or at the higher levels." However, although this is a serious problem that causes the loss of numerous members from the Coptic Orthodox Church, yet all of them go to other Christian churches not to Islam.
(PUBLISHED IN CN NET & DIGEST ON SEPTEMBER 23, 1999)
4 - Inadequate Christian Teaching and Its Relation to the Crisis of Conversion
Although the lack of Christian teaching was not mentioned by any of my sources as one of the causes of conversion, yet in their discussion it has been stated that it is an essential underlying factor that has a role in all conversions. Mr. Hulsman states in his report on conversion, "Most girls who ran away were not very religious. Their Christian faith was not very deeply rooted. This situation combined with one or more of the other factors (poverty, work environment, family problems, love, divorce or pressure) make conversion to Islam very easy." Mr. Nabil A. Malek says, "There are external reasons that push (coerce) people out of their religion, and there are other internal reasons that make people leave religions without pressure. The main reason among the latter ones is the irrelevance of religion to life and logic.... We need to know enough about true Islam and we need to live true Christianity. Once we reach such a state, then we shall relive a strong Christian life similar to that of the early Christian communities where Christianity would be expanding naturally and not shrinking under any circumstance."
One who is adequately trained in the Christian life by teachers who are truly Christian will not desert his faith under any circumstances. The best example is the Church in the first three centuries, where the ’teacher’ was one of the main offices of the Church and is listed in the New Testament as next in importance only to the Apostles and Prophets (1 Cor. 12: 28). Persecution led to the increase in the number of Christians. This happened under much more adverse circumstances. The economic factor was far worse than what we have now. The early converts to Christianity, according to their contemporary historians, were slaves and manual workers. The external pressures were more severe.
-Yet we had teachers who taught the people by their example before their words. We had teachers who really sacrificed themselves (not only their time) for their disciples. Among these I just mention two examples. Origen had several martyrs among his students in the School of Alexandria. Among those were the famous St. Potamiena and her mother St. Marcella. Origen used to support his students till the last moment, he was even present at the time of their martyrdom. The other example is that of St. Saturus of Carthage, who deliberately declared himself a Christian before the judge after seven men and women who had converted through his ministry were arrested. He died with them as a martyr when they were all thrown to the wild beasts in 203 AD.
Earlier in this century the Coptic Church lived a real spiritual revival when we had many spiritual leaders, whether clergy or laymen and lay women. In many churches, in Cairo and Alexandria the weekly youth meetings were attended by over 500 hundred. We had committed and learned Sunday school teachers. What do we have now? It is more than enough to mention two sad examples. The first is described in a leading article in Sunday school magazine, "The Church and the Challenge of Youth Service’ (December 1998). I translate here parts of it:
"We have observed lately that a lot of our young people frequent spiritual meetings in non- orthodox places. We are anxious about this phenomenon and cannot ignore the fact that it is increasing. We call for its study and analysis so that we may be able to find its real causes and work at taking care of any mistake in our youth service. ... These young people just want to attend meetings directed towards the youth and prepared specifically for them in order to satisfy their spiritual desires. While they do not deny their admiration for them, yet they express their sorrow that their Church does not have such meetings. These youths are then faithful to their God and their Church. We may even be shocked by the bitter fact: that some of these are Sunday School teachers and youth leaders in our churches!"
This is only a part of the editorial in the magazine that led the Church revival since its first issue 55 years ago. I receive each issue of the magazine. However, in the last 8 months since the article was published, I have never seen any comment or even objection. Doesn’t anybody care?
I conclude with a sad story, which probably everybody may have known. It happened in Alexandria several years ago in St. George Church of Sporting, Alexandria, the Church that has seen the pillars of our revival-Blessed Fr. Bishoi Kamel and both Father Tadrus Malaty and Father Luka Sidaros. After leaving the Egyptian prison in the eighties, the latter two have been prevented from serving in their Church at Sporting by the order of the government. They now serve in America. Now we come to our sad part of the story. One day everybody was shocked to hear that the Sunday School Superintendent at St. George Church had converted to Islam. As a pharmacist she worked in a pharmacy owned by a Moslem. Everything looked normal to her friends, colleagues and students. She just suddenly disappeared from church. Then it was known that she had converted to Islam and married the Moslem pharmacist. This is the kind of spiritual leader we now have. "If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!" (Matt. 6: 23)
If we really want to do something in order to stop the escalating conversions to Islam in our Church, something has to be done for the crisis in Christian education and discipleship- a question and challenge for all the Church. (Copt Net on September 24, 1999)
Moheb Wadie responded on Copt Net, September 26:
Dear Rodolph Yanney,
The message of 24 September contains a story of one of the church servants turned to Islam, but I want to say first- the girl is not from St. George Sporting church but from another church in Alexandria, secondly -she was a young servant there.....third this story was treated badly from all media. The details are well known all over. Condemnation is the main language instead of praying lastly it is very rare story happened in a very special circumstances
Moheb Wadie
5 - Inadequate Christian Teaching and Its Relation to the Crisis of Conversion-Second Part: The Magnitude of the Problem
"That there may be no discord in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together" (1 Cor. 12: 24-26)
I have to interrupt my series on the problem of conversion to Islam in the Coptic Orthodox Church in order to address several important issues that were raised in the mail that I recently received, some of it in my personal mail. First, a letter from the US, objects to my sad story about the Sunday School teacher who converted to Islam in Alexandria, saying, "The girl is not from St. George Sporting Church but from another Church in Alexandria; secondly she was a young servant there, third this story was treated badly from all media. The details are well known all over. Condemnation is the main language instead of praying. Lastly it is a very rare story that happened in very special circumstances."
I am not going to argue with the dear brother about the details, which I got from several sources in Alexandria as far as I recalled them. Let us assume that his version of the story is right. Still we have a sister in Christ, a part of the Church, his Body, who went astray. With what we know of our Lord, He will not condemn her. He rather speaks to her in His loving tone, as when on his way to the Cross after a night of trial and sufferings, He forgot his pain and agony in order to address the women who bewailed and lamented him, and He said, ""Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. (Luke 23: 28).
Still she is an example of the crisis of teaching in our Church, even if she was a young teacher. Who will trust his children to be taught by her? Whether it is ’a very rare story that happened in very special circumstances’, let us hear how things are happening in Egypt as I have in a letter I received from there three days ago in response to my previous posting:
"I’ve noticed that no single case of conversion to Islam happened among Catholics or Protestant Christians in Egypt. That is not because Catholic and Protestant Christians are true believers in contrast to us as Orthodox, but it’s at least due to the very close supervision exerted by the Catholic Clergy and the Protestant pastors over their people. Definitely, being minority made such close supervision easier.
"In the last 25 years there is a definite change in the style of our Bishops and Priests. We have a good percentage of highly educated Bishops in contrast to the older poorly educated ones; and we now have a majority of priests that are not financially dependent on their own way of collecting money from Christian families. Also we now have a number of Bishoprics, which is at least three times their number in the Days of Pope Kyrrillos VI. Also we have hundred folds the number of teachers and preachers. ...
"How many priests have our Fr. Bishoy Kamel as their super ego? This father never gave way till he spent every possible drop of tears, sweat and even blood to restore a missed lamb and I know personally a very dramatic and successful story in this regard. How many of our Clergy are Christ-like in front of their people?
"Believe me that 100 % of Copts attending churches are guided to their churches driven by their own motives. Nearly no single one goes to the Church because one caught him or her to repent and lead a Christian life. At the same time, all Church programs are presented to those already attending the Church. Hundreds of thousands of Copts never attend the Church and no one asks for them. You may find 1000 Copts attending a liturgy or a spiritual meeting, Don’t be happy because there are 100 folds of this number who don’t know their right hand from the left.
"Our Church is very rich and can guide the whole world to Jesus under just one condition- ’the Guide of the Spirit’. So now you find the Church meetings very feeble and never energetic. So one goes out of the meeting definitely as one gets in without any kind of revival. That is why you said those many of our young men and women leave the Church to other non-traditional Churches. There they find very complementary studies of the Bible, very close supervision by pastors and very frequent home visits for a missed member.
"In this poorly served environment, a good percentage of Copts have little if any adherence to the Church. They are isolated islands inside a very stormy ocean,
alone found among multiple problems without the light of God. Poverty, lack of job[s], lack of guidance, poor knowledge of their rights in Christ and many other
factors make Christianity for them an unhonorable religion that carries only weaker chances of good living. Here the way is paved for the coming storm. Islam, that has caught millions of victims through conquests and sword. is now gaining a very good chance to catch a new victim every day without swords".
This was only a part of the letters I received from Egypt.
Kamal NC responded on September 21 2000 in the Copts Digest to Dr. Yanney’s writing under the title: "Important Comment: Need for Apologetics Against Islam; The Decline of Coptic Christianity in Egypt"
This is in reference to Dr. R. Yanney’s posting on the problem of conversion of Copts to Islam in Egypt. He highlighted inadequate Christian teaching as one of the causes of the present wave of conversions. I would like to amplify that. One of the most important
aspects of this problem, which distresses me greatly, is the fact that our beloved Coptic Orthodox Church does not have an official synodal position or official teaching on Islam. In fact, some of the ordained Coptic servants in the West look at Islam as something they have left behind. It is nothing they need to confront and be concerned about!
The importance of a declared synodal position is that it expresses the official teaching of the Church. It is the first step in teaching and warning the flock of Christ about the falsehood of Islam. I am not sure that all our ordained clergy know about the falsehood of Islam because of the absence of an official position, and because our seminaries do not teach apologetics against Islam. It is extremely important to teach the flock of Christ that, contrary to the false claim of Muhammad (Sura 29:46), the God of Christianity and the god of Islam are not the same god, as their attributes are very different. Muhammad rejects both the Holy Trinity and the divinity of Christ (Sura 112:1-3; 4:171c; 5:17a). Unlike the God of Christianity, the god of Islam is a distant impersonal god, who is changeable (Sura 2:106). The God of Christianity is immutable, loving and compassionate. The list of contradictions is too long and irreconcilable. Some western scholars conclude that the god of Islam is the pagan moon god if Quraish, Muhammad’s tribe, whose symbol was, and still is, the crescent moon, which is used atop the minarets of the mosques and in the national flags of some Muslim countries.
Additionally, the flock of Christ needs to learn that Islam does not lead to salvation and it is not an easy way to the materialistic sinful carnal paradise of Muhammad--a paradise that glorifies gluttony and polygamy (Sura 52:17-20); and that Muhammad is a false prophet (in fact, the Greek Fathers, beginning with St. John of Damascus, identified him as the
forerunner of the antichrist).
One of the important functions of the Church’s teaching is to proclaim the truth publicly for all to know and learn. The Church is like a lighthouse in the middle of the dark ocean. The truth she declares is like the light of the lighthouse, which warns the passing ships in the darkness of the night from rocks hidden beneath the surface of the waters. If we prevent the light of the lighthouse from shining, it would not serve any useful purpose anymore, and the passing ships will hit rocks, break apart and sink in the ocean’s darkness (Mt. 5:15). I have never heard a Coptic priest or preacher warning about the falsehood of Islam in Sunday schools, in Sunday sermons or in church meetings. It is as if Islam is not a threat to the body of Christ in Egypt and in the West. The sad reality is that Christianity in Egypt has declined under Islam from 100% majority religion in the seventh century to 15% minority religion at the present time. Perhaps, the Holy Spirit would, if we permit Him, use this remnant that did not bow down to the Baal as the leaven that leavens the house of Egypt and restores it back to Christ.
The sad result of not warning about the falsehood of Islam is that, as we hear, several thousand Copts convert to Islam in Egypt every year. Perhaps, many of these converts may not be saved even if taught and warned about the apostasy of Islam, because they lack true commitment to Christ. Christ is not borne in them. However, some may be saved if warned in advance (Lk 15: 4-7; Ezek 33: 7-9). The Lord cries out with tears in His eyes: "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge" (Hos. 4: 6a; Isa. 5:13a).
Our paradigm for the bold public declaration of the truth without fear is the great OT prophet Elijah the Tishbite who declared out loud atop mount Carmel for all to see and hear the falsehood of Baal worship which had stumbled many Israelites. His forceful words and actions, supported by the power of our living God, brought them back to the Lord in repentance (1 Kings 18:17-41). Truly, one man with God form the majority. As a result, Elijah became a persecuted fugitive fleeing in the wilderness to save his life from the threats of the wicked queen Jezebel, who had introduced the Baal worship in Israel, until the Lord took him out of earth in the fiery chariot.
The crisis of conversions calls for the mobilization of the whole church: clergy, monks and laity. A fasting and prayer vigil needs to be declared throughout the church asking for divine intervention. The vocation of the monk is continual prayer. Our monks need to be directed to offer daily prayers at the same time in all our monasteries that the Lord may protect and strengthen His church and make her grow and increase. This vigil is to continue until the last Muslim in Egypt is restored back to Christ.
One of the main concepts in Orthodox theology is God-man synergism. Examples for that concept abound. The Church is a divine-human organism united without confusion and without division. The holy Scriptures are divine-human work. A new child is a divine-human work, as his parents provide his body, and God provides his rational soul. Although sometimes God chooses to act alone, His predominant economy in this dispensation is to act in synergism with man. Therefore, in order that a divine intervention takes place, we must act: fast, pray, teach, warn, account, evangelize, etc. We must take away the stone first (Jn. 11:39).
The synod of the mobilized church needs to account the clergy for the flock entrusted to them. A priest of a parish that suffers major losses in its flock to Islam should be accounted, trained, rehabilitated, and finally suspended if he does not improve.
An important part of the teaching effort is establishing Coptic schools in Egypt. All the charitable work undertaken by the various Coptic charitable organizations is worthy and important. In fact, we need more of it. However, it is important to point out that caring for the intellectual needs of a person is as important as caring for his physical needs, because "man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God" (Mt. 4:4). The human being is body and intellect/spirit united in one whole. In fact, man’s intellect is what survives his bodily death. Therefore, I do urge Coptic educators to establish charities that set up Coptic schools in Egypt in order to care for the intellectual needs of the Coptic children and youth, and protect them from being forced to learn the Qur’an that blasphemes Christ our Lord and the Holy Trinity; and to teach them something about Coptic
history.
We do all these things in full confidence and faith that our mighty sovereign Lord is always triumphant. After all, we stand on the divine promise of Isa. 19:19-25.
In Christ,
KAMAL NC
6- Again The Magnitude of the Problem: Denial Will Not Help
"A patient who admits that he is sick is easier to treat"
St. Isaac the Syrian
I am happy to receive a lot of input concerning the serious problem the Church is facing. Except for those in Egypt who may have some reason to keep their names private, I think it is much better to speak on the net about a general issue that is painful to all true members in the one Body of Christ. It is not a personal issue; all the Church has to seek a solution. It is not the responsibility of a single segment of the Church. On the other hand, we cannot throw all blame upon those who convert; they may be victims of circumstances beyond their power to change (teaching, pastoral care, poverty, etc.). It is actually a social, or more exactly a corporate sin. When the prophet Daniel called God during the Babylonian captivity, he first confessed his sin and the sin of all the Israelites, including their leaders,
"Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by prayer and supplications with fasting and sackcloth and ashes. I prayed to the LORD my God and made confession, saying, "O Lord, the great and terrible God, who keepest covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, we have sinned and done wrong and acted wickedly and rebelled, turning aside from thy commandments and ordinances; we have not listened to thy servants the prophets, who spoke in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land. To thee, O Lord, belongs righteousness, but to us confusion of face, as at this day, to the men of Judah, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to all Israel, those that are near and those that are far away, in all the lands to which thou hast driven them, because of the treachery which they have committed against thee. To us, O Lord, belongs confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee. (Daniel 9: 3- 8).
There are two points that need to be addressed in one of the letters I recently received:
1. First Point-"CATHOLICS ARE NOT UNDER THE PRESSURE LIKE COPTS AND THEY HAVE A LOT OF CONVERSIONS TO ISLAM ALSO (MARRIAGE REASONS)."....
To reach such a conclusion, we need reliable statistics, or at least the witness of people who have studied the facts in Egypt. Beside the letter I published in my last entry on the subject I have Hulsman’s report to the New York Council of Churches (June, 1999) that says:
"Most converts are Orthodox girls converting to Islam. This can be found in all denominations: Orthodox, Protestant and Catholic but BY FAR MOST CONVERTS TO ISLAM IN EGYPT ARE ORTHODOX. That is no wonder since approximately 90% of all Christians in Egypt belong to the Coptic Orthodox Church and THE ORTHODOX CHURCH HAS A LARGER SHARE AMONG THE POOR than the Protestant and Catholic churches."
1. Second Point in the letter- "IF OUR LORD WANTS THAT THESE PEOPLE NEVER LEAVE HE CAN /BUT IT IS FOR HIS GLORY."
This is a dogmatic statement, but is it Orthodox? It reflects the doctrine of ’predestination,’ started by St. Augustine in the fifth century. This doctrine limits the free will, which God has given to all people. All Orthodox churches do not believe in predestination. Although the Catholic Church as well as all Western churches followed Augustine in the Middle Ages, things have now changed in these Churches. Most Catholic theologians now refuse this dogma and include it among other mistakes of Augustine, now given the term ’Augustinianism’. Only Calvinists now believe in it. The doctrine is not biblical, "... God our Savior who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.... " (1 Tim. 2: 3,4). Leaving theology aside for the theologians, the statement as I understand it, ’This is the will of God that these people to convert to Islam, it is for his glory (I do not understand how). Our job is to do nothing!’.
Some weeks ago a friend of mine sent me a lot of documents, birth certificates, signed statements of accepting the Islamic faith, copies of personal cards, many lists of names of Christians converting on different dates. It needs a real historian to extract the facts, which will be recorded after us about this generation and what it has done to the Coptic Orthodox Church, the Church of the Martyrs! I hope to find time to read through these documents before my next posting.
7 - Dealing with the First and Basic Factor in the Escalating Conversion- the Crisis in Christian Education and Discipleship
First I have to admit that I do not have a magic bullet to solve a problem that others more competent than me have failed to solve. I am going to offer my two mites in the treasury of the Church praying that God may bless them for the benefit of his kingdom.
It has been my belief for some time that the spiritual revival lived by our Church earlier in this century has stagnated, and now we, as well as our children, are reaping what we ourselves have planted. The revival has lost direction in several aspects. I will mention the two that are related to the issue at hand:
1- THE BUILDING OF GREAT CHURCHES, CATHEDRALS, AND MONASTERIES RATHER THAN THE BUILDING OF HIS PEOPLE, THE REAL HOUSE OF GOD
Millions of dollars are spent on building while very little (even nothing) is spent on making curricula or hiring dedicated teachers or youth leaders. I know of many young people (in Egypt and in the Diaspora) who have high degrees in religious studies, and who have experience in teaching and I think such people can fill the vacuum if any church is willing to ask their service.
1- FATE OF THE LITURGICAL REVIVAL
The great liturgical revival started by the late Pope Kyrillos VI, with the stress on public prayers, fasting, visiting the monasteries and the tombs of the martyrs- all this has deteriorated in a new generation that took only the external aspects of the rites due to ’lack of teachers filled with the Spirit of God’ (I am here quoting a phrase from a recent letter I received from Egypt). Even the angelic Church Hymns have deteriorated to what is called ’Choral’, a heterogeneous mixture of Church music and worldly songs. Many churches in Egypt, I hear, have theatres inside the Church buildings. Stories of the martyrs have become the theme of movies produced by some Coptic churches in Egypt. I can understand if such thing is done by commercial professionals, but to have it done by bishops or priests and on church premises is something that I have not seen in any other Church even in the West.
I have not seen Egypt for decades. However because I believe in the ONE Church I am going to describe the condition as I see it here in most places in America. Readers in Egypt have to correct me if things are different. Although the churches are more than full, with the majority of people participating in Communion, yet the time for real teaching the word of God whether in the sermons or Sunday School is limited. It is exceptional to hear a real commentary on the Word of God. Most sermons consist of the same repeated moral lessons without touching the spiritual meaning of the verses that can help the hearer open his heart for the real Word himself. I heard a sermon in one of our major feasts, given by a visiting priest from Egypt, that did not have any reference to the feast or to the Scripture read. Its title was one of the Christian virtues. The same thing happens in many of the church magazines that reach me, whether in Arabic or English. It is also a tragedy that in many churches, the time for teaching or learning the Word is very limited. We have more time for festivities, exhibitions and social gathering.
When it comes to Sunday School. I rarely see a good teachers’ meeting. In many cases it is spent on administrative matter. Very few teachers have their personal spiritual reading or even regular Bible study. They do not have the time for preparing their lessons. I have traveled from east to west, and in most places the teachers always ask for a curriculum with prepared lessons. All the curricula I have seen are translated from Arabic, from sources written two or more decades back with a complete lack of the history or the teaching of our important Fathers who were the teachers of the whole world in the third, fourth and fifth centuries. Sometimes there are historical or even theological mistakes.
Before concluding the issue of Christian education I must stress that it should not be restricted to information that fills the minds of people without actual change of heart. The last commandment of Christ before his ascension was ’make disciples of all nations’ Christianity is a life in which we are all the disciples of Christ. This should be the ultimate aim of any Christian teacher whether he is a bishop, presbyter, lay preacher, youth leader or Sunday School teacher. This should be the aim of every pastoral visit, it is not just a social gathering or a feast as we see now. The people assigned to us should not learn and study material to fill their minds, nor should we make them mirror images of ourselves. The aim is that they should know Christ and be his disciples. They will then follow him to the Cross in stead of the mass conversion to Islam we are now seeing. I know that many priests spend a lot of time in useless efforts with couples who are in the last stages of divorce, or with kids on drugs, or a young man or woman already filing to change their religion. Again, using medical terms, prophylaxis is far better than cure. Some of my relatives told me that the district of Minshiah (in Assiut), which had a great majority of Christians, has now become almost completely Moslem. If a Christian priest ventures to enter it he is greeted from his previous flock by insults, if not worse.
In conclusion, if we really want to do something in order to stop the escalating conversions to Islam in Egypt, or the parallel phenomenon in the Diaspora of youth and grown-up people deserting our Church, first something has to be done for the crisis in Christian education and discipleship- a question and challenge for all the Church.
8 - THE ECONOMIC FACTOR
"Thus says the LORD: For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment; because they sell the righteous for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes - they that trample the head of the poor into the dust of the earth, and turn aside the way of the afflicted (Amos 2:6,7).
I have been calling for the economic help of Egypt’s’ Copts in ’Al-Resalah’ since 1991. Since that time the Episcopate for Social Affairs has expanded its programs and several societies have been formed by the Copts in the Diaspora to help their brethren in Egypt. Conscientious and capable people lead the episcopate and the societies, yet the economical problems of Egypt’s Copts have deteriorated since then.
In Hulsman’s report to the New York Council of Churches about Coptic Conversion to Islam, he says, "The most striking element that stands out in many stories is poverty. A church worker in an industrial area of greater Cairo, who had seen tens of Christians to Islam and who had spoken about it with other church workers, estimated that 60% of those who converted to Islam were suffering from poverty."
Dr. William Hanna gives more detail from his recent visit to Egypt:
"I was in Egypt recently (May ’99). I heard many complaints from families and individuals in the middle class (mostly college educated). Prices of many life essentials are outpacing income (Food, Medicine, Appliances, Cars, Mobile Phones. etc.) To get married requires a place to live; the cost of purchasing an average apartment, since rent is almost non-existent, sky rocketed from 20,000-30,000 in the mid 80’s to ten times that much. The financial help coming from abroad is still too small to face the problem and give effective solutions. There are also situations of men in debt. The debts sometimes far exceed what a relief organization can offer, ... you understand the dilemma Here; we are being a "Dollar Short and a Day Late!"
To my understanding the problems of Egypt’s Copts are far bigger than what can be handled by dispersed organizations working independently. ’Coptic Orphans’ has been trying for years to make some type of relation between the different Coptic societies, and also with other international social organizations that can contribute to their work in Egypt. But so far the response for co-operation is weak. Still we hear of many poor or even middle class Copts who cannot handle situations like sickness, marriage costs, the need of an apartment, education of children, etc. These fall victims to Islamic extremists who have the money to offer the help.
Another forgotten group are the thousands of Copts displaced from Imbaba and upper Egypt, most of whom are women and children who live in huts, caves or tin rooms with inadequate support for children education, or medical help or other necessities for a decent life.
Also the economical problem is entangled to and complicated by other factors. Unless these are addressed, enormous efforts at material help will be useless. This is like trying to pour water into a big tank that has many holes in it. I mention two factors, but there may be others:
1- Political factors. Apparently we are completely ignoring, even looking with a blind eye at the fact that we are facing a real persecution that is well organized and prepared for decades:
* No body can deny that Coptic Christians are discriminated against in getting government positions. ’Watany’ has mentioned the details of many cases of this sort.
* Also it has been observed that Egyptian villages with predominantly Christian population are discriminated against in establishing government-sponsored schools.
* In certain cases aid sent to Christian charity foundations has been stopped by the Egyptian customs.
1- The new trend by some major companies in Egypt, when advertising for vacant positions, to state that Christians should not apply. Discrimination has been always with us for years; but making it public like that is not discrimination. This is a crime against the national unity
IS THERE A SOLUTION?
Of course there is if we are serious. It is beyond my capability to offer a comprehensive solution, but one should be sought by all the dispersed societies and organizations working among the Egyptian poor. I only offer a few suggestions:
* The political factors that enhance the problem should not be ignored. These should be handled by the politicians both in Egypt (Al Maglis El-Milly) and in the Diaspora, Copts and non-Copts. As Christians we do not think politics. However, Christ gave a role for politics when ordered us to give Caesar what is due to him. Persecution is a political and human rights problem. It is a sin against God to stand in the way of people trying to work for the persecuted by peaceful means.
* Instead of building churches in the Diaspora (and even in Egypt) that cost millions of dollars we have to remember that, ’the Most High does not dwell in houses made with hands’ (Acts 7: 48). The house of God is the Body of Christ (John 3: 21), composed of living stones, his people.
* The social work societies in the Diaspora have to organize and work more seriously; using paid full time employees especially in Egypt. Their responsibility is not just to collect money and pour it into irresponsible hands.
THE OTHER SIDE OF PERSECUTION: Question
Before writing about the social problems that lead to conversion to Islam I found that I need help regarding a statement about Egypt in the U.S. Department of State Annual Report on International Religious Freedom for 1999:
·" There is no legal requirement for a Christian girl or woman to convert to Islam in order to marry a Muslim. If a Coptic woman marries a Muslim man, she is excommunicated by the Church."
This statement may make common sense but I wonder from where did the Department of State get this information. I have been trying hard to find any ancient Church canon or ancient tradition that supports this statement. My knowledge about the Church laws after the patristic period is rather limited. Is there a rule or a canon like that in the Coptic Orthodox Church and how old is it? We want to hear Church Tradition and not an interpretation of an unrelated Bible verse, nor a dogmatic statement in a modern book without any reference from Church tradition.
We need answer from dogmatic theologians and from the state department itself from where did they get this information.
9 - Social Problems
We come now to the third, factor in the threatening situation of conversion of Copts in Egypt to Islam. All the social problems can be discussed and a solution becomes at hand if we have an answer to a single question- WHAT HAPPENED TO THE COPTIC FAMILY?
All I can do here is to define the problem and illustrate it through examples from the many letters I have recently received either from Egypt or from the Coptic Diaspora. The Copts have lived with Moslems for more than thirteen centuries. Except for the periods of direct persecutions, which were rare, there was no massive conversion. The Coptic family till our own days has been famous for its stability. Although divorce has been very common among Moslems in Egypt, where a man can divorce his wife by a word, it was something unknown in the Coptic family. Marriage of Copts to Moslems was unknown, except for girls kidnapped or taken by force from Christians who failed to pay their taxes. WHAT HAPPENED TO THE COPTIC FAMILY?
I will start with Mr. Hulsman’s report to the New York Council of Churches, in which he discussed four social factors causing conversion to Islam in a fragile family? I mean there is a fragile family to start with. The four factors are:
1-Youth and love
2-Work environment
3-Divorce.
4-Escape: Interaction with other factors (such as poverty, divorce of parents)in the family that leads to the escape of a girl.
* "Family problems in Christian families are a major reason for young children trying to escape from their families. Young girls in Egypt and throughout the Middle East, are especially, supposed to remain with their families until they marry. If problems arise in their family, conversion is often seen as the only way to escape. Family problems and poverty are often related.
* "Youth and love: Priests estimate that between 60 % to 65 % of those who convert to Islam are aged 17 or 18. They also estimate that 80% to 90% of the converts are younger than 25-years-old. Eighty percent of those converts are girls. Many of them fall in love with Muslims, which is not approved of by their families, so they run away from their families and convert to Islam in order to escape the control of their family.
* "Work environment: The same sources estimate that about 10 % of the conversion cases to Islam in Alexandria are because of pressure at work or in the army. Some claim that others converted because of financial difficulties and housing problems. It is reported that some landlords have threatened to throw Christians out of their apartments or houses that were not able to pay the rent unless they convert to Islam.
* "Divorce: Priests in Alexandria say that about 10 % of those who convert to Islam do so because they want to get a divorce. A church worker in the Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in Cairo estimates this percentage to be 17%. The Coptic Orthodox Church in Egypt refuses to accept divorce except if martial infidelity is proved. Many of those Christians who want to get a divorce cannot prove their spouse’s infidelity to the church. They convert to Islam in order to get an immediate divorce after finishing the conversion procedures."
Hulsman also stated in his report that 40% of the conversion cases he saw were suffering from family problems.
Now we come to the letters, I will limit myself today to the letters from the US, leaving the others for the next posting:
* "Both my parents work very closely with many girls who have been rescued from converting to Islam. The church in Damanhour had built a shelter for them and they help girls from all over Egypt. The situation became epidemic in recent years with most cases well-planned from certain rich families who "sponsor" such conversion cases"
* "During my last visit to Egypt, a female doctor in my home town had converted to Islam after working for 2 years as a part-time in a pharmacy owned by a Muslim woman. When she disappeared, her family found out that she had already declared her conversion a month earlier in al-Azhar. Stories like these are becoming so common. I can recall only one conversion story during the 80’s in Damanhour. In the 90’s, there is one every week or so."
* "During one of my recent visits to Egypt, I saw a mother with 2 children. The father converted to Islam leaving the family with no other income. The church reacted quickly and sheltered the family.,, The conversion rate in industrial areas like Kafr el-Dawar (or al-Mahala al-Kobra in al-Gharbia) are much higher than anywhere else. When the father is out of work or makes so little to support his large family, he can be easily attracted to join Islam with a better income and perhaps a younger and a more beautiful wife. When the father goes, chances that the rest of the family will go as well (the children will follow for sure as per the law).
"The number of young girls converting to Islam is increasing as well. Rich families "sponsor" these cases. Slowly (but surely), they start working on their victim: a handsome guy with a nice car. In few months, the girl will almost always convert (in some cases with another guy! but then, it’s too late). Parents always ignore any warning from outsiders leaving no room for intervention when the inevitable happens. The game is over. They will be instructed by the police never to contact their daughter again. I also regret to say that the clergy in Egypt are far from prepared to face this challenge.
"The literature that attacks Christianity is incredibly huge, yet many priests don’t even have a clue of the problem LEAST OF ALL GIVE A SATISFACTORY ANSWER. I HAVE SEEN CASES of people leaving the church because of their doubts left unanswered. The number is alarming and it makes conversion even easier for those that are hesitating ("no big deal". "Lots of people are doing it.")
"Below are the most recent cases:
"1) A young doctor had been working part-time in a pharmacy owned by a Muslim woman. She was a servant in the church but stopped or the past 2 years. The church warned the family several times. The girl left her home one day with her husband to Kuwait. She had converted to Islam one month earlier.
(2) Another girl converted to marry a Muslim man. She ran back after being badly beaten. The church took care of her and is now married to her cousin.
(3) A third girl for the same reason. Don’t have enough details except for the church’s attempt to rescue her. She assured everyone that ’s a mere rumor. Next morning she ran with her husband. There are fears that her sister will follow the same course.
(4) A successful store owner hired a young Muslim woman. Few month later, he was accused of being "alone" with a Muslim woman in the store. He had to convert to Islam to avoid death. It works every time, so why not do it again?
10 - How the Social Problems Interact with Economic Pressure and Lack of Christian Education.
The following came in a letter I received from Egypt five weeks ago. It describes in a graphic way what is happening in the daily life of our poor young brothers and sisters in Egypt
"In this poorly served environment, a good percentage of Copts have little if any adherence to the Church. They are isolated islands inside a very stormy ocean.
Alone found among multiple problems without the light of God. Poverty, lack of jobs, lack of guidance, poor knowledge of their rights in Christ and many other factors make Christianity for them an unhonorable religion that carries only weaker chances of good living. Here the way is paved for the coming storm
"Islam is now gaining a very good chance to catch a new victim every day without swords. These are examples:
"1) A Coptic young man, has little relation with God, has no relation with the Church, has little knowledge of the Bible, Has no single spiritual father guiding him, has from Christianity just a Christian name. In addition he has a lot of problems and needs,
1) money, b) job, c) apartment, d) wife.
THIS YOUNG MAN IS A RIPE FRUIT FOR THE ISLAMIC LOBBIES:
First: they appear as very close and sincere friends,
Second: they show him understanding and sympathy,
Third: they offer him a poor job chance with a promise to upgrade him to a very higher ranking,
Fourth: they celebrate his new job by narcotics,
Fifth: day by day he became dependent completely on his new friends,
Six: Now a white beautiful girl appears. She adds sympathy and understanding to their sympathy and understanding. Then she gives him a down payment of love with a promise to complete the story if he changed his religion,
Seven: the victim then finds that he has no single reason to adhere to that JESUS,
Eight: the Churchmen awake only when the police asks them to meet the victim in a police office to witness his conversion.
"2) A Coptic young woman, has the same circumstances as the above example.
First: Being a teenager or so and inside the very closed societies that condemn the right emotions of the female, she may find her lost goal in a smart Muslim guy. He may be a neighbor or a friend of her brother or a brother of her friend,
Second: This man supported by his sister’s relation to the girl starts to drag the victim to his side. Again sympathy and understanding, then educational support, then financial support and so on,
Third: Then the public social relation goes deeper into a special relation when terms of love and desire to marriage are given without objection on the part of the girl,
Fourth: the girl feels the same feelings towards him, and being very generous she gives him what a man needs from a beautiful teen,
Fifth: the Case now is over, the girl finds that she lost everything. Her family will never forgive her, and no single Christian man will agree to marry her.... The Church and Christianity gave her nothing and that man loves her and is ready to correct his mistake by marriage. Here every thing is ready for the storm,
Six: In a very simple mathematical equation she will find that JESUS gave her nothing while that guy will give her every thing. So, no need to be a hero, conversion is easier,
Seven: The Church again awakes inside the police office.
"They know nothing about Islam"
These are two examples that are prototypes to the majority of cases of conversion. Poor Christianity inside the hearts of these victims is responsible for their weakness; but
definitely there is no single case among converts that know any thing about Islam. They never convert because they studied Islam and found it better. A victim may damn Jesus in front of her relatives inside the police office and may curse the Church and clergy and her parents but could never say any single Qur’anic verse. They convert to the religion that solved their problem, the religion of the lover or the religion of work owner but never to the Islam of Muhammad.
"These are outlines of some points I want to discuss in that very sad and very hot issue. Thanks for your time and patience"
11- ARE WE PUSHING CHRISTIAN GIRLS TO CONVERT TO ISLAM?- LESSONS FROM THE EARLY CHURCH.
When a woman that was caught in the act of adultery was brought to our Lord, He did not judge her. On the contrary, He turned the table upon the accusers saying, "Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her." The problem of Islamization is not that of bad and corrupt people that love the world and sell Christ for silver or passion. It is a cancer in a member of the Body of Christ. Cutting the member is not the solution and may not prevent the spread of the cancer to other members, If we believe that the Church is the Body of Christ, and each of us is really a member of the same Body, then everyone has to look inside himself and repent for his own sin that led that brother or sister to deny Christ. Closing our eyes to any of the problems that lead to the loss of Church members (Crisis in Christian education, economic and social problems) is a serious and grave sin. No one can close his eye and pray to God with the Pharisee saying, "God, I thank thee that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers ..." If they are sinners, the door of Christ’s Church should not be closed to sinners. The whole Church has to follow Daniel, who fasted for three weeks and repented for his own sin that led to the captivity of his people.
When St. Symeon the Stylite (c. 390- 450) had his foot amputated because of gangrene he addressed his foot by a long poem in which he told it not to be sad and feel lonely if it had died and was separated from the body for it is going to be united to it again in the general resurrection. On that day his body would be resurrected in a complete shape. It would not have eternal life without its foot. If the saint of God had such faith and concern concerning his amputated foot, how can we lose our sympathy for our members in the Body of Christ who have, for one reason or the other, cut themselves from it?
What makes me uneasy is the case of the young girl who because of one reason or another (poverty, kidnapping, rape, or even love and passion) ended in marrying a Moslem. She still has a thread that attaches her to Christianity and she has insisted on keeping her Christian name in the marriage contract done by the Moslem Ma’zoon. There are a fairly common number of such girls but I have no statistics. I hope that some of my friends in Egypt who read this may help tell us how frequent is this situation. It must be so frequent that the U.S. Department of State had to mention it in its Annual Report on International Religious Freedom for 1999 that says:
" There is no legal requirement for a Christian girl or woman to convert to Islam in order to marry a Muslim. If a Coptic woman marries a Muslim man, she is excommunicated by the Church."
Because of my poor knowledge in Church canon laws, especially those after the patristic period, I posted this statement on the digest several weeks ago. I asked specifically for help from dogmatic theologians or from those in touch with the State Department about the validity of this statement and its source. However there was complete silence. For my self I will stick to the Tradition of the early Church.
Church and Civil laws to prohibit mixed marriages began to appear in the fourth century, but they were ignored very frequently. Canon 15 of the Synod of Elvira (c. AD 306) states, "Christian virgins are not to be given in marriage to pagans because of a surplus of girls, so that their youthful age, as it swells into a blossom, does not result in the soul’s adultery." 1) Although no penalty is stated in this canon, yet both canon 16 (condemning marriage to heretics or Jews) and canon 17 (concerning marriage to idol priests) excommunicate the parents. 1) No penalty was stated for the bride.
Anyhow these canons were practically ignored in most areas in the first half of the fourth century, as a result of women outnumbering men in conversion to Christianity. 2) Things did not change when the empire became Christian. In the West men from the upper classes felt that it was disreputable and un-Roman to convert to the new religion. Likewise the intellectuals of the Greek East kept attached to their past. 3)
I will mention three examples, the. First is a saint who also attracted her husband to the true faith and several of her children became saints. The second is also a saint, who brought her pagan husband to the Christian faith before his death and her son is one of the greatest Church Fathers The third is the mother of a Christian saint and martyr.
(1) St. Nonna, mother of St. Gregory the Theologian and his sister St. Gorgonia, was married to St. Gregory the Elder who belonged to the Hypsistarian sect (a mixture of Paganism, Judaism and Christianity). The conversion of her husband is attributed to her Christian example and prayer. He later became bishop of Nazianza.
(2) St. Monica was born in a pious Christian family and at the age of 18 she was given in marriage to Patricius who was a pagan. He was a full Roman citizen and a member of the municipal council of her North African city. St. Monica, as Augustine tells us, assisted at the holy Altar without intermission of one day... and she tied herself fast by the bond of faith. Her husband was converted to Christianity shortly before his death. Through her prayers, tears and example Augustine later met his God.
(3) Mary the mother of the neomartyr, St. George the Egyptian (10th century), was kidnapped and forced to marry a Moslem. She used to go regularly to church and participate in the holy Eucharist. Through her, her son Mozahem (his Moslem name) was inflamed with the love of Christianity. He was baptized, suffered and finally received the crown of Martyrdom. [For St. George the Egyptian see Coptic Church Review, volume 3, # 2. His feast day in the Synaxarion is Baounah 19 (June 26).]
With these examples from the Church Tradition I have nothing to add except that my two questions regarding the situation in the undergoing persecution are still seeking an answer:
1-Where did the U.S. Department of State get her information that ’If a Coptic woman marries a Muslim man, she is excommunicated by the Church?
2-ARE WE PUSHING CHRISTIAN GIRLS TO CONVERT TO ISLAM?-
Rodolph Yanney, MD
1) Hunter DG: Marriage in the Early Church. Minneapolis: Fortress press, 1992:142.
2) Volz CA: Faith and Practice in the Early Church. Minneapolis: Augsburg, 1983:187.
3) Henry Chadwick: The Early Church. England: Penguin Books, 1967: 161.
NOTE : The whole series of the conversion articles can be seen on the 'International Coptic Federation Website' at http://www.copts.com/federation1/index.htm
An anonymous Copt responded on the Copts Daily Digest of November 10, 1999 to the above articles:
Dear Copts,
Commenting on Mr. Rodolph Yanney article There is a good percentage of misunderstanding in that problem.
No, we don't push our girls to Islam because the Church excommunicates the girl married to a Muslim man.
Yes, the Copts in Egypt especially in rural areas consider that girl as if she committed adultery at least spiritually when he left Christ for a Muslim guy and she is not allowed to share other believers in Eucharist for example as well as other Church services. That is simply because she didn't repent for her mistake. BUT The condition is misleading because:
- First: For a Muslim guy catching a Coptic victim, he tries to persuade her saying for example (Nothing is different, you will lose nothing, you have the chance to stay as you are, Be Christian as you are, for me nothing will differ, As a Muslim I'm allowed to marry
you as a Christian, We love each other and we should have some sacrifices, yet minor sacrifices, so don't change your religion, and marry me as a Christian married to a Muslim, I'm your lover and a Muslim lover is a better husband than a Christian man you don't
love)
- Second: Marriage contract may thus be made and the following consequences are mandatory:
1- The still Christian wife is never allowed to visit her Coptic family because her husband may fear that they may try to restore it back,
2- The husband itself and his family threat the wife's family not to try to communicate with their daughter otherwise they will suffer a lot of troubles,
3- Usually the girl is taken to unknown place where no one could reach her or try to discuss her,
4- To be still a Christian wife is only of a transient duration, No single Coptic girl stayed for life Christian after marrying a Muslim guy, because:
a) Islam will never allow a Christian wife to grow her children as Christians
b) The husband usually uses his children as a kind of pressure exerted upon the wife to change her religion or be divorced,
c) The wife is convinced that she had lost her relation with her family, and is going to lose her children so she has no other choice. Islam is the only solution. So she sooner or later will convert never because the Church excommunicated her but because of the situations she is urged to face,
d) What is important is the fallacy that Muslims claim. They claim that a Muslim may marry a Christian but they don't complete the story because Islam never allow a Christian wife to heir her husband. So sooner or later she will find herself outdoors. If he
divorced her, or if he died, she will not heir any single dollar from her ex-husband. Even her children will never be under her guardianship,
e) Islam allows a Muslim to marry 4 wives at a time but never allows him to marry a second Muslim wife after a first Christian wife. So the Muslim husband will never feel free to be marry another woman while his first wife is Christian,
f) there is an example of a love story between A Muslim and a Christian girl that is crowned by marriage, The husband left his wife as Christian for years, She used to go to the Church unprohibited but in another city where no one knew her. At the same time she didn't loose her social relations with her family. So the claim of excommunication from the
family or the church was not present in that particular story at least years later, her husband forgot his love story and felt in love with another Muslim girl and married her.
Muslim Sheiks ordered him either to convert his Christian wife or to divorce her. The Christian wife felt it too easy to change because she will gain nothing if remained Christian. Just a look to her kids was sufficient for her to convert to Islam
These factors should be a good answer for those claiming that we are responsible for pushing our daughters to Islam. No that is never true. Simply, ask a Muslim husband, Do you allow your Christian wife to continue her Christian life after marriage as before. Definitely the answer is NO. The Church in turn will never allow that wife to continue as a member inside the church so long as she doesn't repent. Simply Islam allows his followers to marry Christians but Christianity doesn't. The examples you mentioned are never applicable now. They were saints and obliged to be so and so but now a girl doing so is not a saint.
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