On Monday 15th February, the AWR team held a meeting in our office with a member of Bishop Marcos’ delegation which had travelled to Nag Hammadi, who wished to remain unidentified. We met this source through an earlier visit with Bishop Marcos, in order to discuss our organization’s proper response and activity in light of the attacks, seeking his advice as a member of our board, in the Center for Arab West Understanding. He told us of his upcoming trip and introduced us to certain members of his delegation, who offered their assistance in relating the results of their travels.
Our meeting with the source purposed to discuss why Bishop Marcos had travelled to Nag Hammadi, who had gone with him, and what were the series of events that had taken place while he was there. We also discussed the repercussions of the events at Nag Hammadi on Christian-Muslim relations within Egypt. We initially believed that the Bishop was there to discuss and implement strategies to help resolve the mounting sectarian tensions. This, however, was not the case. The following is a summary of our discussion.
The gruesome events of Nag Hammadi have left Christian communities around the world reeling. On January 6, 2010, three men in a car sprayed automatic gunfire into a crowd of churchgoers exiting Coptic Christian Eve mass in the southern Egyptian town of Nag Hammadi. The drive-by shooting left seven Copts dead and nine wounded and resulted as well in the death of a Muslim security guard. Nag Hammadi is in Upper Egypt, where there is a large percentage of Christians and a culture of vendetta killings. Many believe this attack is retaliation for the rape in November of a 12-year-old Muslim girl by a Christian man in the nearby village of Farshut. What truth lies behind this still remains unclear. Immediately after Nag Hammadi violent sectarian fighting broke out in the area. Government security forces were called in and the violence was quelled.
Two weeks after this tragic incident, Bishop Marcos of the Shoubra El- Kheima diocese, Cairo, travelled to Nag Hammadi. Our source reported that Bishop Marcos took a delegation of nine priests and three foreign women, flying to Luxor where they were met by Bishop Behman of Luxor and another delegation of priests. They then continued by car to Nag Hammadi, arriving easily with no delays.
Bishop Kyrillos greeted them and ushered them inside the church where the shootings took place. Here they met the families of those killed, though it should be clarified this meant only their fathers and brothers. In Upper Egypt, a conservative society, the men represent the family. Bishop Marcos’s delegation stayed around two and a half hours, and while none entered the houses of the families, the three bishops received a number of visits from all sectors of the local society, including:
· The mothers of the Christians who had been arrested for rioting after the shootings. These men are still being held by the police and are awaiting trial. The mothersentered the room wailing and lamenting, prostrating themselves at the feet of the bishop, kissing him and asking for his assistance in gaining their sons’ release.
· The father of the Muslim guard who was killed while guarding the Church. It was not clear who had asked this man to come. It was speculated, however, that he had come out of respect for the Christian families, in order to share together in their grief.
· The Coptic television channel (CTV) also came and interviewed Bishop Marcos, Bishop Kyrillos, and some others present.
Just before Bishops Marcos’ departure he spoke individually to each family and handed over an unknown sum of money in an envelope. Our source related an opportunity to converse with one of the grieving family members, who spoke about his son in depth and with emotion.
After approximately two hours the bishops and delegates were ushered from the room onto a bus and driven out of Nag Hammadi. The party left, stopping for lunch at the Monastery of the Martyrs
[i], Mar Grigis, near Luxor, and then they flew back to Cairo. There was no opportunity for any of the group to walk around the city. This visit was intended solely for the bishop to share in the grief of the families without other agenda. Our source sensed it was perhaps inappropriate to speak of strategy and planning during this grieving period. It was made clear that Bishop Marcos went with no political agenda. His visit was first and foremost a simple pastoral one.
A member of the AWR team, Jayson Casper, enquired whether it was true that one of the mothers of the dead Christian boys had made a public statement saying she forgave the gunman. No one knew the answer to this question. At this point the course of the discussion shifted. This inspired a further discussion - what will happen now? Will Muslim-Christian relations dissolve completely? Will the Copts offer forgiveness, even in light of the perceived increasing frequency of sectarian attacks?
It seems that the prevailing view amongst Copts in Shubra El Kheima, Cairo, according to our source, is that nothing tangible will happen. Intangible effects, however, may be passed on to Coptic children. Our source reported through contact with teachers in Coptic preschools that these instructors are conditioning their students for expected difficulties with Muslims. Copts feel that the events of Nag Hammadi simply represent a further development in line with the cultural treatment of Christians. In light of this, Christians must not be weak; they should learn to stand up for themselves.
Hearing of these matters caused great concern amongst us. Though the teachers are careful to instruct students that a Christian must never initiate violence, the teaching seems to risk running up against the Christian message of non-violence, in which they must ‘turn the other cheek’. It also seems to be teaching Christians that Muslims are out to persecute them. These Christian children are not generally taught the basics about Islam, similar to the complaint Christians give about Muslim ignorance of their faith. This attitude amongst both religious communities instils in these children a mistrust of their fellow Egyptian before they even reach school age. This highlights, however, a serious question that seems to be plaguing all Egyptian Copts: How can Christians be strong but yet non-violent?
Though self preservation is both natural and important, fundamental Christian teachings state that one must ‘love thy neighbour’ and ‘turn the other cheek’. Should Copts be teaching their children that a wolf waits for them outside their door? It seems that the answer to these questions evade us all. The Coptic Church hierarchy must begin to address this, though it seems an impossible situation. The effects of Nag Hammadi, however, seem to be causing shock waves of self-preservation amongst the Coptic community.
In the absence of any further information at this time, we left the discussion to be continued and expanded upon at a future date.
In conclusion, Bishop Marcos’ trip to carry out his pastoral duties and to share in the grief of the families shows a profound depth of compassion. It seems that Bishop Marcos wanted to offer some spiritual comfort for those that were grieving. The effects of Nag Hammadi on Muslim-Christians relations have yet to be fully seen, but it is to be hoped that this horrific incident will not taint Egyptian society, but instead remind both Muslims and Christians alike that first and foremost they are Egyptians.
[i] Bishop Marcos** is responsible for oversight of this monastery, visiting several times per year.
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