Ask any Egyptian who grew up in the 30s or 40s and they’ll tell you that they did not experience sectarian tension in Egypt as we know it today. Many of them observe horrific events like Imbaba, El Kosheh or Udayssat and simply ask “what happened to us?”

If we journeyed back through Egypt’s modern history to the years preceding the revolution of 1952, we would see a different Egypt with a different relationship between her Christians and Muslims… different presence of the Coptic identity in the main stream.
Back then, there existed a unity between many young Egyptians regardless of their religious affiliation. They united in their resentment of the British colonisation of their home land as well as the corruption of the royal family and the monopoly of wealth by a select few. All of them wanted the same things: justice, equality and freedom. They had a common cause!

My cousins and I often sat around our grandfather, mesmerised by accounts of his involvement in political movements banned by the regime at the time. He told us tales of spending months in political prisons for participating in demonstrations or distributing pamphlets to encourage the common man to rise up and demand a free Egypt…for all Egyptians.

A strong man, he always surprised us when we could see the tears gather in his formidable eyes as he taught us about our history and told us to always be proud of this land…’your freedom didn’t come cheap’; he would always say. He also said that back then, there was no difference between Mohammad and Girgis…both wanted the same thing. And both would happily sacrifice what they had to in order to achieve it.

The revolution of 1952 achieved what those young Egyptians dreamed about and worked for, each in their own way. Egypt was freed from the influence of the corrupt royal family and the British departed our land. We had regained control over our own destiny and wealth.

This also meant the common cause was eliminated, at least temporarily until Israel provided us with another reason to unite our efforts. Sadly, this too was a short lived unity. And the gap between the Coptic Christians and their Muslim compatriots grew wider over the years.

Few would argue that the problems facing today’s Egyptians are limited to the Coptic community. Egypt labours under a heavy burden of a poor economy, population explosion, high unemployment, corruption and of course fanaticism.

So in reality, the common cause is there because a change is required if we are to hope for a better Egypt for all of us. What we seem to be lacking this time around is the will to unite in order to achieve this goal.

Tags:

Click to add your tags...,

or Close