In the late 1930’s, as politicians around the world were scrambling to avoid any war that could escalate to such a brutal level as the First World War, a dark force was stirring in the heart of Europe; a force so strong, powerful, and driven by hatred that it threatened to wipe out an entire race of indigenous Europeans in less than a decade, and also threatened to take over the world. The Nazi war machine was indeed a powerful beast that would require much sacrifice to destroy, and in those sacrifices we have bitterly wept as we remember those we lost. 

Now, more than 70 years later, we are about to witness another dark force that stirs deep within the heart of the Arab world. To compare this dark force with the Nazis is a bit pragmatic, as there are certain similarities that one cannot afford to ignore. At the same time, however, there are subtle differences between the two that makes it difficult to look at this in a comparative fashion. 

The Nazi regime consisted of a constant propaganda campaign of ‘scape-goating’ and intolerance to those they deemed unworthy of German citizenship. In reality, however, those who they deemed ‘unworthy’ were mainly German Jews – essentially, these people were citizens of Germany just as much as any member of the so-called ‘Aryan’ race. Despite that, however, the Nazi regime continuously and systematically tried to annihilate any German Jew that the Nazis had come in contact with. It was easy to see this because the Nazis had formalized this action into a process: they allocated their resources (ie trains, military power, building extermination camps, etc) in order to accomplish this goal.  

In comparison to the Arab world, there are substantial similarities as well. In Egypt, for example, the campaign that is spewed by Muslims to eradicate any non-Muslim authority and existence in Egypt is not unknown;  

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  • evidence for such a campaign has been documented in several documents like articles from Al-Azhar University (the Muslim World’s primary authority on Muslim religious matters) regarding action necessary to eradicate ‘Ahl El Ketab’ (People of The Book, another name for Christians in Egypt)
  • materials used in the Al-Azhar primary, preparatory, and secondary education systems that incite intolerance to those of different races in Egypt and around the world
  • materials used in private religious schools that are sponsored by the Muslim Brotherhood, an organization that has openly admitted its intolerance to non-Muslims and has committed several violent acts to demonstrate that belief throughout the years (such as the 1997 Luxor Massacre)

These factors accumulate ultimately into building an atmosphere of hostility towards any Christians and, to a greater extent, Jews in Egypt. Although the general attitude is to not instigate conflicts based on faith, it comes as little surprise when in rural areas in Egypt, where religion is often taken very seriously, the smallest gesture can quickly escalate to bloodshed and mayhem. Such was, unfortunately, the case in the El-Kosheh Massacre in December 31 1999(in the eve 21 century), and dating even as far back as the Zawya-El-Hamra Incident in June 1981. 

It might still be difficult to see the similarity between the two because the Muslim extremists lack the cohesive chain of authority and formality that historians are used to seeing in oppressive regimes. Some might argue that such a chain of authority did exist in Islam’s early days, when important Muslim figures such as Salah-el-Deen (commonly known as Saladin) led the Arabs in combat and had established a formalized chain of command in the Arab army. Other examples of a formalized chain of command in Arab military regimes can be seen in the Caliphates, when Muslim rulers known as ‘Caliphs’ ruled Arab states and had established a formal chain of command. It was especially seen, however, in the Mamluk periods of Egyptian history. It is well documented that such chains of command had been used to systematically capture, torture, persecute, and kill non-Muslim entities in the Middle East. This can be noted in the significantly increased number of Christian martyrs who died due to religious persecution in Egypt in the years after the Crusader Wars, as documented by the Coptic Synexarium. It was seen on almost all levels of authority within Egypt as well; in the period between 1279 and 1447 A.D., the Mamluks tried to expel all Coptic civil servants serving the government EIGHT times. With increased taxation on the Copts as well as increased torture and forced conversions, professor Otto Friedrich August Meinardus writes that ‘[…] recorded Coptic history came to an end by the Fourteenth Century […] the Coptic Church declined sadly and […] it had lost almost all of its former spiritual vitality’ [Two Thousand Years of Coptic Christianity - Otto Friedrich August Meinardus – American University of Cairo Press 2002 – pg 65-66]. That’s not to say, however, that there haven’t been tolerant Muslim leaders in Egyptian history. Indeed, there have been tolerant Muslim leaders who allowed Copts to practice their religion; however it came at a certain price – a tax known as the Jizya that was not banned until the year 1815, along with temporary imprisonment of prominent Coptic authorities who would not be released until a ransom was given by the Coptic community. This is an example of the prolonged history of corrupted officials within Egypt’s government not only throughout the past few decades, but throughout centuries of Egypt’s existence. 

When you consider the fact that authorities in Egypt are giving faith-based institutions the opportunity to incite intolerance and hatred, along with the long history of the failure of Egypt’s Muslim authorities to accommodate Copts as an integral part of Egypt, the similarities with the Nazi regime are eerily similar. 

So what comes next? 

I would like to think that we, as humans, learn from our mistakes and that we do not allow such atrocities ever to occur twice. However, I am a realist, and I realize that the changes necessary to avoid such an atrocity are too far from where we are now. We are headed on a very perilous path to a dark chapter in our beloved Egypt’s history. But, by God, I will not stand here and watch as this foolish non-sense engulfs Egypt in flames of hatred and bloodshed. And neither should you.