I am speechless
And here I thought I'd heard every story of inhumanity there was. I didn't think there was anything left in mankind's repertoire of depravity and orchestrated brutality that would just leave me cold. Well, I just got an education.
Tonight I was reading Big Pharoah's blog--he's a pro-American, pro-human rights Egyptian blogger--which I do from time to time. While scanning the comments section to his current post (on the subject of Egypt's recent criminalizing of religious defamation)I noticed a link posted by a regular commenter of his, a Coptic Christian who goes by Egypeter. Here it is:
http://neferteeti.blogspot.com/2006/02/how-enlightening.html
Now Neferteeti's current posting, also on the aforementioned law, was extremely entertaining. But it was going through her earlier posts (mostly within the past year or so) that shocked me to a degree I didn't think possible.
Neferteeti is an Egyptian Coptic Christian. She, thank goodness, does not currently live in Egypt. I say thank goodness because her people are treated horribly by the Muslim majority in Egypt--apparently with government complicity.
She chronicles many examples of this in her posts. She is particularly interested in chronicling instances of kidnapping (and forced conversion) of Coptic girls by Muslims. Local officials frequently turn a blind eye to these cases, if they are not actively abetting the perpetrators. Christian families are frequently without recourse notwithstanding that the girls in question are often minors and under the governance of their parents by Egyptian law. There are apparently hundreds of these incidents a year.
Please, find the time to read this lady's blog. A few years ago the US media put us through a sordid media circus when a Utah teenager was abducted by a religious extremist and held by him for months. Yet in Egypt this this seems to happen on an almost daily basis and we've never heard about it.
As the mother of two daughters, one of whom has been living away from home in college this past year, I am at a loss for words. I can't imagine being a Christian parent of a daughter in Egypt--every little irrational fear I've ever had the unmitigated gall to entertain, every whispered caution multiplied a hundredfold. I would quite literally not be able to let my girls out of my sight if I had to live with this level of fear.
Tonight I was reading Big Pharoah's blog--he's a pro-American, pro-human rights Egyptian blogger--which I do from time to time. While scanning the comments section to his current post (on the subject of Egypt's recent criminalizing of religious defamation)I noticed a link posted by a regular commenter of his, a Coptic Christian who goes by Egypeter. Here it is:
http://neferteeti.blogspot.com/2006/02/how-enlightening.html
Now Neferteeti's current posting, also on the aforementioned law, was extremely entertaining. But it was going through her earlier posts (mostly within the past year or so) that shocked me to a degree I didn't think possible.
Neferteeti is an Egyptian Coptic Christian. She, thank goodness, does not currently live in Egypt. I say thank goodness because her people are treated horribly by the Muslim majority in Egypt--apparently with government complicity.
She chronicles many examples of this in her posts. She is particularly interested in chronicling instances of kidnapping (and forced conversion) of Coptic girls by Muslims. Local officials frequently turn a blind eye to these cases, if they are not actively abetting the perpetrators. Christian families are frequently without recourse notwithstanding that the girls in question are often minors and under the governance of their parents by Egyptian law. There are apparently hundreds of these incidents a year.
Please, find the time to read this lady's blog. A few years ago the US media put us through a sordid media circus when a Utah teenager was abducted by a religious extremist and held by him for months. Yet in Egypt this this seems to happen on an almost daily basis and we've never heard about it.
As the mother of two daughters, one of whom has been living away from home in college this past year, I am at a loss for words. I can't imagine being a Christian parent of a daughter in Egypt--every little irrational fear I've ever had the unmitigated gall to entertain, every whispered caution multiplied a hundredfold. I would quite literally not be able to let my girls out of my sight if I had to live with this level of fear.
posted by CMinor | 8:06 PM
2 Comments:
Dear CMinor
Thank you for visiting my humble little blog and for helping give a voice to the victims of these horrible crimes.
I too am a mother to a little girl (she's only two years old) and I now understand why I was never allowed to visit friends, with the exception of one whose parents knew my parents very very well. I now understand why mum would fret if I was half an hour late from school. A friend who still lives in Egypt suggested we bring my daughter to Egypt for a visit...I just can't do it.
I know horrible things happen everywhere in the world, but this doesn't mean we don't speak up and try to change what we can....one issue at a time, one attrocity at a time. Maybe it'll be the mums of the world who do make a difference :)
Thanks again CMinor, it is a pleasure to have met you and it is my hope we'll continue to communicate.
peace
Neferteeti
Thanks to both of you for dropping by--I plan to make "Neferteeti" recommended reading any time Islam comes up in
discussion. May your Easter be a joyful one!
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