Humanity

Sometimes it’s difficult to remember that humanity does, in fact, share a story and a world.

Stories of violence, hate and disregard dominate our newspapers, our computer screens and our television sets. Brother against brother, goes the American Civil War idiom. One could often ask: How is it that the most human of characteristics is actually inhumanity?

Yet, there are occasional stories of true humanity: the humanity that unites, that truly does live to its promise of neighborly love and selflessness. That gives up its pretense of righteousness and arrogance in return for its soul.

Coptic Christians in Egypt, a very small minority population, are often targets of violence. Just a few days ago on New Years Eve, 21 were killed in Saint’s Church in Alexandria in a brutal attack. But, the attacks did not lead to more division between Christians and Muslims. In fact, the opposite happened. The people, both Christians and Muslims, responded with solidarity as Egyptians.

Reports Yasmine El-Rashidi for Ahram:

Egypt’s majority Muslim population stuck to its word Thursday night. What had a been a promise of solidarity to the weary Coptic community, was honoured, when thousands of Muslims showed up at Coptic Christmas eve mass services in churches around the country and at candle light vigils held outside.

From the well-known to the unknown, Muslims had offered their bodies as “human shields” for last night’s mass, making a pledge to collectively fight the threat of Islamic militants and towards an Egypt free from sectarian strife.

“We either live together, or we die together,” was the sloganeering genius of Mohamed El-Sawy, a Muslim arts tycoon whose cultural centre distributed flyers at churches in Cairo Thursday night, and who has been credited with first floating the “human shield” idea.

Among those shields were movie stars Adel Imam and Yousra, popular preacher Amr Khaled, the two sons of President Hosni Mubarak, and thousands of citizens who have said they consider the attack one on Egypt as a whole.

“This is not about us and them,” said Dalia Mustafa, a student who attended mass at Virgin Mary Church on Maraashly. “We are one. This was an attack on Egypt as a whole, and I am standing with the Copts because the only way things will change in this country is if we come together.”

In reading this, I’m reminded of Heartsong Church in Cordova, Tennessee, the church that instead of shooing away a potential mosque neighbor, invited the Muslim congregation to use their space while the mosque was being built. “What would Jesus do if He were us? He would welcome the neighbor,” the pastor, Steve Stone, said.

Yet, at the same time, protests against building a mosque in nearby Murfreesboro continue (a judge recently dismissed a lawsuit against building it). And, the big nonsense story of last year, the potential for a Muslim community center in Manhattan, still incites ignorant hatred.

Sometimes, there’s just too much yelling and not enough talking. Perhaps it’s time we follow the example of our Egyptian brothers and sisters.

Related posts:

1. America’s next Top Secret Muslim
2. Why Egypt revolted and China didn’t
3. Ridiculously tiny proportion of Muslims likely to double to just tiny proportion