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CMRM condemns attack on Coptic Church

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Muslims should never be found wanting in their clear stand on the side of humanity and a just peace. This was the unequivocal stance by Claremont Main Road Mosque (CMRM) in its response to a heinous attack on two Coptic Christian Churches in Egypt on Sunday, which claimed the lives of 44 people and maimed close to 100 people on the holy Christian day, Palm Sunday.

The Islamic State group has reportedly claimed responsibility for the attacks and Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi has declared a three-month state of emergency.

“The frequent terror attacks claimed by the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), and the accompanying onslaught and murder of civilians by State actors, is becoming such a common occurrence in our world today that it becomes difficult to respond to each and every incident,” says Imam Rashied Omar from the Claremont Main Road masjid.

“In the past few weeks, we have witnessed the harrowing deaths of scores of civilians in Syria at the hands of the powerful state machinery of Assad, Trump and Putin, and in London and Sweden at the hands of so called ‘lone-wolf jihadis’. We are witnessing a deadly and self-perpetuating cycle between the terror directed at civilians by Muslim extremist groups or individuals and the terror by powerful States on civilian populations.”

However, many analysts argue that at the root of the issue is the fundamental challenge of religious discrimination in Egypt. Egypt’s Coptic Christians are a religious minority and have for centuries been persecuted, due to misconceptions about their faith and their political allegiances.

According to the CMRM, the latest attacks on churches in Egypt are specifically aimed at fomenting hatred amongst faith traditions, specifically Muslims and Christians.

“We should never allow this to happen. We call on peace and justice loving Christians, Muslims, people of faith and of none, to redouble our efforts in fighting all forms of religious bigotry, xenophobia and racism that impugns the dignity of fellow human beings or worse, leads to their deaths,” said Imam Omar.

“We need to raise our consciousness to condemn all acts of terror and violence that result in the killing of innocent civilians. We need to urgently explore ways in which we can seek justice for all people through non-war and non-violence in our world at large.”

“Our thoughts and prayers are with all the victims of terror, their families, friends and fellow citizens. We must never stop praying for a just peace the world over.”

The largest Christian community in the Middle East, Coptic Christians make up the majority of Egypt’s roughly 9 million Christians. About 1 million more Coptic Christians are spread across Africa, Europe, the United Kingdom and the United States, according to the World Council of Churches.

Coptic Christians base their theology on the teachings of the Apostle Mark, who introduced Christianity to Egypt, according to St. Takla Church in Alexandria, the capital of Coptic Christianity.

The Coptic language descends from ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics, according to the World Council of Churches. The word “Copt” is a Westernized version of the Arabic “qibt,” which derives from the ancient Greek word for Egyptian, “Aigyptos.”

Hundreds of Coptic monasteries once flourished in the deserts of Egypt, but today roughly 20 remain, as well as seven convents, operated by more than 1,000 Coptic monks and about 600 nuns, according to the World Council of Churches.

The head of the Coptic Church is the Pope of Alexandria, who is based in Cairo. The church operates primary and secondary schools throughout Egypt, as well as a Coptic museum and a theological college in the Egyptian capital.

Recent political upheaval in Egypt has brought more violence to the Coptic community. Persecution and discrimination has spiked since the toppling of Hosni Mubarak’s regime in 2011. Dozens of Copts have been killed in sectarian violence. VOC


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