A friend of mine, Walter from Brazil, recently collected some information on the condition of Christians in Egypt. I was shocked at what he found and felt, I should share his research in this blog.
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Egypt has 42 different ethnic groups, and a total population of 100 million people, of which 12.5 million are unreached by the Gospel. The number of evangelical Christians grows at a rate of 4.6% per year. Christians make up 14% of the Egyptian population, of which 5.11% are evangelicals. The primary religion is Islam.
The following information is from the Open Doors Magazine.
A Christian young lady was stabbed while going to a store. However, the aggressor was not held responsible. Unfortunately, this is common, as most people who commit similar crimes against Christians seem to receive a variety of types of protection and are often freed by legal manoeuvres. Thank God the girl did not die and lived another day to take care of her daughter. Still, today she no longer walks down the same street.
When an act is interpreted as an insult to Islam, a mob quickly gathers to attack nearby Christians. Our brothers can spend weeks stuck at home, without children going to school or adults being able to go to work, waiting for the crowd to dissipate because the police don’t usually arrive to help.
Christians are pressured to accept terms of reconciliation which are not in their favour. Under these terms Christians generally need to apologize and move to protect their lives and their families. If Christian victims refuse these terms, then this provides the authorities with an excuse to remove the guilt of the perpetrator and to not act to protect the victim if there is a new attack.
The harassment of Christians seems unending, and fear remains as many recognize that they are at a disadvantage in their own legal system. They are the victims yet, they are fearful of seeking the rights guaranteed in the Egyptian constitution that should protect them as citizens, as the Egyptian courts often give impunity to the aggressors who harm local Christians.
Unfortunately, they do not live by Leviticus 19:15.
“You shall do no injustice in court. You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor.”
Let us keep our Egyptian Christian brothers and sisters in our prayers as they continue to serve their Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ. (See 1 John 2:1)
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