A Warning to the Egyptian Churches

http://www.christianpost.com/news/treatment-of-christians-in-egypt-much-better-now-than-its-been-for-a-long-time-expert.html

Egyptian ethnic Christians and Protestants have always endured their share of struggles as modern Egyptian society has been torn apart by the conflicts between secular nationalist rule and religious traditionalism. The latter is represented by groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood which would (if allowed) take Egypt in the direction of a more deliberately Islamic society and this would also be reflected in terms of foreign policy – an issue that continues to tear modern Egyptian society apart.

For a very long time the United States has feared secular nationalism in the Arab world and thus Washington was opposed to Nasser back in the 1950's and 60's – even attempting to assassinate him. Nasser had (due to US opposition and American support for Israel) been driven into the arms of the USSR. But with Nasser's death and his replacement by Anwar Sadat, Egypt would change course and tilt toward Washington. It was a massive diplomatic coup, a huge victory for Washington when Sadat broke with the Soviets and tossed out their engineers and advisors in the early 1970's.

This would eventually set the stage for the Camp David Accords and the normalisation of relations between Egypt and Israel. Sadat would pay with his life – assassinated by the Egyptian Islamic Jihad (EIJ) in 1981. The secularisation under Nasser and then the further pro-US/pro-Israeli policies under Sadat had further radicalised the Muslim population and the Palestinian refugees scattered throughout the wider region.

Under Hosni Mubarak the rule was harsh and society became oppressive. Mubarak held the line and maintained solid relations with both Washington and Tel Aviv. As with many moderate-secularist Muslim rulers he had to officially favour Islam while at the same time engage in a crack down on the extremists.

Mubarak was finally removed in 2011 during the Arab Spring uprising. Thirty years of Mubarak coupled with the many years under Sadat and Nasser proved the tipping point and for the first time the Brotherhood attained political power – led by Mohammed Morsi in 2012.  A year later he was overthrown by the military in a coup spearheaded by general al Sisi who continues to rule to this day. The US publically vacillated on the issue of the coup but behind the scenes there was every indication that Washington backed it and in fact may have instigated it and played a role in the events.

Al Sisi has returned to the old policies and yet with increased vigour. He has suppressed the Muslim Brotherhood beyond anything previously experienced, unleashing a brutal regime of torture (including child torture), mass imprisonment, censorship and the ordering of death sentences by the score – and of course there have been significant reports of extra-judicial killings.

The Muslim Brotherhood has been all but broken leading to different responses within the movement, the crisis now fomenting a split and internal conflict.

Al Sisi has successfully worked to restore relations with Washington and Tel Aviv. And his pro-Western policies have also meant a loosening up with regard to the pressure put on minority Christian populations.

As the Christian Post piece asserts, things have been good for Christians under al Sisi.

And so we find that these Christians under Western theological influence are (despite their relatively small numbers) already thinking about political and social influence, about having standing in Egyptian society. They believe this the road to respectability, stability and influence and so they have all but 'thrown in' with the al Sisi government.

Dominion Theology which continues to proliferate across the globe tells them that second class citizenship status is not to be tolerated and so there's a real push for social standing and a willingness to collaborate with the government as seen in the creation of institutions and bureaucracies which will open the door for these churches and allow them to reciprocate and establish inroads and connections with the regime.

Aside from the dubious theology that motivates this thinking there are the ethical and even practical concerns.

The al Sisi regime has been brutal in its suppression of the opposition and in particular the forces associated with the Muslim Brotherhood. The regime is viewed as cruel and authoritarian by some and in the eyes of many al Sisi is little more than a butcher.

One hopes that thinking Biblically oriented Christians would hesitate before affiliating with such a person – even from a pragmatic testimonial level but apparently the possibilities of power have proven too attractive.

Also, to much of the Muslim population al Sisi represents a type of occupation. He along with Mubarak and Sadat (after his policy-shift) are viewed as Western proxies – satraps and stooges for the American Empire who are blasphemously suppressing their Islamic culture. They're Egyptians and outwardly Muslim but they're traitors. And the Christians who are already suspected of being a Fifth Column, of collaborating with the Western enemy are forming an alliance with their oppressors. This is not a good place for the Church to be. This alliance will only harm the Church's testimony and bring down political wrath upon its head.

It's as if the Church was allying itself with Vichy after 1940. Westerners will scoff at this comparison but that's how the conservative Muslim population sees it. They will see these Christians as collaborators and reckoned among those who are benefitting from the suppression of Islam.

As such there will be a backlash at some point – and yet we must ask, will it truly be Christian persecution? It would be, but for the fact that the Christian leaders are (under the influence of heretical theology) selling out the identity of the Church and allying it with forces of brutality.

This is an occasion for warning. The Church in Egypt needs to re-think this and rather than cozy up to al Sisi they should be trying to put some space between themselves and the regime. I hope it's not too late.