Religious Division In Egypt: Unable to be Christian

Brian George

Blog # 6

2/25/2011

In most religions the people who practice them urge peace and acceptance; in some way shape or form. Whether they learn it from a book, from a person or from their own notion of what their religion means or what their God, Gods, or Goddess(es) are attempting to encourage them to do.

Many individuals are born Muslim if their father and or mother was such, and often if a child’s father made the change to become a follower of Islam; they child themselves would be a follower. So for any who may consider converting to another religion, many times they are not recognized by family, friends or the government in terms of identification.

And often such a dangerous choice could be a death sentence for any who manage to build up the courage to find their own spiritual path. The story of this father and daughter are disturbing, as well as the behavior of many other individuals who spew their hatred across the land while praising their own religion.

“They tell their story out of fear and desperation. Born Muslims they chose to convert to the Christian Church after both claim they had religious visions. Now Maher says:

“Muslims try to kill us, and will kill us if they find us.”

Several religious fatwas have been issued for “spilling his blood” after Maher asked an Egyptian Court to legally recognize his conversion, so he can one day be buried as a Christian and so his daughter won’t be forced into a marriage by her Muslim mother. (Lewis, Dana. Christian in Egypt: They try to kill us. http://liveshots.blogs.foxnews.com/2010/01/26/christian-in-egypt-they-try-to-kill-us/#ixzz1EzQwDiup)

Quite sadly are many who may preach or urge followers not to mix or interact with those who worship another deity, and those who worship any God but their own; are blasphemers and must not live.

Men, women and children are not only ruled by fear of attempting to find themselves’ spiritually but are also limited to places of worship if they do manage to convert or openly express their religious affiliation. “The approval process for church construction continued to be time-consuming and insufficiently responsive to the wishes of the Christian community…They also maintain that security forces have blocked them from using permits that have been issued, and that local security officials at times blocked or delayed permits for repairs to church buildings.” (http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2002/13994.htm)

For the umpteenth time, a sickening and frightening example of the point of views and tactics used to discourage individuals to hone their spirit in the temples and deities of their choice. Again I fail to see beyond the ignorance and small-mindedness of some people...regardless of one's preference to worship; they should not be marked for death, banned/ignored by their communities nor done wrong by their government.

http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2002/13994.htm

http://liveshots.blogs.foxnews.com/2010/01/26/christian-in-egypt-they-try-to-kill-us/