Disir
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- Sep 30, 2011
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Martyrs for the state or God?
During the funeral of the victims of the Minya shooting incident, in which 29 people were killed by gunmen, Bishop Agathon of the Maghagha and Adwa Diocese opened his sermon by declaring, “Our children are martyrs of the homeland before being martyrs of Christianity.” He went on to say, “All those who had a role in protecting Egypt’s national identity through participating in June 30 are being punished [by the attackers]; the military, the police, the judiciary, Public Prosecution and Copts are all paying the price.”
This was met with some boos from the crowd, along with chants of “With our blood, with our souls, we sacrifice for you, O cross” and lamentation from mourners, which the bishop repeatedly tried to silence with proclamations of joy at the church having gained martyrs in heaven.
By placing these deaths within the framework of the war on terror launched by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s government following the ousting of the Muslim Brotherhood in the events of June 30, 2013, Ibrahim argues that church officials, in their role as spokespeople for the community, enable the authorities to get away with their failure to mitigate violence against Copts.
“Attacks against Copts cannot be equated with attacks against police and the army,” he asserts. “There is a difference between targeting representatives of the state, such as the police or the military, and identity-based killings. The targeting of Copts for participating in June 30 and subsequent events, through attacking churches and Coptic civilians, is a form of collective punishment for exercising their political rights as citizens.”
The notion that Christians killed in recent attacks are martyrs to Egypt in the war against terrorism comes not just from the church, but from the state and supportive media.
Coptic martyrdom in the age of the security state
This way it is all good, innit?
The whole article is worth the read.
During the funeral of the victims of the Minya shooting incident, in which 29 people were killed by gunmen, Bishop Agathon of the Maghagha and Adwa Diocese opened his sermon by declaring, “Our children are martyrs of the homeland before being martyrs of Christianity.” He went on to say, “All those who had a role in protecting Egypt’s national identity through participating in June 30 are being punished [by the attackers]; the military, the police, the judiciary, Public Prosecution and Copts are all paying the price.”
This was met with some boos from the crowd, along with chants of “With our blood, with our souls, we sacrifice for you, O cross” and lamentation from mourners, which the bishop repeatedly tried to silence with proclamations of joy at the church having gained martyrs in heaven.
By placing these deaths within the framework of the war on terror launched by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s government following the ousting of the Muslim Brotherhood in the events of June 30, 2013, Ibrahim argues that church officials, in their role as spokespeople for the community, enable the authorities to get away with their failure to mitigate violence against Copts.
“Attacks against Copts cannot be equated with attacks against police and the army,” he asserts. “There is a difference between targeting representatives of the state, such as the police or the military, and identity-based killings. The targeting of Copts for participating in June 30 and subsequent events, through attacking churches and Coptic civilians, is a form of collective punishment for exercising their political rights as citizens.”
The notion that Christians killed in recent attacks are martyrs to Egypt in the war against terrorism comes not just from the church, but from the state and supportive media.
Coptic martyrdom in the age of the security state
This way it is all good, innit?
The whole article is worth the read.
