~ John Hubers is currently a PhD student at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago concentrating his studies on the history of Christian-Muslim relations. Prior to this he served as the Director of the Reformed Church in America's mission program in the Middle East and South Asia as well as pastor of international congregations in the Arabian Gulf states of Oman and Bahrain. I (Samir) met John in Boston at the meeting of Interfaith Relations Commission of National Council of Churches held at Harvard University this past June. He told me this story and later send it to me. It first appeared in a shortened form in the Other Side Magazine, October, 1997.
It’s the summer of 1981. I’m sitting with my missionary mentor in the book- smothered office of a Coptic Orthodox bishop downtown Cairo, Egypt. He is speaking of the riots still smoldering in a slum not far from where we were sitting.
He tells us how it started.
A fanatical faction of the Ikhwan al Muslameen (Muslim Brotherhood) discovered that a Christian landowner had not properly registered a piece of property in the local deeds office. Seizing the moment, they occupied the land, planted a flag on it and announced their plans to build a mosque. The Christian went to the police to protest. They made noises, but did nothing. The stage was set for a drama that no one saw coming and few wanted.
It happened when the heated exchange reached a boiling point. The spark was the squatters gathering a mob at the owner’s home with hostile intent. The owner came to the door with a pistol in his hand. He said, “leave!” They said, “no!” He fired a shot in the air. Someone shouted: “Christians are killing Muslims, Christians are killing Muslims.” And the fires started burning.
For three days violent gangs bearing the name, but not the spirit of Islam, ran wild through the warren of streets targeting Christians and their shops. A priest from Upper Egypt in Cairo visiting his brother had his head split open with an ax. It was a low-level massacre.
At the height of the riots a gang approached the local church with gasoline cans in their hands and arson on their minds. The parish priest saw them out of his office window. And there wasn’t a thing he could do to stop them. He had been praying for an end to the destruction and murder; now he prayed for a miracle.
As they got closer he noticed another group of men gathering in the street; neighborhood shopkeepers, Muslims he knew as friends. His heart sank. “Dear God, not them, too!”
Then he noticed that the shopkeepers weren’t joining the mob. Instead they were forming a phalanx around the church. He opened his window to listen to the exchange. What he heard assured him that God is good . . . God and his neighbors.
“This is our church,” said the shopkeepers, “these are our friends. If you want to burn it down, you’re going to have to kill us first!”
Burning rage met burning grace. And grace won. The church was spared.
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Posted by: Yaehoo | Apr 30, 2009 at 06:10 PM
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Samir
Posted by: Samir Selmanovic | Apr 30, 2009 at 06:38 PM