The faithful of all religions aspire to the same goal: peace
The bonds that unite the people of the world withstand any attempts to sow division, says Julian Porteous
I RECENTLY travelled to Cairo with a delegation of Australian Catholic and Orthodox Bishops to offer solidarity to the Coptic Christians who are suffering persecutions in Egypt.
It was stirring to see the peace that the wounded and bereaved retain, even after surviving the horror of suicide bombings or attack by gunmen.
On December 11 last year, a suicide bomber detonated explosives in St Peter and St Paul’s Church in Cairo, killing 29 people. We met family members who had lost loved ones. One man there had lost his entire family. In a calm and dignified way, he asked me to pray for him.
On April 9 this year, St George’s Coptic Church in the Tanta region and St Mark’s Coptic Cathedral in Alexandria were bombed, killing 45 people and leaving 130 wounded. It was the feast of Palm Sunday when Christians were beginning to enter Holy Week, a week that remembers the path Christ walked to Calvary where he was crucified for his love for all humanity.
On May 26, gunmen boarded a bus carrying Christian pilgrims to St Samuel Monastery in the Minya province. The pilgrims were on their way to the monastery to enter into Christian celebrations in honour of the Ascension of our Lord into heaven. A Christian celebration which recognises that Christ rose from the dead and ascended into heaven.
The Christians on this bus were filled with faith. They were asked at gunpoint to recite an Islamic declaration of faith. When they refused they were shot. Men were shot, as were children for refusing to convert. These Christians are no different to the Christians who have suffered for their faith over the 2000-year history of Christianity.
We visited a hospital on our visit, and met a girl of maybe 15 years of age who was on
that bus. She had no hesitation saying that if she was in such a situation again, she would declare her complete allegiance to Jesus Christ. We were deeply moved to see their conviction.
ISIS has claimed responsibility for these attacks.
Through our visits with various religious and government leaders, including the Great Imam of Cairo, Ahmed el-Tayeb; President of Egypt, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Coptic Orthodox Pope Tawadros II, we learnt that ISIS is targeting Christians in an effort to destabilise the democratically elected government who are committed to religious tolerance.
The Great Imam of Cairo, regarded as the highest authority among the Sunni Muslims, heads up the AlAzhar University which teaches Islamic theology. This university hosted a conference on religion and peace. Pope Francis attended. The conference expressed opposition to the use of terror in the name of any religion.
Discussions with the Great Imam revealed a genuine effort to recognise the rights of Christians. Similarly, the President of Egypt spoke at length with the delegation about his desire to ensure that all citizens have equal rights no matter their religion.
The President of Egypt is a man of his word, and recently enacted laws removing obstacles to Christians building churches. He sees the ISIS attacks as threats to all Egyptians and is committed to eradicating terrorism.
His government assured the victims of the most recent attack that they would receive the highest level of medical treatment available.
When we met with Coptic Orthodox Pope Tawadros II, we communicated our concern for our fellow Christian brothers and sisters. We assured him of our support and solidarity at this time.
There are those of Muslim faith alongside those of Orthodox and Catholic Christian faith who are striving for peace and harmony. Each respectful of the other. Each seeking peace and harmony whatever their faith or cultural background.