Will the Little Bird Suffocate?
I recently read an interview with an Egyptian Christian who talked with a reporter in the days immediately following the political revolution of that swept his country in late 2010. Filled with hope, he spoke enthusiastically about the future. In the new Egypt, he said, everyone—no matter what their religion—would be treated the same. He confidently predicted that Egypt’s Christians, who make up about 10 percent of the population and whose heritage in Egypt stretches even further back than that of Islam, would no longer be treated as second class citizens.
I read with interest a note from the editor at the conclusion of the interview. The editor pointed out that the interview was done "before the events."
What events was the editor talking about? He was referring to headlines that have been emerging from Egypt with distressing frequency over the past year; events which make it clear that the so-called Arab Spring has not signaled the start of a new era of tolerance and acceptance for religious minorities in Egypt.
News reports have told of deadly attacks by Muslim mobs on Coptic Christian Churches; brutal repression by the military of Christian demonstrators; accusations that the caretaker military government has fostered sectarian strife; estimates that some 100 000 members of religious minorities have already left the country.
And now, given the recent election victory of Islamists, what does the future hold for these “second-class citizens” of Egypt? Their hope for greater religious freedom—a hope which shined so brightly at the beginning of 2011—has now grown dim.
Today, the voices of Christians in Egypt are filled with dread. A reporter from the Los Angeles Times recently spoke to Coptic Christians at a church in Cairo: "The whole country will collapse," said Shenouda Nasri. "I'm trying to get my family out," said Samir Ramsis. "This is the Islamists' time," said George Saied.
At the start of 2011, a great wind of freedom blew across the Arab world, and its force is still being felt today. It was a wind powered by the dream of a new era of freedom, justice, and the right of individual citizens to help shape the future of their country.
But “political” or “democratic” freedom can never be divorced from religious freedom. These ideals are inextricably linked. “Freedom” is just a slogan, not a reality, unless every man, woman and child is legally protected in their right to worship and believe according to their conscience. And without religious freedom, the quest for human dignity will remain elusive.
For people of faith, these assertions should seem self-evident. Why? Because the God we serve—the God who embodies love, truth, and justice—is also a God of freedom. He created us to serve Him through choice, not fear. And it is this—the divinely given right of every human being to choose freely—that we must fight to preserve.
In many ways, the level of protection given to religious freedom within a country is a reliable indicator of the health of other human rights.
A good analogy for this is the use of canaries in coal mines in the years before modern advances in ventilation and machinery. In order to check the safety of the air quality in the mineshaft, miners kept canaries—birds especially sensitive to methane and carbon monoxide. As long as the birds stayed healthy, the miners knew the air was safe. But a dead canary was the signal for everyone to evacuate immediately.
In our human experience, religious freedom is like a canary in the mineshaft. When religious freedom is endangered, every other human freedom is also in danger. And we ignore the warning at our own peril.
Will the little bird suffocate? Do we have to evacuate?
The long-term answer to these questions depends, to a large extent, on us. Are we willing to speak out for those who can longer speak for themselves? Will we—who enjoy the right to worship freely—take up our responsibility to sound the warning? Will the world, through us, see a clearer picture of the great God of freedom we serve?
I pray that we will have the courage and the strength to speak for freedom—for our brothers and sisters in Egypt and for every other person who is persecuted and oppressed, no matter where they live or what their faith tradition.
May you and your family experience peace and joy during this holiday season and in the New Year to come.
Dr. John Graz
Secretary General, International Religious Liberty Association
BE A VOICE FOR FREEDOM: In April 2012, people from around the globe will come together in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic for the IRLA’s 7th World Congress. For three days, legal experts, government officials, and religious freedom advocates will explore “The Secular Challenge to Religious Freedom.” To find out how you can attend this historic event, please go to http://www.irla.org/7th-world-congress.htm.