Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg

The Role of the Presbyterian Church in the Egyptian Revolution

2011 – 2013

Submitted to

Dr. Maria Erling

In Partial Fulfillment of

S.T.M Course “Conservative Reactions of the Church”

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The Egyptian Revolution is considered one of the main

transition points in the recent history in Egypt. In general, the

Arab Spring has great influence on the economic and political

situations in the Middle East. Also, it has its influence on

international relations between the Middle East and the West,

particularly the United States. The January 25 Revolution started

as an event on Facebook; the youth chose this day because it was

the National Police Day in Egypt. It was a symbol that these

demonstrations were against the police in particular, and the

political regime in general. The demands of the demonstrators

increased during the eighteen days of the revolution. Finally, on

February 12, Egyptian President Mubarak stepped down after three

decades of authoritarian government. The Supreme Council of Armed

Forces (SCAF) assumed authority. For a short period of time,

Egyptians, regardless their religion, political, and social

positions, stood together against the tyrannical regime of

Mubarak. Unfortunately, during the period of the SCAF rule, there

was an alliance between the SCAF and the Muslim

Brotherhood.1Studies and articles published during that time

1 The Muslim Brotherhood is considered a politico-religious group was founded in Egypt in 1928. The group dedicated itself to establishing an Islamic state.

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began to discuss the status of Christians during the Arab Spring.

These studies did not focus on the Copts2 of Egypt alone, but

concerned the status of Christians in all Arab countries. Most of

the Christians in the Arab countries live in Egypt, so the case

of Egypt was and still is a vital field of studies. An estimated

100,000 Coptic Christians have already emigrated since Mubarak’s

ouster, according to the Egyptian Union of Human Rights

Organizations. Coptic churches have been the targets of repeated,

sometimes deadly assaults, and the suppression by the Egyptian

military of a demonstration led by Copts in October led to 26

deaths.

In the 1946 assessment of post-World War II threats, the U.S. War Department’sMilitary Intelligence Division – the precursor to today’s Defense IntelligenceAgency – warned that the Muslim Brotherhood was “openly anti-European and secretly anti-Christian and anti-Jewish. Its central pronouncement, authored by its founder, remains authoritative to this day: `Allah is our objective; the Prophet is our leader; the Qur’an is our law; Jihad is our way; dying in the way of Allah is our highest hope.’” The Arab Spring at first brought considerable success for this group. It won several elections, including the 2012 presidential election. But one year later, its regime had fallen as the military had overthrown President Morsi. There is a debate nowadays in Egypt about what had happened on June 2013, was it a coup or a revolution? See Micheal Rubin, “The Road to Tahrir Square: How Egypt’s Revolt Happened, and What to do now”. American Jewish Committee, March 2011; and Hillel Fradkin andLewis Libby, “Egypt’s Islamists: a Cautionary Tale: The Muslim Brotherhood’s Patience Prudence Should not be Mistaken for Moderation.” American Jewish Committee, April 2011.2 Copts and its adjective “Coptic” developed from Greek Aigyptos/ Aigyptios (Egypt/ Egyptian). This became Arabic Qibt; thus English, Copt. It is famous to use the term “Copts” to refer to the Christians in Egypt, even in the academic papers. I will use the term “Copts” as a synonym for Egyptian Christians.

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In this paper, I want to examine the role of the

Presbyterian Church in Egypt in the Egyptian Revolution. I will

concentrate on the relationship between the Presbyterian Church

and the Muslim Brotherhood. In addition to the Presbyterian

relationships, there were two formal exchange visits between the

Evangelical Community in Egypt3 and the Muslim Brotherhood. I

will give background to the Presbyterian Church in Egypt and its

relationship with the Evangelical Community in Egypt. Then, I

will explain the participation of the Presbyterian Church in the

demonstration in terms of an institution, local churches, and

individuals. After that, I will discuss the exchange visits

between the Evangelical Community and the Muslim Brotherhood to

show the debate inside the Presbyterian Church, in society and

also in the media. Finally, I will conclude with some

observations that help the Presbyterian Church to play a vital

role in the society and in politics. My argument is that the new

regime after Mubarak had no specific features; also, the

political forces had not yet a clear definition of the form of

3 I would like to distinguish between the Presbyterian Church in Egypt and theEvangelical Community in Egypt. I will discuss and give definitions to both terms later in the main body of this paper.

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its participation in the political process. Both the Presbyterian

Church and Muslim Brotherhood wanted to reshape the map of

political forces in the Egyptian society. The conditions helped

the Presbyterian Church in that time as there were two main

figures who were interested in studies of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Dr. Andrea Zaki4 and Dr. Rafik Habib5 are aware of the studies of

the Brotherhood and have experience in political participation.

While the former regime used the Coptic Orthodox Church as the

representative of the Christians, the Muslim Brotherhood wanted

to present itself as an alternative to the former regime. They

wanted to search for a new ally instead of the Coptic Orthodox

Church. They found the Presbyterian Church as a new land of

Christian body represented itself. Through examining these stages

in the struggle I see that there was a hidden internal conflict

between the leaders of the Presbyterian Church. The conflict

concerned who would present himself as the leader of the church.

4 Dr. Andrea Zaki is the Vice President of the Evangelical Community in Egypt and the General Director of the Coptic Evangelical Organization for Social Services (CEOSS). In 2003, he received his Ph. D. in Religions and Politics (political Islam) from the University of Manchester, UK. His book is entitled Political Islam, Citizenship and Minorities: The Future of Arab Christians in the Middle East (Cairo: Sherouk International Library, 2006), publish in both English and Arabic.5 Dr. Rafik Habib is one of the leaders of CEOSS and the son of the former president of the Evangelical Community in Egypt. He was the vice president of the Freedom and Justice Party, which belongs to the Muslim Brotherhood.

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This struggle was between the Kasr el-Dobara Presbyterian Church6

and the Evangelical Community, from one side, and Dr. Zaki and

Rev. Semah Mourice.7 I faced the problem of collecting materials

of the different points of view about the exchange visits. Most

of the resources are journal articles.

The Evangelical Community and the Presbyterian Church in Egypt

The Presbyterian Church in Egypt is a Protestant church that

started as a mission of the United Presbyterian Church of North

America (UPCNA) in the late nineteenth century. Before a church

merger in 1958, the American Presbyterian mission in Egypt had no

formal connection to the other American Presbyterians who

operated in other countries in the Middle East. The missionaries

named the new Egyptian Church as “Evangelical.”8 The community

grew so large that, in 1898, the church organized itself into

four presbyteries and a synod.9 The Synod of the Nile in Egypt is6 Kasr El-Dobara Presbyterian Church is the biggest Protestant church in the Middle East. It is located in El-Tahrir Square in the heart of the Egyptian demonstrations on January 25. 7 Rev. Sameh Mourice is the senior pastor of Kasr el-Dobara Presbyterian Church.8 The Presbyterian Church in Egypt used the term “Evangelical” instead of “Presbyterian” until now. It is because the later term “Presbyterian” in Arabic sounds misleadingly Muslim which means “the learned man” in the Muslim tradition.9 Heather J. Sharkey, “American Mission, Egyptian Church: The Making of a Coptic Evangelical Presbyterian Community,” Journal of Presbyterian History (Fall 2006): 170-171.

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the oldest and largest Protestant denomination in Egypt. The

Presbyterian Church in Egypt has about 270 churches all over

Egypt. The Evangelical Community in Egypt includes all the

Protestant churches in Egypt. It contains 17 representatives of

the Protestant churches in Egypt. The President, Vice President,

and the General Secretary are Presbyterians. There is an overlap

between the Evangelical Community and the Presbyterian Church.

The Presbyterian Church is known in the media and the government

as the Evangelical Church. The Orthodox Church is the largest

Christian Church in Egypt and the Middle East. There is no

official count of the Copts in Egypt, however they comprise about

8 – 15% of the population.

Christians in Egypt preferred to express their political

demands through the Church leaders, especially the Pope. So both

the Christians and the political regime considered the Pope as

the Coptic representative for the state. This kind of

relationship between the church and state led to the weakening of

the political participation of the Copts. The youth discovered

that this relationship between the church and the state was based

on the mutual transactions, which meant that the political regime

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gave some of the power to the church, and at the same time, the

church prevented Christians from expressing their political

rights outside of the church. The youth wanted to rise up against

this kind of relationship. So we can find that the church as a

formal institution could not support the demonstrations. In

contrast, the Christian youth participated and supported the

demonstrations.

Many Egyptian Christians were disappointed by the cautious

and guarded response to the protests expressed by Christian

leaders. The Coptic pope, Shenoute III,10 issued an endorsement

of President Mubarak and publicly forbade Coptic Christians from

participating in the protests, stating on national television

that “the things that are happening now are against God’s will.”

Some official Coptic Orthodox representatives were visible in the

pro-Mubarak rallies organized on behalf of the government. Some

Coptic bishops publicly condemned the “spirit of insurgency”

within their church’s youth.11

10 Pope Shenoute III was the 117th Pope of Alexandria. In 1981, he fell out with President Anwar al- Sadat, and in 1985 he was reinstated by Hosny Mubarak. He died on March 17, 2012.11 Paul-Gordon Chandler, “Egypt’s Interfaith Revolution: Muslims and Copts Together,” Christian Century (March 22, 2011): 11.

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Many challenges face the Christians in Egypt. One of these

challenges is their participation in the demonstrations. Some

political analysts see that their participations is a positive

way to express their identity as Egyptian citizens, not just as

Christians. Other politicians see that the demonstrations will

produce Islamic governors who will harm the Christian presence in

the Middle East and Egypt.

There are two options for the Christians. The first one is

to support the former regimes, which are dictatorships. The

second is to support the demonstrations, which will produce a new

regime whose strategies toward Christians are unknown. Most of

the expectations declare that the new regimes will be Islamic and

fundamental. In both options, the Christians are the largest

group affected. The problem is that the politicians cannot

understand the diversity among Christians. Dr. Zaki criticizes

the attitude of the media toward the Copts. He sees that the

media introduce the Copts as one package without differences

among them.12

12 http://www.coptstoday.com/Archive/Detail.php?Id=1854 (accessed February 28,2014).

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The Evangelical Community was the first Christian

institution to support the demonstrations. On February 1, it

declared “The Evangelical Community in Egypt commended the noble

patriotism and the impartiality of the self-fancy of the

President.” Also, the announcement mentioned the youth in the

demonstration: “The Evangelical Community in Egypt hopes for the

safety for all Egyptians.... The Community prays that we can

rebuild Egypt and has the ability with its people to keep the

motherland safe and stable.”13 This announcement wanted to keep

the balance between supporting Mubarak and his political regime

and in the same time calling the youth to be more rational. We

cannot find direct support for the demonstrations, but also we

cannot find prohibition. On February 9, before Mubarak resigned,

the Evangelical Community released another statement. It said:

The Executive Committee of the Milli Council held a special meeting…. There were extensive discussions of the events and the rapid changes experienced by our country. Based on the faith of the church that she is a part of the society, and hersense of duty in the national service to serve the country, westress:- Our appreciation for the courage and purity of the youth

movement of 25 January and the legitimacy of what they

13 The Announcement of the Evangelical Community in Egypt, February 1, 2011.

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demand to ensure the freedom of expression and the desire for change and reform.

- Our pride in the role of our armed forces to protect the security and safety of the nation, as well as the civilized method of the citizens during the last period.

- Our support and respect for the constitutional legitimacy, as insurance for the security and safety of the nation.

- Our confidence in our system of security and its new leadersdetermine their rules to protect and ensure the safety of the country in a civilized manner that respects the rights of Egyptian citizens in freedom, dignity, and safety.

- Our emphasis on the necessity of a democratic and a civil state, so that citizenship is the only basis for dealing with citizens in the society.

- The absolute rejection of all forms and manifestations of corruption, and the need to hold all the corrupt accountable, whatever their positions.

- The desire and willingness of the Evangelical Community to participate in the national dialogue which is being held nowadays for the future of the country, through our sons whoare specialized in different areas from national, not sectarian, perspectives.

- The Evangelical Community appreciates the good initiatives launched by the youth of the churches in many areas, which was declared in the positive engagement to remove the effects of vandalism and destruction that has occurred in some locations, and appeals to its people for more of such participation.14

We can notice a transition in this announcement. The Evangelical

Community supports the youth movement of 25 January. It was the

first Christian formal institution to support the demonstrations.

It was a brave step for the Evangelicals, in contrast to the

Coptic Church which was considered the leader of the formal and 14 The Announcement of the Evangelical Community in Egypt, February 9, 2011.

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popular Christians. Dr. Zaki described the later announcement:

“This gave us [Evangelicals] strong credibility with

Islamists.”15 There was another statement after the fall of

Mubarak, on February 15, and it supported both the demonstrations

and the military forces. On February 17, Dr. Andrea Zaki sent two

letters to the temporary president (SCAF)16 and to the Prime

Minster. In these letters, he introduced the Evangelical Church

to them and gave them copies of the Evangelical Community’s

announcements.

The Exchange Visits between the Evangelical Community and the

Muslim Brotherhood

The Muslim Brotherhood may remain better organized than more

secular Egyptian opposition groups, not because it is more

naturally popular but rather because Mubarak has been ruthless in

repressing more liberal opposition forces.17 Some observers have

15 Jeremy Weber, “The fight for Egypt’s Future: Coptic Leaders, at the Front Lines of Compassion, Win New Respect for the Christian Community,” Christianity Today (June, 2012): 48. 16 At this period after Mubarak, the SCAF was the responsible for running the country. The SCAF means the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces.17 Micheal Rubin, “The Road to Tahrir Square: How Egypt’s Revolt Happened, andWhat to do now,” Commentary American Jewish Committee (March 2011): 23.

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expressed the hope that the Brotherhood might actually play a

benign role as Egypt moves forward.18

Statement of the Muslim Brotherhood and the Leaders of theEvangelical Church in Egypt

Based on a welcoming letter from Rev. Dr. Safwat Al-Bayadi, President of the Protestant Community of Egypt and Dr. Rev. Andrea Zaki, Vice President, sent to the General Guide of the Muslim Brotherhood, which addressed some publicopinion issues at this critical stage in Egyptian history after the January 25th Revolution and gained the attention of the Guidance Office of the Muslim Brotherhood, and based on the two parties' communication, the General Guide called for a meeting to gather the leaders of the evangelical church and leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood. The meeting took place on February 28th, 2012 at the headquarters of theMuslim Brotherhood. The General Guide has agreed to visit the headquarters of the Evangelical Church upon invitation.Attendees from Muslim Brotherhood:1. Dr. Mohamed Badie (General Guide [Head of the Executive Office], Muslim Brotherhood)2. Mr. Mohamed Mahdy Akef (former General Guide)3. Dr. Rashad Mohamed Bayoumy (Vice-General Guide)4. Dr. Hossam Abo Bakr Al-Seddik (Member of the Guidance Office)5. Mr. Walid Shalaby (Media Councilor to the General Guide)Attendees from The Evangelical Church in Egypt:1. Dr. Rev. Safwat Al Bayadi (President of the Protestant Churches in Egypt)2. Dr. Rev. Andrea Zaki (Vice- President of the Protestant Churches in Egypt)3. Rev. George Shaker (Secretariat of the Protestant Churches in Egypt)

18 Hillel Fradkin and Lewis Libby, “Egypt’s Islamists: a Cautionary Tale: The Muslim Brotherhood’s Patience Prudence Should not be Mistaken for Moderation,”Commentary American Jewish Committee (April 2011): 18.

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4. Rev. Soliman Sadek (Pastor of the Evangelical Church in Fagala)5. Dr. Rev. Makram Naguib (Pastor of the Evangelical Church in Heliopolis)6. Dr. Rev. Atef Mehanny (President of the Evangelical Theological Seminary)7. Dr. Helmy Samuel (Member of Parliament)8. Dr. Rafik Habib (Coptic Evangelical Organization for Social Services "CEOSS")9. Rev. Refaat Fathy (Secretariat of the Evangelical Synod)10. Dr. Rev. Sarwat Kades (Chairman of the Board of Dialogueof the Evangelical Synod)11. Dr. Emad Ramzy (Secretariat of the Board of Directors ofCEOSS)12. Rev. Daoud Ebrahim (Member of the Council of the Protestant Church of Egypt)13. Rev. Eid Salah (Member of the Council of the Protestant Church of Egypt)14. Mr. Farouk AlZabet (Head of the Congregation of the Evangelical Brethren Church)15. Dr. Fready Al-Bayadi (Member of the Council of the Protestant Church of Egypt)16. Rev. Nady Labib (Head of Cairo Presbyterian Council)17. Rev. Refaat Fekry (Pastor of the Evangelical Church in Ard Sherif)The participants consented on the importance of the current historical moment Egypt is going through after the revolution, which requires everyone to take social and historical responsibility to advance the country. The participants emphasized that Egypt's future depends on community cohesion and unity, and stressed on the basic values of Egyptian society that represent its social and cultural identity and brings its citizens together.The participants agreed on the following:1. The sons of the country are all partners in one destiny and one future.2. The joint struggle of all Egyptians of all segments of society, that was manifest in the January Revolution, represents the cornerstone of societal unity; the struggle

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reflects that full citizenship, based on equality, is the foundation of this society.3. All sons of the country have the same rights and responsibilities as the constitution states. Equality among all citizens constructs societal unity; efficiency is the only criterion to hold a public position; and equality of economic opportunities is the basis of justice.4. Egyptian society is based on solidarity, interdependence and compassion among all people, which represents the bond that includes all citizens without discrimination. Therefore, education should promote values of tolerance, solidarity and pluralism.5. Respect for beliefs and sanctities is obligatory. Prevention of any contempt of others' beliefs or incitement of hatred is a compulsory social responsibility of loyal citizens.6. Freedom of belief and religious practices as well as freedom to build or renovate religious houses—in light of the law and the right for citizens to resort to their own religious laws concerning their personal affairs along with other rights mentioned in the Islamic Sharia'—are all considered a part of the values of Egyptian society and a base for its cultural authenticity.7. The participation of all citizens in defending the country is the responsibility of all, and it is the cruciblewhere all segments of society are melted and form national unity. This national unity is crucial in fighting all internal and external enemies of Egypt who want to drive a wedge between its societal segments.8. Religious values are the motives of the renaissance. Therefore, everyone must mobilize these values to achieve a better future for Egypt.9. Social responsibility obliges all leaders, institutions and religious movements to fight against all types of strife, intolerance and discrimination, and consolidate the unity of society.10. Egyptian society's identity represents the frame for allits people. All people have made contributions to this identity and deserve its legacy. Protection of societal

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values is considered the basis of cultural uniqueness and the responsibility of all citizens who contributed to building Egypt's civilization together over time.

All participants of the meeting emphasized the importance of communication between the two parties to promote joint activities, especially among the youth, such as encouraging active participation, advocating for values and religious morals, and carrying the social responsibilityof fighting the illness that affected Egyptian society underthe previous regime. This will guarantee everyone the right to participate in building a new Egypt that achieves the demands and dreams of the revolution19

Both the church and the Brotherhood preferred to describe

these visits as friendly more than political. The goal to

converge the different views about citizenship sent a reassuring

message to Christians.20 We can notice obviously here the overlap

between the Presbyterian Church and the Evangelical Community. We

can divide the participants to three groups depending on their

affiliations and how they were introduced. The first participants

were participants of the Evangelical Community only: Mr. Farouk

AlZabet21 was introduced as the Head of the Congregation of the

19 The Announcement of the Evangelical Community in Egypt, February 28, 2012.20 Walid Abd al- Rahman, “The Convergence of the Brotherhood and the Egyptian

Church Raises Questions in the Political Circles” ارب� ق� ي ت�� لاب� ف� ساؤ� ر ت�� ي ت� ة� ي� ي� سة� ال�مصر ي وان$ ؤال�كن� خ�� الا)ة� اس�ي ؤس�اط ال�سن . Al Shark Al Awsat 12161(March 15, 2012): 2 الا�21 Actually his name has to be written in this way “Al-Zabet.” I have to writeit in that way, because it was written like that in the original document.

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Evangelical Brethren Church. The second were introduced as

members of the Presbyterian Church only: Rev. Soliman Sadek as

Pastor of the Evangelical Church in Fagala, Dr. Rev. Makram

Naguibas as Pastor of the Evangelical Church in Heliopolis, Dr.

Rev. Atef Mehanny as President of the Evangelical Theological

Seminary, Dr. Rafik Habib as Coptic Evangelical Organization for

Social Services "CEOSS", Rev. Refaat Fathy as Secretariat of the

Evangelical Synod, Dr. Rev. Sarwat Kades as Chairman of the Board

of Dialogue of the Evangelical Synod, Dr. Emad Ramzy as

Secretariat of the Board of Directors of CEOSS, Rev. Nady Labib

as Head of Cairo Presbyterian Council, and Rev. Refaat Fekry

(Pastor of the Evangelical Church in Ard Sherif). The third, who

were introduced as members of the Evangelical Community, are

actually also members of the Presbyterian Church: Dr. Rev. Safwat

Al Bayadi22 as President of the Protestant Churches in Egypt, Dr.

Rev. Andrea Zaki23 as Vice- President of the Protestant Churches

in Egypt, Rev. George Shaker24 as Secretariat of the Protestant

22 He is also a Presbyterian pastor, and one of the leaders of the Synod of the Nile23 He is also a Presbyterian pastor. and one of the leaders of the Synod of the Nile24 He is a Presbyterian Pastor, and one of the leaders of the Synod of the Nile.

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Churches in Egypt, Dr. Helmy Samuel25 as Member of the

Parliament, Rev. Daoud Ebrahim26 as Member of the Council of the

Protestant Church of Egypt, Rev. Eid Salah27 as Member of the

Council of the Protestant Church of Egypt, and Dr. Fready Al-

Bayadi28 as Member of the Council of the Protestant Church of

Egypt. The largest group is the second which represent the

participants who were introduced as members of the Presbyterian

Church only. It contains nine persons out of seventeen. The

smallest one is the first which represents the members of the

Evangelical Community only, there was only one person. I think

the participants wanted to be introduced as members of the

Evangelical community for many reasons: the process of confirming

the decisions inside the Evangelical Community would be easier,

because most of the members are representatives of the

Presbyterian Church, and they also represent current intellectual

trends. The Evangelical community is representing all the

25 He is an elder in the Presbyterian Church, and also a member of the Evangelical Community Council.26 He is a Presbyterian Pastor, and one of the leaders of the Synod of the Nile.27 He is a Presbyterian Pastor, and one of the leaders of the Synod of the Nile. He is the Chairman of the Board of the Constitutional Affairs and Judiciary.28 He is an elder in the Presbyterian Church.

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Protestant churches together and has its official status with the

state. The Synod of the Nile, which is considered as the

strongest among the Protestant Churches, cannot held accountable

for the results of the visit.

On March 1, 2012, the Coptic Orthodox Church announced

officially its desire to communicate with the Muslim

Brotherhood.29 The Orthodox Church saw that the illness of the

Pope Shenoute was the cause of obstruction for visits between the

Church and the Brotherhood. Also, the Brotherhood confirmed that

there was no communication between the Orthodox Church and the

Brotherhood. The Coptic Orthodox leaders interpreted this visit

between the Muslim Brotherhood and the Evangelical Community as

the Evangelical Church wanting to replace the Orthodox Church in

the regime. This is important given that the former regimes

considered the Pope as the representative of all Christians in

Egypt. The Evangelical church now wants to be itself the new

representative for Christians in Egypt. It depends on the new

29 Hany Ezzat, “The Orthodox and Catholic Churches Call to Communicate with

the Brotherhood,” $وان خ�� واص�ل م�ع الا) دعوان$ ل�لت� ة� ت�� كي ول�ن ة� ؤال�كاث�9 ك�سي وذ� رث�9 ,Al-Ahram 45471 (January 3 الا�2012): 1

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changes in the political situation and also on Rafik Habib.30 On

the other side, the Catholic Church declared that the official

visits are not able to control the relationships or increase

knowledge. The Catholic Church declared that the Brotherhood is

moderate compared to the Salafis.31

Samuel al-Ashai in El-Bashaeir newspaper describes the visit

as “the Evangelical Church sells the Copts”32 and visits the

Muslim Brotherhood. He point to on the title of Rafik Habib as

the vice president of the al-Horia wa al-Adala “Freedom and Justice”

Party, and at the same time, he is one of the leaders of CEOSS.

Al-Ashai insists that the title for Rafik is that of one of the

leaders of CEOSS. In the content of the news, it is just how he

describes the visit. So his formulation for the headline is just

for media show.

Al-Tahrir newspaper described the meeting between the

Evangelical Church and the Brotherhood as a “religious” meeting.

30 Soliman Shafik, “The Christian Religious Leaders and Brotherhood are One

Hand against Civil State,” ة� ي د ال�دؤلة� ال�مدن�� د ؤاح�ده ص�� Eت وان$ ا) خ�� ة� ؤالا) ي ن� ة� ال�دي� حي اذاب� ال�مسي ن Roz al-Youssef 4371 ال�ق�(March 17, 2012): 2231 Ezzat, “The Orthodox and Catholic Churches Call to Communicate with the Brotherhood,” 1.32 Here the meaning of the Copts is the Christians in Egypt. Also the same word is used for the Orthodox Church. I think that the writer used it to referto the first meaning, but still refers to the Coptic Church in indirect way.

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Also, it insisted on declaring that the meeting was with the

Muslim Brotherhood as a group, not as the political party. The

newspaper mentioned the words of Al- Biadi stating that this

meeting was between religious groups as the church prefers not to

be involved in political conversations. Also, the newspaper

declared that the Evangelical Church called for this meeting, not

the Brotherhood.33

Ikram Lameey34 considered one of the leaders of the

Presbyterian Church in Egypt described the visit between the

Evangelical church and the Muslim Brotherhood as just for media

show. It was just a welcoming and complimentary visit that leads

to nothing.35

Ikram Lameey sees that there is floundering in the thoughts

of the Church leaders. They declare that the Church cannot play

politics, and at the same time, we find that the Church is

represented by a pastor in the Constituent Assembly to draw up a 33 Iman Abd al- Meniem, “Religious Meeting between the Head of the Evangelical

Church and the Guide,” د ة� ؤال�مرس�9 لي Nي ح� ة� الان�� ف� س ال�طات�� ي يNن$ ري�� ي ي�� ن� Xن اء ذ :Al-Tahrir 242 (February 29, 2012) ل�ق�8.34 He was the Chairman of the Board of Media and Publishing, and considered the spokesman of the Presbyterian Church at that time. It was very strange that he was not among the Evangelical group. He criticized the exchange visit between the Evangelical Church and the Brotherhood.35 Shafik, “The Christian Religious Leaders and Brotherhood are One Hand against Civil State,” 22.

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constitution. Also, the Presbyterian Church invited one of the

members of the Military Council in the formal Christmas festival

in the Presbyterian Church at Missr al-Gadida. This happened

immediately after the accident of Masbiro36, so the youth

exclaimed “Down with Military rule.” Ikram Lamey sees that the

Presbyterian Church shared in the revolution by its members more

than through formal participation.37

Nagy Youssef38criticized the exchange visit and condemned

the Evangelical Community. He demanded dissolution of the

Evangelical Community. Most of his critique was against specific

persons, especially the Presbyterian pastors.39

As mentioned previously, Dr. Zaki is a main figure of the

Evangelical Community and of the Presbyterian Church. He played a

vital role in that exchange visit. I will try to give a brief

analysis of his political thoughts. I will depend on one of the

36 It was Copts demonstrations on October 2012, during the SCAF regime. It wasreaction to the demolition of a church in Upper Egypt. It was attacked by the army forces, 28 were killed and 212 injuries.37 http://www.coptstoday.com/Copts-News/Detail.php?Id=3443 (accessed March 4, 2014).38 He is considered one of the fundamental voices of the Evangelicals in Egypt. He is the editor-in-chief of one of the Christian newspapers. He lives in the United States.39 http://www.thelastharvest.com/articles/3175.html (accessed February 25, 2014).

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lectures Dr. Zaki had delivered in the Scholars’ Seminar in the

Evangelical Theological Seminary in Cairo. I chose this lecture

because it spoke about Christians in Egypt after January 25. So

he was speaking on two main topics to declare his political

thoughts: Christians and the revolution.

In one of the statements for Andrea Zaki before the

revolution, he sees that there is no persecution against the

Christians in Egypt. Instead he calls it discrimination; this

discrimination is individual and not institutional. He insists

that the Muslim Brotherhood has played a big role in religious

intolerance and the marginalization of the Copts. He sees that

the Brotherhood is a religious group that wants to have a

political role, and he sees that there is a contradiction between

the sacred religious thinking and the politics. His idea is that

houses of worship have to be far away from the political

struggles.40

Then he says in his lecture that “Although the Egyptian

revolution was focused on national rather than religious

concerns, one of its unanticipated outcomes has been religious

40 http://digital.ahram.org.eg/articles.aspx?Serial=225905&eid=1765 (accessed January 23, 2014).

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tension between Muslims and Christians, leading to political

uncertainty concerning the concept of a civil state and the

formation of the constitution.”41 Zaki sees that “many of the

challenges which face Arab Christians are associated with

Islamism.”42 But we can notice these challenges have faced

Christians since the 1952 revolution. Even though ensuing regimes

described themselves as secular, we can find religious

discrimination against Christians. He adds,

National loyalty and a sense of national belonging have beenreplaced by religious loyalty and a sense of religious belonging. This shift from primarily national to primarily religious identity has created a unique situation for Christians as a religious minority, where they have had their national loyalty and sense of national belonging called into question. Religious affiliation has become stronger than national affiliation.43

Dr. Zaki described the status of the Christians in Egypt with a

new term. He said that “The theology of minorities in the Arab

world is characterized by either passive resistance or sectarian

violence.”44 Then he began to speak in detail about that new

concept about the theology of minorities. He said that “The 41 Andria Zaki, “The Challenges facing Egyptian Christians in the post-January25th Revolution Context,” (Scholar Seminar, Evangelical Theological Seminary in Cairo, February 21, 2012), 1.42 Ibid, 2.43 Ibid, 3.44 Ibid, 5.

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theology that Copts adopted was based on passivity and implies

fundamental contradictions. The church advocates a secular state

while it promotes theocracy, seeing itself as the sole political

alternative with the traditional view of the separation of the

Kingdom of Heaven from the Kingdom of Earth with the

eschatological expectations of God’s intervention in favor of His

people.”45 Then he began to describe the role of the church and

its influence on the status of Christians in Egypt.

The church becomes involved in the political struggle, not as a civil society institution, but as a political alternative. The emphasis on Christian nationalism, the absence of the concept of citizenship, and the limiting of secularization to the political level all create a theological contradiction. This contradiction confuses religion with politics at the level of identity formation, but not within government, which tends to have a secular appearance. Thus, religious identities within secular government limit the development of citizenship.46

We can notice that his ideas concerning the political

participation of the Christians are suitable for the broader

context of the Middle East. The theology of minorities and the

political participation of Christians are considered by Dr. Zaki

to be the prophetic voice of the Church in Egypt. My criticism

45 Ibid, 5.46 Ibid, 6.

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here is that I see a contradiction between his first announcement

before the revolution and his later statements and the lecture. I

see that in his views it depend on different situations and

backgrounds, not his ideas.

Kasr El-Dobara Evangelical Church – El-Tahrir Square47

Kasr El- Dobara played a vital role during the days of the

demonstrations and the events that followed that show how a

church took on a political role, by accident. Its role was

connected with its location in the heart of El-Tahrir Square. The

leaders of the church had to choose between two options. The

first, that the church chooses to pray for Egypt and, because of

the demonstrations in El-Tahrir, be forced to close its doors.

The other choice was to participate in these demonstrations. The

Church preferred to offer a social service for society. The

church turned its building into a field hospital and opened its

doors for all participants in the demonstrations, both Muslim and

Christians. Two Muslim doctors used the church building for

Islamic prayers. It was considered one of the highest degrees of

47 It was started in 1948. It is considered a charismatic church in Egypt. It has a good relationship with the other Protestant dominations in Egypt. It is located in El-Tahrir Square, so it had an influential role during the time of revolution

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reconciliation between Christians and Muslims during the whole

revolution. The leaders of the church also participated in

holding many religious meetings in the square during the

demonstrations. Sameh Mourice, who is the senior pastor of the

church, is well known among the other Protestant denominations

for his spiritual orientation in dealing with social, political,

and economic issues. During the demonstrations, he was invited

many times onto TV shows to share his ideas about the political

situation in Egypt because he was considered the pastor of the

famous church in that time. Because of the different situation,

he had to speak to the public, not just to Christians, and he

tried to strike a balance between his spiritual orientation and

political analysis. Mourice began to hold interdenominational

prayer meetings. On November 2011, an estimated 50,000 Orthodox,

Protestant, and Catholic Copts gathered at St. Samaan the Tanner

Monastery church48. This service is believed to be the largest

public gathering of Christians in Egypt’s history. One of the

Orthodox evangelists said “many churches criticize us, but we see

48 It is Coptic Orthodox Monastery.

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it as a divine mandate.49 Mourice could present himself as a

social activist for the media, but he preferred to keep his

spiritual character inside the church circles. I see that this

dualism made it difficult to suggest if he shared in the

demonstration based on religious or social motivations. I see

that there was a hidden competition between Kasr El-Dobara Church

and the Evangelical Community in Egypt. There was also another

competition between Sameh Mourice, and Dr. Andrea Zaki. This

competition was about who is the leader of the church. It is

noticeable that the Evangelical group who had visited the Muslim

Brotherhood did not include Mourice among them. This competition

was clear during the Christmas and New Year festivals, of which

there were two: the formal one for the evangelical community, and

the other was the Kasr El-Dobara festival. Fayez Ishak50, pastor

at Kasr El-Dobara Presbyterian Church near Tahrir Square, the

largest Protestant church in the Middle East, said, “The Muslim

Brotherhood is trying to show that Christians betrayed the

49 Jeremy Weber, The fight for Egypt’s Future: Coptic Leaders, at the Front Lines of Compassion, Win New Respect for the Christian Community, 49.50 The articled mentioned that Fayez Ishak is a pastor, but actually he is not. He is an elder in the church, and I think that Kasr el-Dobara sometimes refers to its leaders as pastors because then the media to give credibility totheir sayings.

29

revolution, but Shafik51 gained most of his votes in the

Islamist-dominated areas, such as the Nile Delta, not ones with

large Christian populations.”52 This announcement was after the

exchange visit, and it is clear that it is against the

Brotherhood.

Kasr El-Dobara Church evangelist Fawzi Khalil53 represented

Coptic Christians in Tahrir Square the Friday after the “Day of

Rage” that ignited the demonstrations; he led a massive crowd of

hundreds of thousands of Muslims in Christian songs and prayer.

He used the public pulpit to spread peace and blessing. “I

pressed the boundary little by little,” said Khalil. “First I

mentioned God; then I mentioned Jesus.” Khalil said KDEC now

engaged with Muslims every day. The church hosted a memorial

service for martyrs of the revolution, and invited thousands of

Salafis to enter the church to cleanse themselves before prayers

51 Ahmed Shafik was appointed prime minster by Mubarak in a last-ditch effort to save his position. He was one of the candidates to the presidential elections after the revolutions. He was set to compete in a runoff election against Morsi the candidat of the Muslim Brotherhood.52 Jayson Casper, “Will Christians Vote for the Old Regime? Hard Choices in Egypt,” Christian Century(June, 2012): 13.53 Fawzi Khalil is considered one of the leaders of the Kasr el-Dobara Church.He led the first Christian meeting in Tahrir Square. He was introduced as evangelical pastor and was famous as the “Preacher or Pastor of the Revolution.”

30

in Tahrir.54 Then Khalil said, “If we go one by one, we will

evangelize Egypt in 80 million days. If we focus on mass media

and dreams, we have to rely on divine intervention.” He concluded

his ideas about evangelizing Muslims by “revival is coming

regardless of what is going to happen with the revolution.”55 I

see that the primary motivation for the Kasr el-Dobara Church to

participate in the demonstrations was evangelizing, but the

leaders introduced themselves as social and political activists.

Also, there was a role for the Presbyterian Church in Misr Al-

Gadid (Heliopolis). The senior pastor of the church, Rev. Dr.

Makram Naguib, is one of the friends of Dr. Andrea Zaki. The

Church established Committee of Citizenship to communicate with

the local churches. The roles of the Committee are:

1- To establish small committees to communicate with the main committee.

2- To review the candidates to the Parliament to discover who supports civil society and introduce them to the Christians to support.

3- To educate people (Muslims and Christians) how to vote inthe right way.

4- To train the volunteers to work as observers in the election process.

54 Weber, The fight for Egypt’s Future: Coptic Leaders, at the Front Lines of Compassion, Win New Respect for the Christian Community, 48.55 Ibid, 49.

31

5- To meet the revolutionary movements to coordinate with them.56

The Church hosted a festival for the mothers of martyrs on March

25, 2011. The festival was open to Christians and Muslims. The

Church honored these mothers and supported them. The Church

participated in the rebuilding of the police building in

Heliopolis. Nasr City church hosted joint breakfasts and garage

sales with a nearby mosque. A church in Nag Hammadi formed a

coalition of Muslims and Christians to run for parliament.57

Conclusion

This paper described the role of the Presbyterian Church

during the Egyptian demonstrations. I have some observations to

offer in conclusion. The Presbyterian Church played a vital role

in the political situation depending on personal orientation. So

we can see that there were some conflicting decisions, such those

of Dr. Andrea (the Evangelical Community) and Ikram Lameey (Synod

of the Nile). The Presbyterian Church tried to strike a balance

between its prophetic role and political participation, and I see

56 Ikram Lameey, “The Evangelical Church and the Arab Spring ‘Egypt’,” (unpublished research), 5.57 Weber, The fight for Egypt’s Future: Coptic Leaders, at the Front Lines of Compassion, Win New Respect for the Christian Community, 48.

32

that Dr. Andrea’s concerns about political studies and his work

in CEOSS could help the Church to find this balance. So I see

that the Church needs such organizations to express its demands

safely. There is a big problem in documenting the thoughts and

point of views of the Church. I hope that we can find a process

to document these debates in the future. There is a contradiction

between the theological views from one side, and the

administrative and personal views from the other side.

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