‘I Have Seen The Real Meaning Of Hate’: Christians In Arab World Facing Unprecented Reprisals, Uncertain Fate

Matthew 24:22,27, “And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened… For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.”

The Lakeshore – “As Egypt plunges into unrest amid the military-backed government’s crackdown on demonstrators, the country’s Christian minority has been targeted by Islamic extremists.

Dozens of churches have been burned, ransacked and looted since the government began fighting against supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood and ousted President Mohammed Morsi two weeks ago.

Video posted on YouTube shows the streets of the city of Minya, 190 miles south of Cairo, by night, an orange glow in the sky. The video shows flames bursting from the arched windows of a Coptic Christian church. Young men toss wooden boards and rocks at the facade.

Activists and human rights groups say this scene has played out dozens of times around the country, where Christians make up approximately 10 percent of the population…

‘Burning our churches, killing our brothers and sisters and looting our shops and our stores,’ says Mina Thabet, an engineer and activist with the Coptic Christian group Maspero Youth Union, tells Jacki Lyden, host of weekends on All Things Considered, from Cairo. ‘I have seen the real meaning of hate.’

That hate, he says, has come from the Muslim Brotherhood and extremist Islamic groups…

The experience of Christians in Egypt is not unique to that country. Christians make up small but significant minorities in several countries in the region…” Read more.

Egypt’s Christians Face Unprecedented Reprisals From Muslim Brotherhood – “Islamist mobs have torched schools and businesses owned by Christians, looted churches and even paraded captive nuns through the streets of a city south of Cairo in a display of rage unseen in Egypt’s recent history. The campaign of killing and arson is retaliation for the tiny Christian community’s support of the military coup that ousted President Mohammed Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood government. ‘The Muslim Brotherhood were the ones who called for aggression [against Christians]. They are responsible,’ said the Rev. Khalil Fawzi, a pastor at Kasr El Dubarrah Evangelical Church, the largest evangelical congregation in the Middle East. ‘Either they are in control or they burn Egypt.’ Since the military removed Mr. Morsi seven weeks ago, his supporters have burned at least 44 churches and ransacked more than 20 other Christian institutions throughout Egypt.“Read more.