As Egyptians of all factions prepare to demonstrate in mass against the Muslim Brotherhood and President Morsi’s rule on June 30, the latter has been trying to reduce their numbers, which some predict will be in the millions and eclipse the Tahrir protests that earlier ousted Mubarak. Accordingly, among other influential Egyptians, Morsi recently called on Coptic Christian Pope Tawadros II to urge his flock, Egypt’s millions of Christians, not to join the June 30 protests.
While that may be expected, more troubling is that the U.S. ambassador to Egypt is also trying to prevent Egyptians from protesting—including the Copts. The June 18 edition of Sadi al-Balad reports that lawyer Ramses Naggar, the Coptic Church’s legal counsel, said that during Patterson’s June 17 meeting with Pope Tawadros, she “asked him to urge the Copts not to participate” in the demonstrations against Morsi and the Brotherhood.
The Pope politely informed her that his spiritual authority over the Copts does not extend to political matters.
Regardless, many Egyptian activists are condemning Patterson for continuously behaving like the Muslim Brotherhood’s stooge. Leading opposition activist Shady el-Ghazali Harb said Patterson showed “blatant bias” in favor of Morsi and the Brotherhood, adding that her remarks had earned the U.S. administration “the enmity of the Egyptian people.” Coptic activists like George Ishaq openly told Patterson to “shut up and mind your own business.” And Christian business tycoon Naguib Sawiris—no stranger to Islamist hostility—posted a message on his Twitter account addressed to the ambassador saying “Bless us with your silence.”
Indeed, the U.S. ambassador’s position as the Brotherhood’s lackey is disturbing—and revealing—on several levels. First, all throughout the Middle East, the U.S. has been supporting anyone and everyone opposing their leaders—in Libya against Gaddafi, in Egypt itself against 30-year U.S. ally Mubarak, and now in Syria against Assad. In all these cases, the U.S. has presented its support in the name of the human rights and freedoms of the people against dictatorial leaders.
So why is the Obama administration now asking Christians not to oppose their rulers—in this case, Islamists—who have daily proven themselves corrupt and worse, to the point that millions of Egyptians, most of them Muslims, are trying to oust them?
What’s worse is that the human rights abuses Egypt’s Coptic Christians have been suffering under Muslim Brotherhood rule are significantly worse than the human rights abuses that the average Egyptian suffered under Mubarak—making the Copts’ right to protest even more legitimate, and, if anything, more worthy of U.S support.
Among other things, under Morsi’s rule, the persecution of Copts has practically been legalized, as unprecedented numbers of Christians—men, women, and children—have been arrested, often receiving more than double the maximum prison sentence, under the accusation that they “blasphemed” Islam and/or its prophet. It was also under Morsi’s reign that another unprecedented scandal occurred: the St. Mark Cathedral—holiest site of Coptic Christianity and headquarters to Pope Tawadros himself—was besieged in broad daylight by Islamic rioters. When security came, they too joined in the attack on the cathedral. And the targeting of Christian children—for abduction, ransom, rape, and/or forced conversion—has also reached unprecedented levels under Morsi. (For more on the plight of the Copts under Morsi’s rule, see my new book Crucified Again: Exposing Islam’s New War on Christians.)
Yet despite the fact that if anyone in Egypt has a legitimate human rights concern against the current Egyptian government, it most certainly is the Christian Copts, here is the U.S., in the person of Ms. Patterson, asking them not to join the planned protests.
In other words, and consistent with Obama administration doctrine, when Islamists—including rapists and cannibals—wage jihad on secular leaders, the U.S. supports them; when Christians protest Islamist rulers who are making their lives a living hell, the administration asks them to “know their place” and behave like dhimmis, Islam’s appellation for non-Muslim “infidels” who must live as third class “citizens” and never complain about their inferior status.
Great article, Thank-you for keeping all of us informed. I believe the protesters who want and have a heart for Real Freedom in Egypt will be out protesting. It’s unfortunate that the Obama administration didn’t support the protesters who wanted Real Freedom during the first protests. It’s embarrassing and sad to think America under the current administration won’t again be supporting the protesters who want Real Freedom. The Obama administration doesn’t seem to have a problem supporting al-Qaeda against Assad in Syria who it seems regularly murder innocent Christian men, women and children. The current administrations goal appears to be to bring down dictatorships in the middle east and replace them with the Muslim Brotherhood. I believe the communists, marxists, socialists and sheeple are being used by the Obama administration, and if he and his administration could they would bring about an Islamic form of government to the U.S. just as they are attempting to do in the middle east.
Christians the world over, gird your loins. The guy elected to the American presidency in 2008 and again in 2012 is actively pursuing your destruction come hell or high water. Does anyone still honestly believe he is a Christian?
never did. it was obvious in ’08 that dear leader is a muslim. it took a huge effort by fools that wanted to be deceived to pretend that dear leader is anything but a muslim mole. if Obama were not a muslim, what would he do differently? even signing the death warrant of his soul-mate, Osama, was compatible with being a muslim. what choice did he have? if dear leader had gone with his heart and spared his friend and compatriot, Osama, even our liberal fools would have wanted to impeach the muslim, and that would have been a much greater defeat for Islamic jihad than the mere loss of a used up Osama, so Osama had to take a hit for the osamabama team. dear leader is and always has been a muslim, an enemy of civilization, and even an enemy of the fawning left, even if the left is too stupid to recognize that.
Ironic he never told anyone not to protest Mubarak.
Of course Mubarak never had a terror group hit an Embassy – Which Obama’s Administration had conveniently stripped of much of its defenses.
Why doesn’t the article give the full name of the ambassador???? Where is the copyeditor for this website?
Obama is showing his true colours as he supports the Muslim murder of Christians in Egypt. This will affect U.S credibility and undermine U.S. influence world wide.