-3 December 2003
- Mary Elizabeth Hansen
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is easily offended. Most recently, they were officially offended by the syndicated cartoonist, Johnny Hart. Mr. Hart published a silly, potty-centered cartoon featuring an outhouse with a crescent moon above the door. The folks at CAIR took one look at the crescent moon and pounced on the cartoonist and the cartoon as more evidence of anti-Muslim bias in the media. Instead of gently reminding CAIR of a piece of Americana, namely, that outhouses, real and fictionalized, frequently sported crescent moons, mainstream media outlets dutifully published CAIR's outrage at the cartoon and its creator.
CAIR continues to fuss and fume. In the meantime, their fellow Muslims in Egypt have developed a new symbol to express their contempt and loathing for Egyptians who profess Christianity. According to a Associated Press report, Islamic bookshops are busily selling shark stickers to their patrons. The fish-hungry shark stickers, some printed with the phrase, "No god but Allah" are sold as an ugly response to a recent spate of fish stickers displayed by Egyptian Christians. The fish has long been a popular symbol among Christians, having it origins in the New Testament story of the miracle of the fishes and loaves.
Several years ago, a Coptic Christian businessman began importing the fish stickers to sell to his fellow Christians. The stickers are an innocuous, timid way to publicly display a religious identity. For the cost of a few cents, impoverished believers can purchase a symbol of faith, cheaper than gold crosses or medals. Christians in Egypt have been suffered a long history of humiliation, discrimination and persecution since Arab Muslims invaded their country centuries ago. Their descendants, young, angry Islamists, swaggering on the famous "Arab streets," display their intolerance with alternative stickers to those who adhere to a religion other than Islam. The message to Christians is, "You are a dhimmi. Islam will always rule and there will never be any peace or safety for you unless you join Islam."
Sharks are fierce, predatory creatures, capable of producing great fear from their potential victims. The infamous Egyptian security police force has the same effect on Christians, particularly Christian converts. Egyptian law prohibits Muslims from converting to Christianity, although it is perfectly legal and, in fact, encouraged by social and economic factors for Egyptian Christians to convert to Islam. Last month as many as 22 Christian converts, or apostates as Muslims label them, were rounded up by the much-feared security police forces, jailed and tortured. One detainee, Issam Abdul Fathr Mohammed, a civil servant in his late 40's who had converted to Christianity years ago, died while in detention on Oct.26. Mohammed suffered from diabetes. His death followed a severe beating while in custody of the police. The rest of the detainees were eventually released, with charges pending, except for a 30 year old married mother of two, Miriam Girguis Makar. Miriam converted to Christianity seven years ago, along with her husband, Yusuf Samuel Makari Suliman.
Suliman stated that both he and his wife were tortured while in police custody, although Miriam suffered more torture, according her husband. The latest reports indicate that the police have called in a scholar from the Al-Azzhar Islamic University to solidify their case against Mrs. Makar. It seems that Miriam Maker is going to serve as a example for all Christian converts and those considering a change of religion. If you change religions, the mighty state of Egypt, with all of its powers, will descend on you...so don't even think about it! Miriam's husband is resolute. He stated, "We cannot go back to Islam. I have put my hand in the hand of Jesus, and I can't take it out and go back."
Oceans apart, the U.S. Congress and the U.S. State Department still treat Egypt as a valuable ally and a "partner in the war against terrorism." They conveniently ignore the fact that Egypt is conducting a war of terror on a daily basis, officially and by mob rule, against its own Christian citizens. Annually, Egypt continues to receive billions of American tax dollars. Some of those funds are routinely used to attack fellow Egyptians for the crime of practicing a religion other than Islam. Egypt is a signatory to the United Nations Charter, guaranteeing the freedom to practice one's religion of choice, an agreement ignored by the late President Sadat and presently by Mr. Mubarak and his cronies.
In Egypt, the sharks are circling. Christians are being jailed, tortured and killed, by the state and in the streets. In the U. S. CAIR continues it outrage over a crescent moon that has nothing to do with their religion and all to do about a comical reference to the original purpose of outhouses.
The fins are above the water line. Does anyone in the American media or government notice them? Or, are they too busy looking at the comic strips?
© Mary Elizabeth Hansen