This was an interview done by a friend & colleague from college, Annette Jordan (her picture to the left).
Insights regarding the current situation in Egypt
The current demonstrations in Egypt is an answer to the prayers of many of the oppressed Christian believers in that country. Millions have been praying for deliverance because of the persecution. Christians believe that God is answering their prayers and the outcome is going to be good. The Egyptian government has been oppressive for 30 years. For the last 10 years, the country has been stagnant. Food prices are very high. Egypt is 2nd in receiving aid from the U.S., but much of that money never reaches the people. (60% are under the age of 30, 90% of them are unemployed. 70% make less then $4.00 a day.) The uprising in Tunisia helped spark the uprising in Egypt. People in the Middle East are tired of the rulers. There will probably be some hurt, but freedom is not free.
The Church in the Middle East is praying that:
The American government will act wisely. The analysts consider Mubarak as our friend. The U.S. needs to be more concerned about the people.
Pray for a new government to come in, but not one controlled by the Muslim Brotherhood. The Muslim Brotherhood used to hold 88 seats in the Egyptian parliament. After the last elections they only hold
The Egyptian people are tired of the violence. The New Year's Eve attack on the church in Alexandria hurt the Islamists. The uprising we are seeing today is tied to that. Some Muslims went to churches and said, "We either live together or die together." The Egyptians do not want violence - if the Muslim Brotherhood takes over they will not only persecute Christians, but they will also oppress liberal Muslims.
The Church has decided to stay away from the protests - they are continuing to pray for the situation. So far the Muslims are not attacking Christians Right now the clash is between the Muslims and the government Fundamental Muslims vowed before Christmas to destroy the church in Alexandria as an example of their plan to destroy all Christians in Egypt.
The violence from groups like the Muslim Brotherhood has led many Muslims into Christianity because it makes them question Islam. The Muslim Brotherhood has started to speak up and condemn the violence because they are realizing this. The Egyptian army is not against the people, but the police are. In 2005 the Muslim Brotherhood was strong even in the military, but they have lost and are continuing to lose power.
The media is giving few details about Jordan right now. There is a Middle Eastern saying, "If Egypt goes, the whole Middle East will go." Egypt is important because it is an economic, educational, media center for the entire Middle East. Egypt often acts as a liaison for countries without American embassies - since Egypt is at peace with Israel, meetings involving Israel can take place there because it is neutral ground.
The government shut down communication (blackout of internet and cell phones) which made the people more angry and caused them to take to the streets. There are hundreds of thousands of protesters. Many comments were made that it was a big mistake that the Egyptian authorities shut down communication and it resulted in increased demonstrations in in the streets. Arabic Christian satellite in North America continued to broadcast what is happening (they got images from other means) and that led many Egyptians to turn to the Christian satellites for information!
The Muslim Brotherhood is losing ground in the Middle East, but unfortunately they are gaining ground here in our nation. Victor shared how God is moving in (Muslim) Sudan - he said that there are 100 Muslims becoming Christians every day. There are signs that say "Jesus loves you" and Bibles are being handed out! Victor said that the people of Egypt are not against the United States. They say that America delivered Iraq from Saddam, and now America needs to deliver Egypt from Mubarak.
PRAY: Pray for protection of believers (Christians and Muslim believers) Pray for protection of Muslims who are on the verge to becoming believers Pray for wisdom for a new liberal government
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