ALEXANDRIA,
Egypt, October 23, 2005 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – The
sectarian tension in Egypt’s second city of Alexandria over an
anti-Islam play produced by an Orthodox church is casting a shadow
over the upcoming parliamentary elections in the Arab worlds’ most
populous country.
The
Coptic candidate of the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) in
Alexandria, Maher Khella, was in a fiery mood insisting that the play
at issue did not convey an anti-Islamic message and decided to
withdraw from the parliamentary race “to defuse tensions” and in
protest at the Muslim demonstration.
“The
(Muslim) demonstrators burned copies of the Bible yesterday. This is
unacceptable and right now we can’t even accept excuses,” Khella
told Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Sunday, October 23.
“I
have presented a request to my party demanding my candidacy in the
elections be withdrawn in an attempt to defuse the tension,” he
added.
At
least three people have been killed and around 60 injured in violent
clashes Friday, October 21, between thousands of Muslim protestors and
police in the coastal city amid mounting tensions over a DVD release
of the play produced by the Mar Girgis Church two years back.
Entitled
“I was blind and now I can see”, the play tells the story of a
young Christian who reverted to Islam and is exhorted by a sheikh to
kill priests and destroy churches.
Abused
and maltreated by the sheikh and his group, the young man eventually
abandons Islam. The play further mocks at the bases of the Muslim
faith.
One
of the protesters categorically denied in statements to
IslamOnline.net’s correspondent that copies of the Bible had been
burned.
“We
only chanted pro-Islam and pro-Prophet Muhammad slogans,” he said
energetically.
“Muslims
holds the Bible in high esteem and see Jesus as one of the messengers
of Allah. All we demanded during the demonstration was a clear apology
from the church.”
Friday’s
mass rally erupted after the expiry of an ultimatum demanding a formal
apology from Coptic Pope Shenouda III.
Calm
had returned to the streets of Alexandria Saturday, October 22.
But
IOL’s correspondent says tension between Muslims and Copts in this
coastal city is to aggravate unless the Church leaders listened to the
voice of reason and offered an apology via the media in case they
wanted to nip the sedition in the bud.
“Escape”
An
NDP source criticized Khella’s “escape” from an expected
crushing defeat at his constituency in the parliamentary elections due
to kick off on November 15.
“He
might have felt unlikely to win the election, and took advantage of
the incident to evade the loss and retreat from the contest,” said
the NDP official, hitting out at Khella for linking his election bid
to the current standoff.
“Add
to that, Khella is not representing the Muharram Bek constituency
where Mar Girgis church exists.”
Khella
is not even popular at his Ghorbal constituency, added one of the
district’s eligible voters.
“The
NDP has fielded him because he is a business tycoon who owns one of
the country’s largest spirits factory,” added the voter, speaking
on condition of anonymity.
The
incident also played well into the hands of other candidates.
Independent
Mohammad al-Badrashini was so keen on showing up daily in the troubled
district, though he was running in another constituency.
A
number of NDP candidates have also appeared in the area during the
demonstrations, and some of them tried to convince church leaders to
say sorry.
The
candidate of the Muslim Brotherhood further demanded the Coptic
Orthodox Church to clarify its position on the play.
“I'm
not asking for an apology but the Church must make a clear statement
because the DVD was watched by many and it clearly harms the image of
Islam,” Osama Gado told AFP.
The
liberal opposition Ghad party candidate, Tamer Harfush, also stepped
in and lambasted the play.
"The
play compares Islam and Christianity, Jesus and Prophet Muhammad,
presenting the first as a man who sacrificed his life and the second
as more preoccupied with earthly pleasures," Harfush said.
Pope
Shenouda III and the Church's lay council issued a statement stressing
that the play had been performed only once two years ago and accusing
the Egyptian press of fanning sectarian tensions.
"Should
Christians be blamed for mere rumors that are spread by
newspapers?" Shenouda asked in the statement, which was carried
by the official MENA news agency.
Another
statement was issued by Pope Shenouda III and Al-Azhar Grand Imam
Mohammad Sayyed Tantawi, calling on all sides to practice restraint.
"As
we celebrate the holy month of Ramadan, we gather around one table to
break the fast, Muslims and Christians together," it said.
The
pope's scheduled participation Saturday, October 22, in an Alexandria
Iftar was postponed.
