As Egypt plans to hold parliamentary elections November 28 and rebuild its government following the events of the Arab Spring, a peaceful Christian-led protest turned into a bloody scene Sunday, leaving 25 to 35 people dead and 300 to perhaps 500 injured. The dead are believed to be mostly Christians.Videos have shown that military police went to stop the protest, shooting, releasing tear gas, beating people with batons, and running people over with their trucks. Protestors maintain they had no weapons and were attacked by police and thugs, although early reports from Egypt’s liberal media stated the protestors started the brutality and army personnel were killed (no army members were listed in the fatalities).Coptic Christians have led protests in the months following the Arab Spring. Egyptian believers—the country’s minority at 10 percent—have faced hindrances in society. After President Hosni Mubarak stepped down, more attacks against churches and Christian communities have occurred without repercussion, and some Islamists have been vocal about wanting Copts to have different rights than Muslims under the new government.Coptic Christians have been frustrated with the repeated attacks and lack of justice, and with the intolerance and poor treatment they encounter because they are not Muslims. What happened on Sunday was not the first time the military and others have used force against a peaceful Coptic protest, although it was the most violent. Last week, a sit-in was disrupted when the military fired their guns in order to chase protestors away from the National Television and Radio building (Maspero).That protest was led by the Maspero Youth Union and Copts Without Borders (which dropped out during the march and did not continue to the sit-in). The Maspero Youth Union is made up of Christians who are trying to stop religious persecution by getting involved in politics instead of trying to “change things simply by praying and singing,” as Fadi Philip told blogger Jayson Casper. There are Muslim members within the group as well.Maspero Youth Union has been leading protests for months in order to improve the lives of Christians. They have held sit-ins in order to get the government to implement new policies, such as allowing Christians to open new churches and punishing people who have incited violence against Christians. Casper blogged about what he saw when he first arrived at the metro station close to Tahrir Square on Sunday night. He ran into a group of shaken people whom he believes were Copts: “This group stated with vehemence they had been attacked by the army, emphasizing it was the army, and not simple thugs. People had been shot and armored vehicles had run over protestors as they swerved through the crowd. Some claimed there were snipers. Confusion reigned, and it was hard to know what was happening.”He was unable to get too close to the scene of the protest, but wrote that “it was impossible to tell Muslim from Christian, protestor from bystander from ‘thug.’ Who was committing violence, and who was suffering it, was impossible to say.”Casper was able to talk with a member of the Maspero Youth Union, who said that 10,000 Copts and Muslims had been interrupted during their march by thugs he believed the army had sent. The man said the plan was to leave at 8 p.m. and not engage in a sit-in, but they were attacked “immediately” after arriving at Maspero. At least one member of the Maspero Youth Union, Michael Mossad, was killed.On his Facebook page, Prime Minister Essam Sharaf wrote, “What took place was not a confrontation between Muslims and Christians but an attempt to create chaos and ignite sectarian sedition. . . . I urge all children of the nation who are keen for its future to answer those who call for sectarian sedition. This is a fire which will consume us all, without distinction.” Coptic and Muslim leaders have been called to meet together by the “Family House,” an anti-sectarian project that was started after the New Year’s Eve church bombing in Alexandria. The meeting will attempt to create a plan to address the event and its aftermath.Meanwhile, thousands mourn the victims and protest the military’s actions. Through Twitter, activists and journalists claim that hospitals are trying to cover up the truth of what happened by refusing to release the victims’ bodies to their families until the families sign papers stating the victim died from fractures or burns, not gunshots. Pope Shenouda III of the Coptic Christians announced that Tuesday would mark the beginning of three days of mourning, praying, and fasting as funerals begin; these are expected to spark more protests.Editor’s Note: This story has been updated as more information has come in.Copyright © 2011 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.Related Elsewhere:Previous coverage of Egypt includes:
| Away from news cameras, Christian, Muslim youth rediscover common ground. (March 7, 2011)
| More than they used to, say observers and insiders. (February 14, 2011)
| They were protesting a church attack when the Tahrir Square demonstrations began. Political change likely won’t undo deep tensions with Muslims. (February 11, 2011)
Craig is the finest apologist to come on the scene in 50 years, and this is his classic work for a thoughtful, general audience. It starts with the case for God and moves to the case for Christ. For folks who want a first-rate treatment, there is none better.
* * *
"You can blame droughts on God, but famines are manmade. This shouldn't be happening."
So said humanitarian rock star Bono in a recent interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper on the current crisis in the Horn of Africa. More than 30,000 children under age 5 have died in the famine in the past four months, and another 12 million people are at risk of starvation. The number of dead was expected to increase significantly as this edition of Christianity Today went to press.
As Bono and other activists have pointed out, solutions are possible. "Since famine is manmade, it can be undone by human activity and human intervention," said former senator William Frist, who recently visited the area as part of a U.S. delegation. Scientists, politicians, and aid organizations knew up to 18 months ago that the drought—Africa's worst in 60 years—was coming, but lacked the resources and access to avert the famine that would almost certainly accompany it. Preemptive aid, including food, water, medical supplies, and agricultural assistance, prepared millions of Kenyans and Ethiopians to survive. But millions more in war-torn Somalia never received such help, and many are still unreachable due to fighting and factions, particularly where the Islamist militant group Al-Shabaab is active. As a result, hundreds of thousands have poured out of the country into refugee camps in neighboring Kenya and Ethiopia.
The U.S. federal government has sent more than 0 million, but with a debt crisis and a Congress looking to cut spending, it is calling on the private sector, particularly the faith-based community, to step up. (By comparison, the government sent about billion to the Horn of Africa during a 2008 drought that was significantly less severe than this one. It sent 8 million in aid after the 2004 tsunami in East Asia, and .9 billion after the 2010 Haiti earthquake. The United Nations estimates that another .4 billion is needed for emergency care in Africa right now.)
Jill Biden, wife of Vice President Biden, recently visited refugee camps in Dadaab, Kenya, calling the famine "a moral crisis and humanitarian crisis of the first order." She met one Somali mother of two young children who "had to make the wrenching choice" to leave one child behind to die on the road when she could no longer carry both.
'We Can Do Something'
"The good news is we can do something," Biden said. "We saw firsthand the difference that aid is making."
Many faith-based NGOS are freely doing their work in Kenya and Ethiopia, but most of Somalia presents a security risk—especially in south-central regions where Al-Shabaab is most active. In a recent 58-page report, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said the militant group "has violated international humanitarian law by prohibiting food aid to many areas under its control. It has banned about 20 humanitarian organizations, whom it accuses of pursuing religious or ideological motives." The UN World Food Programme also reported that food is often stolen, then sold at markets near the starving people it was intended for.
Christian aid organizations, which Al-Shabaab calls "infidels," are particularly at risk, according to HRW. Al-Shabaab spokesman Ali Mohamud Rage recently told Al Jazeera that it will continue to ban most foreign aid, and went so far as to deny any problem. Rage said there is merely a "shortage of rain" and that "the declaration of famine is political and is a lie with hidden agendas."
World Vision has teams in Kenya, Ethiopia, and regions of Somalia where it has "earned the trust of the communities" through years of working there, said Nathaniel Hurd, policy adviser for conflicts and disasters. "Because we're impartial and independent and make it clear that we're there to serve, we are often able to work in places where there is conflict."
Raj Shah, the administrator of USAID, said the government relies on faith-based organizations in the area to help them get aid to those who need it most. "They've always been the first responders and the type of institutions that build the deep, longstanding, trust-based commitments with communities at risk."
Food for the Hungry, working in drought-affected communities in Ethiopia, is providing food packages for 91,810 individuals with the help of USAID and Canadian Food Grains Bank, but said it needs an additional 2,000 to sustain the program through the end of 2011. Ato Abuta, 35, one of the recipients of the food, told the nonprofit, "My little children cry out at night because they go hungry to bed. I am only able to feed them by borrowing money from neighbors to purchase food. I will have to pay them back 10 percent interest after my harvest." But with the drought, there may be no harvest.
Samaritan's Purse has a team in Garissa, Kenya, near the Somali border, where volunteers are distributing maize, beans, corn-soy blend, cooking oil, and other necessities. One staff member reports dead animals all along the road, a sign of loss of livestock, which is devastating for villages. A Christian Aid worker met a man who had 3,000 cattle before the drought began; he now has 30, and most are too weak to walk.
Somali Americans Help Out
Shah said U.S. officials have been "active" in Minnesota (home to 60,000 Somali refugees) and other Somali communities in the United States, "seeking relationships and access and ideas." "We have found these to be incredibly valuable relationships in helping things to get done," added Assistant Secretary of State Eric Schwartz.
The loss of livestock is devastating for villages. A Christian Aid worker met a man who had 3,000 cattle before the drought began; he now has 30, and most are too weak to walk.
One of those engagements has resulted in a pledge of at least 5 million meals from Feed My Starving Children (FMSC), a Christian hunger relief charity that distributes nutritionally complete meals in almost 70 countries. A Somali leader in Minneapolis approached the nonprofit about packing meals for relatives who operate 15 feeding centers in southern Somalia and were running out of resources. Sultan Warsame Aliyoow, the local leader, is asking area Somalis to donate and pack meals at the FMSC center in Minneapolis. The first shipment of 272,000 meals arrived in Hargeisa, Somalia, in late July, and another 1.4 million were shipped by the end of August, en route to the goal of 5 million.
"We feel a particular connection to this crisis because our Twin Cities headquarters are located near the largest Somali community outside of Somalia itself," said Mark Crea, executive director of FMSC.
Tony Hall, executive director of the Alliance to End Hunger and former U.S. ambassador to the World Food Programme, told CT that he's encouraged by efforts by the Christian community but that more needs to be done.
"There are a lot of [Christian] organizations there and they're really helping these people," said Hall, who visited Kenyan refugee camps in mid-August. "They're feeding them. Kids are being treated. People are getting clean water. There's hope on the ground. But it's hard to keep up. More than 1,500 people a day are fleeing Somalia, so the need keeps growing. But once they reach the refugee camps, they are getting help."
Mark Moring is senior associate editor for Christianity Today. To find out how to help, go to ChristianityToday.com/go/HornofAfrica.
Copyright © 2011 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.
Related Elsewhere:
For the latest information about the crisis in the Horn of Africa, visit BBC News and The New York Times
.
Previous CT coverage of world hunger and drought in the Horn of Africa includes:
Famine in East Africa: Who Cares? | Several Christian NGOs are on the move, provided they can get the appropriate funds. (August 19, 2011)
Polling Evangelicals: Cut Aid to World's Poor, Unemployed | A Pew Research Center survey suggests evangelicals prefer the government spend on schools, the military, and police. (February 18, 2011)
Hunger Isn't History | The world produces more food than ever. So why do nearly a billion people still not have enough to eat? (November 7, 2008)
A treasure trove of short, powerful entries that cover the gamut of apologetic topics. If you need to get your hands on a quick treatment of a specific issue, this is the place.
* * *
"You can blame droughts on God, but famines are manmade. This shouldn't be happening."
So said humanitarian rock star Bono in a recent interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper on the current crisis in the Horn of Africa. More than 30,000 children under age 5 have died in the famine in the past four months, and another 12 million people are at risk of starvation. The number of dead was expected to increase significantly as this edition of Christianity Today went to press.
As Bono and other activists have pointed out, solutions are possible. "Since famine is manmade, it can be undone by human activity and human intervention," said former senator William Frist, who recently visited the area as part of a U.S. delegation. Scientists, politicians, and aid organizations knew up to 18 months ago that the drought—Africa's worst in 60 years—was coming, but lacked the resources and access to avert the famine that would almost certainly accompany it. Preemptive aid, including food, water, medical supplies, and agricultural assistance, prepared millions of Kenyans and Ethiopians to survive. But millions more in war-torn Somalia never received such help, and many are still unreachable due to fighting and factions, particularly where the Islamist militant group Al-Shabaab is active. As a result, hundreds of thousands have poured out of the country into refugee camps in neighboring Kenya and Ethiopia.
The U.S. federal government has sent more than 0 million, but with a debt crisis and a Congress looking to cut spending, it is calling on the private sector, particularly the faith-based community, to step up. (By comparison, the government sent about billion to the Horn of Africa during a 2008 drought that was significantly less severe than this one. It sent 8 million in aid after the 2004 tsunami in East Asia, and .9 billion after the 2010 Haiti earthquake. The United Nations estimates that another .4 billion is needed for emergency care in Africa right now.)
Jill Biden, wife of Vice President Biden, recently visited refugee camps in Dadaab, Kenya, calling the famine "a moral crisis and humanitarian crisis of the first order." She met one Somali mother of two young children who "had to make the wrenching choice" to leave one child behind to die on the road when she could no longer carry both.
'We Can Do Something'
"The good news is we can do something," Biden said. "We saw firsthand the difference that aid is making."
Many faith-based NGOS are freely doing their work in Kenya and Ethiopia, but most of Somalia presents a security risk—especially in south-central regions where Al-Shabaab is most active. In a recent 58-page report, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said the militant group "has violated international humanitarian law by prohibiting food aid to many areas under its control. It has banned about 20 humanitarian organizations, whom it accuses of pursuing religious or ideological motives." The UN World Food Programme also reported that food is often stolen, then sold at markets near the starving people it was intended for.
Christian aid organizations, which Al-Shabaab calls "infidels," are particularly at risk, according to HRW. Al-Shabaab spokesman Ali Mohamud Rage recently told Al Jazeera that it will continue to ban most foreign aid, and went so far as to deny any problem. Rage said there is merely a "shortage of rain" and that "the declaration of famine is political and is a lie with hidden agendas."
World Vision has teams in Kenya, Ethiopia, and regions of Somalia where it has "earned the trust of the communities" through years of working there, said Nathaniel Hurd, policy adviser for conflicts and disasters. "Because we're impartial and independent and make it clear that we're there to serve, we are often able to work in places where there is conflict."
Raj Shah, the administrator of USAID, said the government relies on faith-based organizations in the area to help them get aid to those who need it most. "They've always been the first responders and the type of institutions that build the deep, longstanding, trust-based commitments with communities at risk."
Food for the Hungry, working in drought-affected communities in Ethiopia, is providing food packages for 91,810 individuals with the help of USAID and Canadian Food Grains Bank, but said it needs an additional 2,000 to sustain the program through the end of 2011. Ato Abuta, 35, one of the recipients of the food, told the nonprofit, "My little children cry out at night because they go hungry to bed. I am only able to feed them by borrowing money from neighbors to purchase food. I will have to pay them back 10 percent interest after my harvest." But with the drought, there may be no harvest.
Samaritan's Purse has a team in Garissa, Kenya, near the Somali border, where volunteers are distributing maize, beans, corn-soy blend, cooking oil, and other necessities. One staff member reports dead animals all along the road, a sign of loss of livestock, which is devastating for villages. A Christian Aid worker met a man who had 3,000 cattle before the drought began; he now has 30, and most are too weak to walk.
Somali Americans Help Out
Shah said U.S. officials have been "active" in Minnesota (home to 60,000 Somali refugees) and other Somali communities in the United States, "seeking relationships and access and ideas." "We have found these to be incredibly valuable relationships in helping things to get done," added Assistant Secretary of State Eric Schwartz.
The loss of livestock is devastating for villages. A Christian Aid worker met a man who had 3,000 cattle before the drought began; he now has 30, and most are too weak to walk.
One of those engagements has resulted in a pledge of at least 5 million meals from Feed My Starving Children (FMSC), a Christian hunger relief charity that distributes nutritionally complete meals in almost 70 countries. A Somali leader in Minneapolis approached the nonprofit about packing meals for relatives who operate 15 feeding centers in southern Somalia and were running out of resources. Sultan Warsame Aliyoow, the local leader, is asking area Somalis to donate and pack meals at the FMSC center in Minneapolis. The first shipment of 272,000 meals arrived in Hargeisa, Somalia, in late July, and another 1.4 million were shipped by the end of August, en route to the goal of 5 million.
"We feel a particular connection to this crisis because our Twin Cities headquarters are located near the largest Somali community outside of Somalia itself," said Mark Crea, executive director of FMSC.
Tony Hall, executive director of the Alliance to End Hunger and former U.S. ambassador to the World Food Programme, told CT that he's encouraged by efforts by the Christian community but that more needs to be done.
"There are a lot of [Christian] organizations there and they're really helping these people," said Hall, who visited Kenyan refugee camps in mid-August. "They're feeding them. Kids are being treated. People are getting clean water. There's hope on the ground. But it's hard to keep up. More than 1,500 people a day are fleeing Somalia, so the need keeps growing. But once they reach the refugee camps, they are getting help."
Mark Moring is senior associate editor for Christianity Today. To find out how to help, go to ChristianityToday.com/go/HornofAfrica.
Copyright © 2011 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.
Related Elsewhere:
For the latest information about the crisis in the Horn of Africa, visit BBC News and The New York Times
.
Previous CT coverage of world hunger and drought in the Horn of Africa includes:
| Several Christian NGOs are on the move, provided they can get the appropriate funds. (August 19, 2011)
| A Pew Research Center survey suggests evangelicals prefer the government spend on schools, the military, and police. (February 18, 2011)
| The world produces more food than ever. So why do nearly a billion people still not have enough to eat? (November 7, 2008)
An extremely readable, engaging volume. An interested layperson can benefit from it, yet you can confidently give it to a sophisticated, skeptical scientist.
Articles about Jonathan Wells’ work include:
The Peppered Myth | Of moths and men: An evolutionary tale. Also see “Moths and Men Revisited.” (Jonathan Wells, Books & Culture, September 1, 2001)
What’s New? | Two biologists claim to close a “major gap in Darwin’s theory” of evolution. (Jonathan Wells, Books & Culture, September/October 2006)
Were the Darwinists Wrong? | National Geographic stacks the deck. (November 11, 2004)
The Art of Debating Darwin | How to intelligently design a winning case for God’s role in creation. (September 1, 2004)
Intelligently Designed Films | The youthful ID movement flexes its muscles in two documentaries. (March 1, 2003)
* * *
Courtesy of Samaritan’s Purse
Weighing in at a hernia-inducing 653 pages, this is the most comprehensive treatment available of philosophical issues central to a defense of the faith, if I do say so myself. It’s not an easy read, but it repays careful study.
More about Craig and Moreland’s work includes:
Masters of Philosophy | How Biola University is making inroads in the larger philosophical world (June 1, 2003)
Thinking Straighter | Why the world’s most famous atheist now believes in God. (September 9, 2007)
* * *
The convoluted apostasy case against Youcef Nadarkhani, an Iranian pastor facing execution for his conversion to Christianity, has been referred to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei for his opinionNadarkhani’s lawyer, Mohammad Dadkhah, told CNN that Nadarkhani is still alive while the court asks the highest religious leader in Iran for input. Khamenei, whose position gives him the ultimate authority in Iranian affairs, has spoken out against Christianity over the past year, said Todd Nettleton, director of media development at Voice of the Martyrs.“This either gives [Khamenei] a chance to put some action behind his words or it gives him a chance to backpedal a little bit and perhaps make some friends in the international community,” Nettleton said.Middle East Concern said that the Iranian Supreme Court has reportedly stated it will consider a further appeal in Nadarkhani’s case. Both developments are “relatively unique” in Iran, Nettleton said.“It’s very unusual for a local court to say [it’s] not going to make a decision,” he said. “And it’s unusual [that] apparently the Supreme Court—without being asked, without an appeal going to them, and even before a decision has been issued—has said they would be willing to consider a further appeal.”Adding to the confusion surrounding the timeline of the case, recent reports of the Iranian Supreme Court announcing a retrial appear to be a “rehashing of old news,” according to the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), which has been closely following the case.“The only new information is that the supreme court has indicated that they would in fact ‘review’ an appeal by Pastor Nadarkhani,” ACLJ executive director Jordan Sekulow said. “A ‘review’ in no way guarantees that the Supreme Court would hold yet another round of hearings and we hope and pray that an appeal will not be necessary.”Nadarkhani, who was sentenced to death in 2010 for apostasy and evangelizing Muslims, has already appealed the sentence to the Iranian Supreme Court. The appeal resulted in a partial retraction of the sentence that allowed for the annulment of Nadarkhani’s death sentence if he recanted his faith, as well as ordered an investigation into Nadarkhani’s religious beliefs prior to his conversion. Last week Iranian officials said Nadarkhani was not sentenced to death for apostasy, but rather had been found guilty of rape, extortion, and Zionism, despite copies of official documents that say otherwise.Nadarkhani’s case has received international attention, and governments including France, Britain, and the United States have spoken out against the ruling. The ACLJ submitted a petition on behalf of more than 156,000 Americans to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, urging her to work with Iran to secure Nadarkhani’s release.The Institute for Global Engagement (IGE) also signed the letter, even though they usually avoid taking positions on individual cases of religious freedom. “We don’t usually sign on letters for particular cases, not because we are unsympathetic,” said IGE president Chris Seiple, “but because there are plenty of NGOs who do sign, and because we, per our founding, seek the long-term, strategic approach. In that context, however, I signed this one because I think it has the potential to be strategic, especially in the larger context of the alleged assassination attempt on the Saudi ambassador here in Washington,” Seiple said. “It’s a very important time [in Iran and the Middle East] in terms of patterns that are established for how minorities will be treated.”This article has been updated since its original posting.Copyright © 2011 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.Related Elsewhere:Christianity Today earlier covered confusion over Nadarkhani’s case, his conviction, and the White House response.Earlier coverage of Iran includes reporting how persecution has increased Christianity’s appeal and how western missiologists viewed the push for U.S. sanctions against Iran.
This is Strobel’s seminal work. If I had to pick one book that presents the case for the historicity of the New Testament, this would be it. Buy a case as Christmas presents, and don’t leave home without it.
Our coverage includes:
Inside CT: A Six-Pack of Strobel’s | I just discovered a six-pack I can endorse—and probably the only one available at your local Christian bookstore. (February 8, 1999)
* * *
Copyright © 2007 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.
Related elsewhere:
More book reviews and articles on apologetics are available on our site.
