It has been reported that Tonio Borg, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, intends to take up the question of the New Year killings of Christian Copts in Alexandria in the EU foreign affairs forum. This is heartening news as it indicates, in my opinion, the way Malta should act internationally in matters that are morally of importance to us but that are usually sidelined by more powerful countries. While not sanctioning a sanctimonious attitude on the part of our government, I would find it unacceptable for Malta to be guilty of silence in such circumstances.
I have had the privilege of visiting some Coptic churches in Egypt and was always impressed by the devotion of its adherents. Alexandria, where the recent killings happened, is the centre of the Coptic Catholic Church in Egypt. It has been in communion with Rome since 1741. The ancient Coptic Church of Egypt, however, dates further back to the third century and, at its peak, used to boast of very large numbers of adherents in that country.
The New Year incidents in Alexandria bring to the fore the tragedy of persecution of Christians throughout the world which is often trivialised, if not completely ignored by mainstream media in the West. The events only gain the attention of the international press if unpredictable consequences come about as is the case with the killings of Copts in Alexandria. Here we witnessed as a result a rise in temperature as Christians and Muslims throughout Egypt, Iraq as well as other Mid-East and North African countries, took to the streets in noisy (sometimes violent) opposing protests.
Nearer to our country, the recent developments in Tunisia have sent shock waves around a region dominated by despotic governments who as a rule control their people with an iron fist and a tendency towards a culture of corruption and repression. The opposition movements, in contrast, are mostly nationalistic and religious in nature providing its leaders with a heroic aura in the eyes of the suffering masses.
The international community, particularly the US and the EU governments, have an interest to see that stability is maintained in the region. Western governments will directly and indirectly continue to give support to these unpopular governments however undemocratic, corrupt and oppressive they continue to be. The alternative of a region dominated by Islamic fanatics is too scary to even contemplate. The region would become a veritable boiling pot of anti-West sentiment with serious political and economic repercussions on the rest of the world, more so, since some of them have the largest reservoirs of crude oil anywhere.
On the part of Christians living in these countries the perils of such dramatic upheavals are even more alarming. Bishop William Shomali, a Vatican-appointed auxiliary in Jerusalem, said that Christianity in the region was weakening seriously because of many factors, but mainly owing to mass emigration of Christians from countries in the region; forced conversions to Islam, especially of Christian girls intending to marry Muslims; the rise of political Islam, intending to impose strict Islamic lifestyles; a ghetto mentality on the part of Christians as they turn inwards and close off all communication and relationships with other communities.
The most problematic of these is, without doubt, the rise of political Islam. As Iraq has shown after the fall of Saddam Hussein and the subsequent domination of the country’s government by the more fanatic majority Sunni Sect, the Christian community in the country, formerly so vibrant and active in public life, found itself the focus of new and unremitting persecutions.
The Pope is reported to have said: “The difficulties that the Christians in the Middle-East are experiencing are in large measure common to all those living as a minority and yearning for authentic religious freedom and peace”. In the complex present- day situations in the Middle-East and North Africa it is perhaps time for Christians there to relive the experience of the early Christian communities who also existed as a minority in a hostile environment. These early times stand out in Church history as among its most glorious and important.
It ought to be incumbent upon the Maltese, notwithstanding our smallness, to draw the attention of the international communities to the plight of these suffering Christians as a result of their being denied the fundamental right to practise their religion freely and unencumbered. In the final count, let not the finger of apathy be pointed also towards us. That is precisely why the gesture by the Maltese government to give voice to these suffering people before the appropriate EU institutions is so commendable. Hopefully, it will also have some positive effect however farfetched this might now seem.