Egypt: Unity's back with a vengeance!

January 1st 2011 was celebrated worldwide as a symbol of the New Year, proving an opportunity for new outlooks and new possibilities. However, for the people of Egypt; there was little to celebrate as twenty-one Copt Christians were killed in a brutal and unprovoked bombing on Saints Church, Alexandria. The weary Coptic community were terrified that there would be further terrorist attacks during their Christmas, which like many other Christian sects that fall outside of the Western divide, is celebrated after New Years Day. The events that followed this attack are a truly remarkable example of humanity at its finest…

Throughout Egypt, Muslims came together in the defence of the Copts who account for only 10% of the population. Millions of Egyptians of all races and religions changed their Facebook profile pictures to the image of a cross within a crescent – the symbol of “Egypt for All” and throughout cities banners went up calling for unity. As the Coptic Christmas Eve Mass fell upon Egypt, thousands of Muslims showed up at Coptic Churches nationwide, honoring their call for unity and with the hope of providing a human shield in case of further attacks. With the slogan, “We either live together or we die together” firmly respected, the Muslims and Copts of Egypt stood collectively to fight the threat of Islamic militants. The New Years bombing was the final straw for many Egyptians who feel equally marginalized and oppressed by their Government whose electoral campaign consisted of the clichéd hatrick - vote-rigging, corruption and widespread violence.

This is a valiant movement for the people of Egypt as the triviality of religious indifference has been acknowledged and fought by rising nationalism in the face of terrorism. “We are one. This was an attack on Egypt as a whole.” The growth of both Americanisation and Islamofacism, culminating in our modern day war on terror has provided a sinister reminder of Samuel P Huntington’s theory that the next source of war will be cultural; a clash of civilization. However, in a country often referred to as the cradle of civilization due to its rich history, it is heart warming to see that somewhere in this world of ethnocentric destruction, unity is finally back in fashion!