Soon after the end of Ramadan in August 1981, more than one hundred thousand Egyptian Muslims gathered in front of Abdin Palace in Cairo, ostensibly to celebrate the end of the fast. Western newspapers, however, reported that what appeared to be a prayer gathering had a political, as well as religious, intent. One headline ran: "Islamic Fundamentalists Challenge Sadat's Rule," an unusual assertion in a country where a Muslim president had governed for a decade. During the prayer meeting, a protestor held a sign reading: "Believers do not take the Jews and Christians as friends." This banner, paraphrasing the Qur'an, signified growing unrest among political Islamists in Egypt over the actions of President Anwar Sadat, notably his support of the Camp David Accords, in which he made peace with Israel in 1979. While conflict such as this posed the largest threat to Sadat's regime to date, the Washington Post, which ran the above headline, was confident that he would work through the conflict, calling Sadat "ever the astute politician." Less than two months after this incident, Sadat would be assassinated by a Muslim extremist. Sadat in his later years had tried to present himself as "the devout president," famously declaring in a 1980 address to Egypt's parliament: "I rule as the Moslem leader of an Islamic state.
Keywords: William Claibore, David B. Ottaway, S.S. Hasan, Nasser, Sadat, Mubarek, religious equality
[...] This paper will argue that this event formed part of a consistent policy under the later years of the Sadat regime, not one of lukewarm secularization, but rather one of distraction from the administration's desire to rid Egypt of Islamic fundamentalism.[7] “What Were the Names of the One Million Martyrs?” Shenouda and Sadat In a popular political joke during Sadat's reign, the president, Pope Shenouda, and the Sheikh of al-Azhar are all in a plane going down with only two parachutes. [...]
[...] In one of Mubarak's first acts, only a few months after he took office, he freed nearly forty whom Sadat had arrested in September, including Omar Telmessani, the editor of al-Dawa and an important member of the Muslim Brotherhood.[71] Gradual releases continued into 1982, and included several Coptic priests and bishops, until finally an Egyptian court ordered the release of persons who have not been freed at the time of this ruling,” in addition to commanding the republication of al-Dawa.[72] Pope Shenouda, however, remained under house arrest. [...]
[...] However, this devotion was secondary to his Egyptian (and pan-Arab) nationalism, and perhaps this led him to tell Shenouda upon the latter's elevation to the patriarchate that he wanted Coptic Christianity return to its glory.”[18] It is unclear what exactly Sadat meant by this, as there has never been a time when Coptic Christians were not the subjects of another religion, but it appears that the president had at least an ideological commitment early in his reign to religious equality. [...]
[...] Wren, “Easter Brings Trouble for the Copts of Egypt,” New York Times April 1980, sec. E. Judith Miller, “Egypt's Assembly Bars Full Islamic New York Times May 1985. Hasan “Egypt Now Says 10 Died in Moslem-Christian Clashes,” New York Times June 1981. Hasan “Egypt Now Says 10 Died in Moslem-Christian Clashes,” New York Times June 1981. “Explosion at Church Wedding in Cairo Kills 3 and Injures New York Times August 1981. Boutros-Ghali Anwar Sadat, quoted. in William E. Farrell. “Sadat, With Anger and Sarcasm, Defends His Crackdown on New York Times September 1981, sec. [...]
[...] Mark's Coptic Orthodox church in Jersey City, New Jersey, took out several ads in the New York Times during the exile making impassioned pleas for his release, recalling pointedly that Coptic weekly newspapers have been banned since September 1981, while Muslim organizations' magazines are allowed to be published.”[77] When such pleas received little reaction in the United States, the Egyptian Christian Organization, based in East Brunswick, New Jersey, took a full-page ad lamenting: “Doesn't Anybody Meanwhile, Mubarak's policy resulted in a gradual improvement in the Coptic position within Egypt, with such moves as naming five Coptic deputies to the parliament.[79] Ultimately, Mubarak's hold on power was firm enough to allow for the release of Pope Shenouda. [...]
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