Egypt is big enough for minorities

An even more immediate task for Egypt than economic justice is making sure that its minorities are not persecuted, in particular a 10% minority that has been here for 2,000 years.

I mention this again because from talking to the Copts among my Egyptian friends this morning (I also have many Muslim friends), I get the feeling that they’ve never been so worried in their lives. They’re praying as a group and have embarked on a three-day fast. The events of Sunday left them feeling deeply endangered.

There was no sectarian strife during the Revolution itself, and such strife only serves the wrong forces now (which is probably exactly why it’s being stirred up– and not by “foreign elements”).

Along with the Army, I am also deeply disappointed in the small number of people who threw stones both at the original Copt march on Sunday and also at the funeral processions. This country showed a much more admirable side than that in January and February. Everyone is stressed, but let’s not allow it to turn ugly.

I also agree with those who say that the Prime Minister should have resigned in protest. Greeted warmly and with respect when installed in March (he was a Tahrir protestor himself), he has found himself largely a puppet, and should not have agreed to stay in office after what happened on Sunday.

Here’s ONE EDITORIAL from the day after the events that captures the spirit of worry. There was a sort of “pre-ethnic cleansing” feel to Sunday that does not become any less chilling as the days pass. There needs to be an immediate and dramatic change. Egypt does not want to go down this road.