Hidden agendas
Al-Ahram Weekly speaks to Father Youhanna Nassif, the pastor of Alexandria's Saint Mark's Church, about the sectarian tension that has taken the coastal city by storm
How would you describe the relationship between Muslims and Christians in Alexandria?
We have always lived together in peace and harmony, sharing the same buildings, and residing in the same areas; there has never been any troubles between us. The majority of my friends are Muslims, and over the past couple of days I have received phone calls from them assuring me that they denounce the violent acts that were committed against their Christian brothers and sisters, and insisting that these acts were the work of a disturbed minority who will never accomplish their goal of separating the nation's two faiths.
What is your analysis of last Friday's events, and do you think they will cause serious damage to the relationship between Muslims and Christians in Alexandria?
I am optimistic that things will soon be back to normal. However, we have to admit that there is a reckless minority acting irresponsibly based on their religious sentiments -- which are the most precious thing any of us have -- and that is a very serious issue. All the Muslims who were involved in the unfortunate violent events that took place this week have no clue about the play in question. All they know is that there is a rumour about a play that defames Islam and the Holy Qur'an, but none of them actually saw the play itself or the CDs that were made of it. Accordingly, they are asking the church and the Pope to apologise for something that they are not even sure of, and that didn't happen. The church would never do or say anything to defame any religion, especially Islam and Muslims -- with whom we have been peacefully living together for ages. The church believes in the importance of freedom of religion, and the freedom of human beings to choose their own religion and God. Because Egyptians, and especially Muslims, are known to have strong and profound religious feelings, the rumours about the church producing a play that defames Islam were used to incite Muslims against Christians for reasons relating to the upcoming parliamentary elections. The truth is that the church is innocent of all these accusations of defaming Islam and the Holy Qur'an. On the contrary, the church always stresses the importance of love and cooperation, and respecting the other -- because we don't have to share the same religion to be able to peacefully coexist together. One proof of that are mawa'id al-rahman (literally "mercy banquets" that feed the poor) that the church has been organising every Ramadan since 1985, under the banner "National Unity Tables". They were started by the Pope himself to encourage dialogue between the two religions and spread the spirit of love and cooperation.
What is the real story behind the play?
It was a low budget play that was performed at the Saint George Church's theatre two years ago by the church's choir and a group of young actors who attended the church's Sunday school. It didn't defame Islam in any way.
What was the play about?
The play was based on the Arabic movie Al-Irhabi (The Terrorist) starring superstar Adel Imam. Just like the movie, the play tells the story of a man who was recruited by a group of religious fundamentalists to carry out a number of terrorist attacks. In the end this man escapes the group when he discovers the error of their ways. The only difference between the play and the movie is that in the play, the hero is a young Christian man. And the play's main purpose is to enlighten young people and protect them from becoming the victims of these kinds of terrorist organisations. In any case, there are a lot of Egyptian movies that have, in one way or another, dealt with Christianity in an improper manner, and we have never asked anyone for an apology because we believe in the importance of art and freedom of expression.
If the play was performed two years ago, why do you think the commotion surrounding it is only taking place now?
As I said earlier, there is a certain loud minority who use religion to achieve their goals. It could be an attempt by a certain religious extremist group to prove they really exist in the Egyptian street and on the political scene. I am sure they have some sort of a hidden agenda that involves the upcoming parliamentary elections. These extremists can't accept the other -- Christians -- and want to either eliminate us from the political scene, or humiliate us. And this is not normal. The proof of this is that the majority of Muslims involved in last week's riots weren't even from Alexandria. They were brought in from other parts of Egypt. I have seen the e-mail messages that encouraged them to come.
Interview by Salonaz Sami
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