Unholy Acts: The exile of Pope Shenouda in the context of Egyptian Religious Politics

Type :

Presentation

Pages :

13 pages

Format :

.doc

Published date :

11/04/2008

Category :

Social studies

Sub category :

Sociology

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Summary :

Introduction.
1. Egyptian Muslims gathering in front of Abdin Palace in Cairo.
2. The assassination of Sadat by a Muslim extremist.
3. The most dramatic example of this technique of distraction.
A popular political joke during Sadat's reign.
Pope Shenouda.
1. A defining aspect of the future pope's young adulthood.
2. Bishop of Education.
Muhammad Anwar al-Sadat.
1. Imprisonment for subversive activities against the monarchy in 1942.
2. Sadat's religious views.
The history of animosity between Sadat and Shenouda.
Shenouda's belief that Sadat wished to act contrary to the Coptic people.
Politics and religion - closely intertwined in Egypt.
Sadat's position vis a vis Egypt's Copts.
Pope Shenouda's exile.
Conclusion.

Abstract

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