Religion is a big part of this world, this country and anybody who reads/cares about this part of the world thus its an unavoidable, bloggable topic!
When the protests first turned violent I’m sure many of you saw images of people praying in the street. According to Rosa the incident was like a movie. Protestors were throwing rocks and chasing the police. The police would throw back. Then the call to prayer came and the protesters just stopped and got down on their knees to pray. Like a staged choreography they all got in lines and just prayed. Meanwhile, the police just stood with rocks in hands, arms cocked to throw but who can throw at people praying? It reminds me of the scene in documentary on Mohamet Ghandi when he asked his “followers” to walk up to the police who automatically started brutally beating them. They desired peace and the police responded with beatings.
You can also find amazing pictures of human chains of Christians surrounding groups of Muslim’s praying- protecting them while they pray for protection. After the Jan.1 bombings in the church in Alexandria many Muslims went to church with Christians on the Coptic Christmas (Jan. 6). 2011 has brought great religious peace to the country.
While we’re not sure when or how this will end, it has been successful in uniting these two major faiths. Like my experiences in Senegal, there is nothing more touching than the call to prayer intermixed with church bells. Religion is powerful and when used with positive, open-minded and non-competing practice it can be absolutely beautiful.
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