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Muslims volunteer to be human shields for Christians

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VINYLONE

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You won't see this reported on...

...any of the news channels here in the US.

SOURCE

Egypt's Muslims attend Coptic Christmas mass, serving as "human shields"

Muslims turned up in droves for the Coptic Christmas mass Thursday night, offering their bodies, and lives, as “shields” to Egypt’s threatened Christian community

Yasmine El-Rashidi , Friday 7 Jan 2011

Egypt’s majority Muslim population stuck to its word Thursday night. What had been a promise of solidarity to the weary Coptic community, was honoured, when thousands of Muslims showed up at Coptic Christmas eve mass services in churches around the country and at candle light vigils held outside.

From the well-known to the unknown, Muslims had offered their bodies as “human shields” for last night’s mass, making a pledge to collectively fight the threat of Islamic militants and towards an Egypt free from sectarian strife.

“We either live together, or we die together,” was the sloganeering genius of Mohamed El-Sawy, a Muslim arts tycoon whose cultural centre distributed flyers at churches in Cairo Thursday night, and who has been credited with first floating the “human shield” idea.

Among those shields were movie stars Adel Imam and Yousra, popular preacher Amr Khaled, the two sons of President Hosni Mubarak, and thousands of citizens who have said they consider the attack one on Egypt as a whole.

“This is not about us and them,” said Dalia Mustafa, a student who attended mass at Virgin Mary Church on Maraashly. “We are one. This was an attack on Egypt as a whole, and I am standing with the Copts because the only way things will change in this country is if we come together.”

In the days following the brutal attack on Saints Church in Alexandria, which left 21 dead on New Year’ eve, solidarity between Muslims and Copts has seen an unprecedented peak. Millions of Egyptians changed their Facebook profile pictures to the image of a cross within a crescent – the symbol of an “Egypt for All”. Around the city, banners went up calling for unity, and depicting mosques and churches, crosses and crescents, together as one.

The attack has rocked a nation that is no stranger to acts of terror, against all of Muslims, Jews and Copts. In January of last year, on the eve of Coptic Christmas, a drive-by shooting in the southern town of Nag Hammadi killed eight Copts as they were leaving Church following mass. In 2004 and 2005, bombings in the Red Sea resorts of Taba and Sharm El-Sheikh claimed over 100 lives, and in the late 90’s, Islamic militants executed a series of bombings and massacres that left dozens dead.

This attack though comes after a series of more recent incidents that have left Egyptians feeling left out in the cold by a government meant to protect them.

Last summer, 28-year-old businessman Khaled Said was beaten to death by police, also in Alexandria, causing a local and international uproar. Around his death, there have been numerous other reports of police brutality, random arrests and torture.

Last year was also witness to a brutal parliamentary election process in which the government’s security apparatus and thugs seemed to spiral out of control. The result, aside from injuries and deaths, was a sweeping win by the ruling party thanks to its own carefully-orchestrated campaign that included vote-rigging, corruption and rife brutality. The opposition was essentially annihilated. And just days before the elections, Copts - who make up 10 percent of the population - were once again the subject of persecution, when a government moratorium on construction of a Christian community centre resulted in clashes between police and protestors. Two people were left dead and over 100 were detained, facing sentences of up to life in jail.

The economic woes of a country that favours the rich have only exacerbated the frustration of a population of 80 million whose majority struggle each day to survive. Accounts of thefts, drugs, and violence have surged in recent years, and the chorus of voices of discontent has continued to grow.

The terror attack that struck the country on New Year’s eve is in many ways a final straw – a breaking point, not just for the Coptic community, but for Muslims as well, who too feel marginalized, persecuted, and overlooked, by a government that fails to address their needs. On this Coptic Christmas eve, the solidarity was not just one of religion, but of a desperate and collective plea for a better life and a government with accountability.
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TULT!!

Had to say that...
 
That said, it was a very interesting read. Hard to imagine living in that kind of world.
 
"They" also keep chanting about how no major Islamic state has come out against 9-11 even though there are numerous fatwa's against Jihad from each country. I'm sure they'd tell you it's just taqiyya if they read one or two.

Ahmadinejad is pro-democracy and working against the Ayatollah, but nobody wants to talk about that either. The guy is a Persian and pro-Iranian doctrine. Why else would the leader of the Muslim army bitch slap him?
 
doesnt the U S of A have a closset muslim as president. so the secret service is that muslims human shield, so its only fair other muslims be human shields.

by the way what is this with human shields and muslims. always using human shields. against israel then the world gets mad at israel
 
DutchJazzer said:
doesnt the U S of A have a closset muslim as president. so the secret service is that muslims human shield, so its only fair other muslims be human shields.

by the way what is this with human shields and muslims. always using human shields. against israel then the world gets mad at israel
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The other part of this worth my two bits. Legend has it. . . . well, some sources say. . . . .some Faustian bargains have been made which pretty well guarantee no solution to the Palestinian/Israeli thing. Some vested interests really do mean to use the Palestinians as a "human shield" against Israel to perpetuate anti-Israeli issues. Others really do mean to exploit the US conservative/religious pro-Israeli sentiment both as a means of promoting arms sales and as a means of fomenting anti-American sentiment.

Machiavelli at his finest.
 
babe said:
yes, this is good news.

wouldn't mind at all if various religions borrowed a little from one another sometimes and did stuff like this. Or even non-religions. . . .
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I dont see it as good news.
since when is a human shield good news.
i thought only hostage takers and criminals took human shields

I hope they politely refuse
 
One of the jobs of a bodyguard is to be a human shield. In some ways, it's part of the job of the military. I have nothing but respect for the volunteers.
 
One Brow said:
One of the jobs of a bodyguard is to be a human shield. In some ways, it's part of the job of the military. I have nothing but respect for the volunteers.
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YOUR WRONG.

Human shield is a military and political term describing the deliberate placement of civilians in or around combat targets to deter an enemy from attacking those targets. It may also refer to the use of civilians to literally shield combatants during attacks, by forcing the civilians to march in front of the soldiers. This is done in the hope that the other party will be reluctant to attack them. Furthermore, if the other party attacks these targets anyway, the resulting civilian casualties have propaganda value.
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human shields are unarmed civilians! or will those bodyguard be having m16's glocks' ballistic vest and the support of an air force behind them?
no
so human shield is WRONG. wish i just had enough rep power to deduct the points that need to be deducted

STUPID. stupid stupid.

the military is not a human shield.

or where you just being sarcastic.
 
So, the term only applies to the unarmed. I stand corrected on that.

That just ups the respect ante for those who volunteer to be human shields, though.
 
Why doesn't our news report this stuff?

Do we want to continuously live in fear or hate for Muslims? Is this our new Communist/Cold War that will drive our military spending, education, and foreign policy for the next century?

Cool....
 
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