Source:  American Anglican Council

February 4, 2011

By Robert Lundy, AAC Communications

(The Presiding Bishop of Jersualem and the Middle East, Mouneer Anis, spoke with Robert Lundy of the American Anglican Council on Friday, February 4 and described the current situtation in Egypt and how his Church is dealing with it.)

AAC Question: What is the situation like in Cairo right now?

++Anis: Right now we have big demonstrations in Tahrir square, which is very close to us here.  There are many groups in this square with very different requests and very different backgrounds. There is a big group who are in fact Muslim Brotherhood. On the other hand there is another square about half an hour from us and this square is also full of demonstrators who are pro President Mubarak. The pro Mubarak demonstrations started after his speech in which he announced that he would step down after the end of this term in September. He also appointed a new Vice President and said he has no desire to pass the presidency to his son. Many people were moved by his words and by his response. In what he said there is actually a positive response to about 85% of what the demonstrators were asking. They wanted a gracious transfer of authority and he promised to do this. They asked for interrogation and bringing to judgment all those responsible for the violence and looting and sad incidents and he promised to do this. They asked for alteration in the constitution and he promised to do this. They asked for a dialogue with the opposition and he promised to do this and in fact it started. So, many people felt that most of what they requested was positively accepted and that they are now working on it. But when he did that, many of the Pro-Mubarak supporters came and clashed. There was violence among those who are pro Mubarak and those who want him to step down now. And because of these clashes, demonstrations continue. I personally think that if these clashes didn't happen things would be quite calm now in Cairo. But because of these clashes, things are continuing. Today, demonstrations have been peaceful and we pray and hope these demonstrators will go back home and give an opportunity for the new government and new vice president to continue to work on the fulfillment of all these promises they have made.

AAC Question: Do you and your family feel safe?

++Anis: We are all safe. All the churches are safe. Many of the young people in the area guard the houses, guard the streets and guard the churches every evening until the morning. It is very touching to see that the neighbors are guarding our churches because we don't have security right now.

AAC: Who are they guarding against?

++Anis: Looters. There are some people who would like to take advantage of the situation and try to get what they can from shops, houses etc.

AAC: Do you plan on having services this Sunday?

++Anis: We actually have services every day in the Cathedral. We ring the bell and we have services. People who are living in walking distance will come, about 20 people, and we spend more time in prayer. I think these services were very encouraging and help us to fix our eyes on our God who is in control and he is the Lord of Lords and King of Kings.

AAC: How do you think your church's relations with Muslims in Egypt will fare coming up in the weeks and months ahead.

++Anis: The Muslims in Egypt are not homogenous. The majority are peace loving. We have lived among them for 14 centuries now. We don't have any problem with this. For a week or more the churches weren't guarded and no one came and attacked the churches. This tells you two things: number one, the Lord of the church is the one who guards it, and number two, the people respect the church as a house of God.

AAC: What can Anglicans in North America do to help you and your church?

++Anis: Just pray. Pray for the whole of Egypt, not just for the churches. Egypt is a peaceful country. This is a place where Jesus came as a baby and this is a place which is most blessed in prophecy. In Isaiah 19:25, "blessed be Egypt my people." And just pray for Egypt and for the safety and security in Egypt. Before the demonstrations, you could walk alone after midnight. Women could walk alone after midnight. We feel sorry for Egypt now because of what's going on. We are heartbroken because of what's happening to our beloved country. Do pray for Egypt to recover from this crisis.

AAC: Is there anything else you would like to say about the situation?

++Anis: We in the church here would like to see a very gracious transfer of authority. We don't want our president to go in a non-gracious way. I think the Western administrations don't understand well the situation on the ground here. They don't know that if the president left suddenly there would be a vacuum (like what happened in Iraq), and this will give an opportunity for extreme groups to fight and divide and to play around. So I'm sorry that these administrations asked the president to step down immediately. They don't understand the situation.

View this week's Anglican Perspective on the crisis in Egypt.