Between El Beshri and El Bakri

Mr. Tarek El Beshri, a retired senior member of the Egyptian judiciary, seems to have flung his full weight in the campaign against the Copts and the Coptic Church. He is advocating the imposition of some sort of (Egyptian!) government control over the Coptic Church finances. Mr. El Beshri is implying that the Church is misusing the “billion dollar” contribution of the Diaspora Copts to support their Church and kin in Egypt. Moreover, he claims that Pope Shenouda III, the head of the Coptic Church is an Egyptian government employee, even though he does not collect a salary from the Egyptian government, unlike the rector of Al Azhar Islamic organization, which is supposedly one of the most respected institutions in the Sunni Islam in the world,, and which is financed by tax money collected from the Copts as well as the Moslems of Egypt.

It is not out of ignorance, but rather because of other motivations, that Mr. El Beshri dared saying what he is trying to achieve. He knows very well that the Pope of Alexandria has been appointed to the lofty position of the Successor of Saint Mark, one of Jesus seventy Apostles, and the founder of the Church of Egypt, by a combination of Coptic popular will, and Divine choice. The role of the Egyptian government, in this Divine and popular choice is nothing more than an admission of a fait accopmli. Pope Shenouda III Mr. Beshri is not your government employee. He answers to a much higher authority than your government. His employer is God!

It is clear that Mr.El Beshri does not wish any good for the Copts or their Church. He lowered himself from being a respected retired senior member of the Egyptian judiciary to that of the liars and mercenaries of the Egyptian yellow press who have embarked on a campaign against the Copts and their Church especially since the Wafaa Costantine episode.

Not lacking the brains or knowledge of what goes on with the Copts in Egypt, the persecution that made the pending conversion of a Coptic woman to Islam an event that pushed Egypt to the edge of a national precipice, Mr. El Beshri should be intelligent enough to know that by barricading themselves inside the premises of St. Mark’s Cathedral in Anba Roueiss, was an expression of anger that goes far beyond the apparent cause of a defection of a woman to Islam. For a man in his position and authority, it would be a pity to imagine that he thought that the Wafaa Costantine episode was nothing more than a protest against the conversion of a woman to Islam. Mr El Beshri knows better and we know it.

What is it then that leads him to join the liars, the mercenaries, the fanatic Moslems and the demagogues in the campaign against the Church and why did he choose this particular issue, finances, to promote his strange view of having the government supervise the Church finances? The purpose is as clear as it is naïve: El Beshri wants to drive a wedge between the Copts and their Church, so that next time a crisis like that of Costantine or Samalot or Assiout takes place, the Copts will find themselves between one of two choices: They either demonstrate in the streets and subject themselves to mistreatment and killing by the State Security Police which would do this without hesitation of course especially that the Copts would be breaking the Emergency Law that has been governing Egypt since the death of Sadat in 1981, and which prohibits the gathering of individuals in public places especially if they are expressing anti government feelings. The second choice that the Copts would have, if they can’t be sheltered in the sanctity of the Cathedral’s premises, would be to keep their peace and their mouth shut, and appear to be accepting their humiliation at the hands of their Moslem tormentors. And this is exactly what El Beshri and his fellow fanatics want.

Mr. El Beshri wants the same government that confiscated the Coptic endowments and businesses to take charge of the money that the Diaspora Copts send to their mother Church! Mr. El Beshri is advocating that the very same government that has been a glaring example of inefficiency, bribery and all sorts of corruptions be the guardian of the Church money that is meant to be spent on the poor Egyptian Christians who can’t hope for any improvement in their conditions under the sclerotic and failing current government! As a retired judge, Mr. El Beshri knows more about the fatal ailments afflicting his government than anyone else. What he is advocating therefore is not for the good of the poor Copts, but to create an atmosphere of mistrust and resentment between the Copts and their Church. El Beshri and his ilk aim at separating the Copts from their real and only earthly protector in a country where the police and the judiciary are blatantly persecuting the Copts. And once they are in the open fields, the wolves will have no difficulty getting them.

Considering that El Beshri’s was once at the top of the Egyptian judiciary, and listening to his ideas and attitudes towards the Copts as he finally expressed them, can tell the world how fair has the justice system of Egypt to her Copts. No wonder that no one was convicted of killing the 21 Copts of Al Kosheh, and that the Copts are now fair targets for any fanatic Moslem aggressor to commit his crimes against them knowing perfectly well that he will be set free.

Mr. El Beshri, what you sad is bad. It did not serve a good purpose and is fueling the sectarian tension that has been building up in our country for three decades. What you said was not the truth. But most important, you did not have to say it.

Mr. El Beshri, rest assured that it is impossible to separate the Copts from their Church. They simply can’t afford it especially with Beshris and Bakris roaming in the open trying to get them!

Mr. El Beshri, let it be well known to you that the Diaspora Copts trust their Church in Egypt and will continue to support their kin in the homeland as much as they can. They will make sure that neither you nor your government will ever get to control their dues to their kin in Egypt, be it money or otherwise.

Poor Egypt! If only a few of your judiciary is like Mr. El Beshri, you must really be in deep trouble.