Saturday, May 28, 2011

COMMENTARY: Government of Egypt Is Correct in Restoring Church

The military regime in Egypt -- which replaced Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in early February -- acted correctly this week in its decision to restore a destroyed church.

St. Mary Coptic Orthodox Church in Imbaba -- a suburb of Cairo -- suffered heavy damage earlier this month, as a result of a fire started by Islamic militants.

In an effort to improve Christian-Muslim relations, the new Egyptian regime has assigned a group of craftsmen to restore this church. In fact, these workers are going "the extra mile," as they hope to complete their work on the church in just three weeks -- work that would usually take three months to complete.

It is this kind of government understanding and support -- for Christians as well as Muslims -- that can bring love, peace, and harmony to a nation that has experienced much senseless hatred and violence between different religious groups in recent years.

We hope and pray that this action by the new Egyptian government serves as a prelude for future actions, because the government can have a significant impact in resolving disputes between religious groups, in addition to preventing these kinds of situations from ever occurring.

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