Linkis.com, by Ali El Sharnouby
Everyone is convinced that the Muslim Brotherhood are just a bunch of terrorists and fanatic nerds dressed in religious garb, growing their beards
As I entered my home, I heard the bells of the nearby church ringing in a strange way. Next came screams and the sound of many gunshots. I t old my children to stay away from the balconies, and got ready to defend my family against any possible attack.
But my curiosity as a journalist kept on pushing me to get out and cover the story despite the risk because I know that journalists are most targeted by the Muslim Brotherhood gangs, even more so than police and army members, because they are present in an unmarked way with no badges or uniforms and work to uncover the facts of the Muslim Brotherhood to the public. The Brotherhood have already killed a dozen journalists and wounded many others.
Heading fast to the nearby church, I noticed many of my neighbors, both Muslims and Christians, carrying knives, sticks and like me, scurrying to the church where the sounds of gun shots had stopped. I saw man with a serious wound to is arm as his brothers put him into a car to go to the closest hospital.
Getting to the church, I had expected to see a large number of dead and injured people, and worried that the church would be torched. But thank God, I found only 3 wounded with minor injuries in the hand and the head, wounds that were the result of citizens fighting with Muslim Brotherhood members before people quickly converged on the church, forcing the Brotherhood to retreat and run away.
There were hundreds of Egyptians of all ages. All of them made it clear they were willing to kill Brotherhood members if they turned up again. About half of them were Muslims. A few Salafists, too, came to be with us as they live in the same neighborhood and refuse to attack the church. I heard a lot of dialogues between Christians and Muslims. I felt the warmth of real cohesion and unity against the new danger, and knew that there is no difference between our needs and destiny because everyone was there to protect the House of God.
I walked among the crowds and heard a Christianman say to a Muslim one: ‘They want to make discord between us and they think we will fight each other because of what they’re doing. Let them come now to see how we stand united. They do not belong to any religion because they come to burn and destroy the House of God’.
The Muslim man replied saying: My brother, we all know this, but even if this was your own home we will all defend it.
I was very impressed and touched when I saw them hugging and kissing each other after these words.
While we were standing about, an army tank came as the SOS citizens had requested help to protect the church. But when the Officer inside saw the crowds, he told us you’re not in need for our protection now. You are doing well and they will not be able to come again as long as they see this crowd .. Everyone smiled when he left raising his hand in a victory sign.
A few moments later, some phone calls came to some of those present advising that the Brotherhood had attacked the nearby mosque, having despaired of coming back to the church. They threw stones at the mosque, shooting into the air to intimidate people inside.
I found young people of all ages making a beeline as straight as an arrow to the mosque. Many of them were Christians, and I saw in their eyes a determination for victory, while they were running to protect the mosque from the aggressors.
I remembered the defiant words of the Orthodox Pope, uttered the day before, when he told the Muslim Brotherhood and the extremists and terrorists with them: “If you burn the churches we will pray with our brothers in the mosques, and if you burn the mosques, Muslims will pray with us in the church, and if you burn them both, we’re all going to pray together in the streets protecting each other”.
I remembered the words of the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, when the Muslim Brotherhood started torching churches and attacking Christians. He announced that whosever does this is outside of the religion of Islam and all of us must fight him.
I discovered my neighbor, Munir Peter, who lives next door to me. We grew up together and got to be adults together. We used to eat and play in his house or my house, while his mother sat with my mom all day laughing and preparing food together. We never felt any differences and even after growing up, remain very good friends. I even have relatives and other Muslim friends in the same building, but when I need something, I do not ask any of them, I only ask this Christian neighbor. Even with his brother and other family relatives living in the building next to us, he does the same. When he needs anything, he requests it only from me and not any other.
I rushed over to him. He welcomed me among a gathering of young Christians and Muslims, and all of them know that the Muslim Brotherhood wants us to believe that if they burn churches and shops owned by Christians, the church and Copts will rise up and ask for external force to protect them, or will rise up with violence and set the whole country aflame.
Since the police and army forces broke up the Brotherhood’s two sit-ins which they started after the dismissal and expulsion of Morsi, the Brotherhood and those who followed them burned about 40 churches, killed Copts and looted their shops. It should be important to note that moderate Muslims were not safe from their rampages either. They were also killed and their shops looted.
Brotherhood gangs randomly shot civilians without distinction between a Muslim or aChristian. They think they can terrorize Egyptians to allow Morsi and the Brotherhood back into power again!
Of course they are deluded because they are the first to know the impossibility of turning back the clock. Everyone is convinced that they are just a bunch of terrorists and fanatic nerds dressed in religious garb, growing their beards to fool the gullible and none-educated poor people.