The past week has been a pleasant surprise.
I am a Muslim first and foremost, but being Egyptian is also a part of my identity.
I was born in the United States and have lived here my whole life, yet I have always felt an attachment to Egypt, where the rest of my non-immediate family lives and where I myself lived during some formidable years of my life. The actions of the Egyptian society this past week have truly made me proud to be Egyptian.
I don’t think people understand the magnitude of what is going on in Umm Iddunya, the nickname of Egypt meaning “Mother of the World”.
The Egyptian people planned and organized major protests against an unfair regime. Yes, that’s right, the words “Egyptian people” and “planned and organized” were just used in the same sentence. If you told me two Egyptians would meet at an agreed location at an agreed time, I would have laughed. I may be exaggerating a bit, but my point is made.
The Christians in Egypt said they would protect the Muslims while they prayed Jumu’ah (Friday prayer). That is the state the country has gotten to: where even the Christians and Muslims have united for a common cause.
This is unheard of, but Alhamdulillah it is needed for the advancement of the country of Egypt.
I hope the people of Egypt continue to be motivated to fight for their rights. I hope they do not accept these vain attempts by Husni Mubarak to keep his regime in place. May Allah help all of those fighting tyrannical rule, wherever they may be.
We are all brothers and sisters in Islam, and we should all be united against injustice anywhere and everywhere.
I remember talking to an Egyptian christian who was advocating for the Mubarak regime. His reasoning was that the Egyptian people did not have the intellectual capacity to have a democracy and therefore a dictorship is not only necissary but justified.
Unfortunately, that type of inferiority complex is characteristic of third world countries (if Egypt could be called that — 40% live below the poverty line). So in the end its a psyche and these protest have challenged that psyche.
Its a historic moment for sure.
i hope palliative measures are taken with the current situation that hopefully lead to some serious changes, and not something that go sour and another despotic govt takes control…like many other revolutions.
The best part of this is reading about the other protests in the other Arab countries, and seeing for the first time, some sort of unity b/w the Arabs in the world. We still have to remember that this entire revolution will not happen without the will of Allah swt, so may He help protect the Egyptians, and other Arabs protesting in the other Arab countries, and give them the ability to choose their own government to represent them.
It’s about time we unite and organize ourselves and stand up for a change! Alhamdulillah!
we should all pray so that our brothers and sisters get the freedom they are fighting for.
JazakAllah khair for sharing your insights
“The Christians in Egypt said they would protect the Muslims while they prayed Jumu’ah (Friday prayer). That is the state the country has gotten to: where even the Christians and Muslims have united for a common cause.”
Thank you for sharing that bit of information! Many haven’t heard about this action. It really shows the power of unity. There are a lot of “ideas” going on at present about preserving the “Muslim Brotherhood” but this is all in failed attempt to secure Mubarak’s spot on the throne. Unity is key, and its no wonder that Allah mentions it so often in the Qur’an. There’s nothing more amazing than seeing the Christians lock arms and surround an Islamic congregational prayer to protect them. Amazing!
you crazy president mubarak, get out of egypt, if you have a bit of dignity or honor whatever you consider valuable for you!!!
Great article Zeyad !
MashAllah beautiful article Zeyad! I’m soo proud of Egypt and all the other countries finally standing up against their oppressor governments. Even though a lot of chaos is happening now there, it is normal if we want change to finally happen inshAllah!
Wonderfully put Zeyad!