As a final post on my time in Egypt, I am posting my final reflection paper I wrote as part of the course work. I don't expect many people to read the entire post, but I know there are some people from my group who would be interested, as well as others who might want to know how I've incorporated my encounter with Egypt into my own life and thoughts about identity.
Identity in the Egyptian Context
Identity is a
multi-layered, complex part of being human. Many aspects of identity are given
to people at birth, such as gender, race, nationality, sexuality, and ethnicity
to name a few. All of these factors shape who we are and how we interact with
the world around us. These factors also influence how others view and treat us.
However, we also make choices that help define our identity and who we are in
the world. During my time Egypt, I witnessed first-hand many of the different
layers of identity that exist. As I encountered Egypt through the people I met
and the places we visited, I saw how religion, nationality, and history, even
ancient history as it exists in Egypt, plays an important role in defining our
identity as well as our choices. In this paper I examine many different issues
of identity that Egyptian Christians face, and how I experience my own
identity. Identity changes the way we see the world and the way the world sees
us. Through my time in Egypt I found similarities in identity as well as deep
differences that opened up my worldview to expand my understanding of identity
and how the context around us shapes us in many different ways and how we can
also shape the world around us.
Tradition and history as
part of identity
The
first full day of my time in Egypt included an introduction to Coptic Christian
identity with the tour of Saint Virgin Mary’s Coptic Orthodox Church. In this space,
I saw in person the way that history, tradition, and art play an important role
in the identity of Coptic Christians. The outside of this church, also known as
the Hanging Church, has mosaics depicting different biblical scenes that took
place in Egypt, as well as important events in Coptic Christian history. These
mosaics, which are fairly recent additions to the courtyard, show that the
history of Christianity in Egypt goes back a long ways and that this history is
still important today. As I walked through this courtyard and into the church,
I stood in awe of the history and tradition that was right in front of me. Even
though a lot of the church has been rebuilt and renovated throughout its
history, the deep history and set of traditions could be felt in the air, just
walking through. Inside the church, every space was filled with sacred designs
and art that depicted history, tradition, and symbolism. Coming from Mennonite
churches in the Untied States, I am not used to such decoration and icons. However,
through the art and carvings on the doors, walls, pulpit, and even the benches,
I witnessed depictions of how God has worked through the life of the Church in
Egypt. This art made me feel closer to God as it witnesses to Christians today
of the power and glory of God. The art itself is part of a long tradition in
the Coptic Church and serves to be a sacred space where Christians can
encounter God.
The
sense of history and tradition was amplified with our next stop at Saints Sergius
and Bacchus Church. This is the spot where tradition says that baby Jesus
stayed with his parents after fleeing to Egypt when King Herod ordered the
killing of all children in and around Bethlehem as written in the Matthew
2:1-18. Although this fact cannot be verified, I could see how proud the
Egyptians we encountered in the church were of the fact that their ancestors
welcomed and hosted baby Jesus and Mary and Joseph. In this story, Egypt is
seen as a place of refuge. This identity of being the host of baby Jesus is
important to some of the Coptic Christians we met and thus the story of Jesus
staying at that church has been passed from generation to generation and is
believed by many to be true. This tradition of being host has become a part of
the Egyptian Christian identity.
A
major part of the trip was spent visiting ancient Egyptian sites including the
pyramids of Gaza, the Valley of the Kings, the Abu Simbel temples and many,
many more. These sites were incredible to behold in person and are a source of
national pride for many Egyptians. This shared common history is one source of
identity for most Egyptians, regardless of religion. Jacques van der Vliet
writes that this shared identity is called “pharaonism” in academic terms and
“is a way of claiming a deeply rooted national identity that transcends the
religious opposition between Egypt’s Muslim majority and its indigenous
Christian minority.”[1] The
Egyptians I encountered were deeply proud of the ancient history of Egypt and
were happy that we as foreigners got the chance to visit these ancient sites.
Even as we would discover deep differences between different groups in Egypt
and how religion plays a huge role in identity formation, I witnessed how
history also defines ones identity and can be a bonding point for people.
Paradox of identity
Although
ancient Egypt can be a bonding point for all Egyptians, Egyptian Christians
also struggle with identifying with the Egypt in the Bible. Even as Egypt is
host to baby Jesus in the gospels, Egypt is better known for being the monster
in the story of the Exodus. The complexity of identity comes to the forefront
as Egyptian Christians have had to process what it means to be able to identify
as the Israelites in the Exodus story, as part of God’s chosen people and
identify as Egyptians, who were the oppressors in the story. Safwat Marzouk
writes in Egypt as Monster in the Book of
Ezekiel, “Reading the Hebrew Bible in a Christian Egyptian context is an
identity question.”[2] He goes on
to describe how some Egyptian Christians have thrown out the story of the
Exodus, not wanting to deal with this issue of identity. These Christians
believe that by ignoring these texts, they are able to stay true to their
nationalistic sense of identity of being Egyptians. For many, these ancient
texts do not have anything to do with current Egypt.[3]
Another approach that Christian Egyptians take that Marzouk describes is an
allegorical interpretation; “they argue that Egypt in the Bible is just a
symbol for something else.”[4]
These Christians will say that they identify with Israel, because it stands for
the good, while Egypt in the story stands for the evil. They are able to
identify with their religious identity instead of their political identity. Marzouk
is critical of this approach because by only reading the text allegorically,
Egyptian Christians ignore the historical realities.[5]
The identity of an Egyptian Christian is one of paradox when it comes to the
Bible as seen here.
My
identity as an American Christian also comes with a similar paradox. Obviously,
the United States is not mentioned in the Bible and was not a political state
during the writing of the Bible. Growing up with the Exodus story, I have
always identified with Israel in the story and have not given the Egyptians in
the story much thought. However, learning about Egyptian Christians struggle
with this paradox, I have been able to make connections. The United States
today could be described as a powerful empire in the world. In many places in
the world, the United States is seen as the oppressor. When I was traveling in
Egypt, I was seen as a representative of the United States. Part of my own
identity is being a white, middle-class American. This is not an identity I
chose, but it is a part of myself that I have to live with. I live with a
paradox of being a pacifist Christian and at the same time, a citizen of a
country whose foreign policy and military hurts a lot of people throughout the
world. Instead of denying a part of my identity, I need to be able to see my
own identity as complex and always changing. Marzouk writes, “When one sees
identity as something fluid and hybrid and recognizes that formulating an
identity is an ongoing process, one is better able to live with paradox.”[6]
Learning about the Egyptian Christian identity and visiting Egypt as a white,
privileged, American Christian, allowed me to recognize the paradox within my
own identity and think deeper about the complexity and fluidity of having both
a national and religious identity that sometimes clashes.
Identity as a minority
group
Although
I recognized some similarities between Egyptian and American Christians as both
groups have to live with a paradox of having national and religious identities,
the Egyptian situation is different as Christians there are a minority group in
the country and face some persecution and discrimination. During the trip we
met with several different groups of Christians, both Orthodox and Protestant.
Three encounters were very significant to me as I learned about being a
Christian in a country with a repressive government and Islam as the majority
religion. The first encounter was with Dr. Rev. Andrea Zaki, the head of the
Protestant Churches in Egypt. He talked about the tough political situation
Egypt was in and how many Christians were supportive of the current government
because it was better than Hosni Mubarak who was in power for years and then
the short time after the revolution when the Muslim Brotherhood was in power. The
current government has put many people in jail unjustly and has resorted to
violence. However, the church in Egypt wants to simply survive and thus has a
choice to support the lesser of two evils or speak out against injustice and
face greater persecution and violence. The church in the United States cannot
comprehend this, as Christianity is the majority religion. I can speak out
about peace and nonviolence, but I do not live in a place were violent
persecution is an actual threat. The church in Egypt has to make choices that
I, as a privileged American Christian, cannot fully understand because of the
political context it is in.
The
second encounter that emphasized the difference between American and Egyptian
Christians was with Tharwat Wahba, one of the professors at the
Presbyterian Seminary in Cairo. During a question and answer time the professor
mentioned that foreign friends will sometimes ask about the state of LGBTQ
issues within the church in Egypt and he tells them that the church in Egypt is
simply trying to survive and does not have the time and energy to be having
those types of discussions. Although I would give a small push-back to this as
I have read about the violence and persecution that LGBTQ persons have faced in
Egypt, I think he makes an important point. The church in Egypt has a different
identity than the church elsewhere in the world and is facing different
problems. I can say that the Egyptian church needs to look into some of these
issues, but I can only say that because I am sitting in my nice home in the
United States, not having to worry that I could go to jail for something I say.
I do not have to worry about being discriminated against for my beliefs. I have
the privilege of being able to think theologically about issues facing the
LGBTQ community because I do not have to think of what real persecution the
church will be facing tomorrow. Egyptian Christians do not have this
privilege.
The
third encounter was with Reverend Gendi Rizk, the pastor of the El-Saraya
Church in Alexandria. He told the story of how a new church was being built
after years of jumping through bureaucratic hoops. However one day, he showed
up and there was bulldozer in front of the church. At first he described the anger
he felt, but then he decided that the church in Egypt has been there for two
thousand years and they had already waited years to build the church, so it was
okay to wait longer and retaliating against the people destroying their
building would not do much good. It was interesting to hear this story for
different reasons. First, it confirmed the real persecution that exists against
Christians in Egypt. This persecution is not just imagined, but is a part of
life there. Second, it showed the patience and resiliency of the Christians in
Egypt. On one of the first days, our leader Dr. Safwat Marzouk asked the group
why the church has survived in Egypt, while it has disappeared in other
countries in the Middle East. One answer I would give to this question is this
patience and resiliency that I witnessed through Rev. Rizk as well as through other
Christians, Coptic and Protestant, that we encountered while in Egypt. The
Christians I encountered had all experienced persecution and discrimination in
different ways, but yet stories like Rev. Rizk’s was not uncommon. In the midst
of hardship, Egyptian Christians have remained true to what they believe is the
core of the gospel, which is to love others and meet human needs.
Christian-Muslim
relations is a big conversation in Egypt. One’s religion is put on your
identity card at birth. As mentioned, there is real persecution and
discrimination towards to Christians from the Muslim majority. However, this is
not the whole picture. On our last day in Cairo, we visited Al-Azhar
University, a prestigious Islamic institution, and met with one of the top
scholars. He emphasized that Islam is a religion of peace and that the Quran
teaches religious tolerance. Our hosts at the university showed us great
hospitality and served us fresh juice and snacks, even as we were only there
for an hour. They welcomed questions and encouraged more dialogue between
Christians and Muslims. These Muslims we met saw their faith as a large part of
their identity, but one that promoted peace within the country. They spoke
harshly against Islamic terrorist groups. Many Muslims feel this way and see
Egyptian Christians as their neighbors. The same is true of many Christians. In
a study by Yvonne Haddad and Joshua Donovan published in Studies in World Christianity, they found that the Copts in Egypt
were living peaceably with their Muslim neighbors. There are cases of
discrimination, but Copts identify themselves as Egyptians and do not want
Western interference as advocated by some of the Diaspora currently living in
the United States.[7] Through
researching and learning about Muslim-Christian relations, I was able to see
that identity is more complex than just claiming a minority, persecuted
position. One’s identity is caught up in a web of relationships with the other,
which is both a large group such as Muslims or the government, as well as your
neighbors. Even as I had three encounters with Christians discussing
discrimination and persecution, I also witnessed people trying to live peacefully
with their neighbors and work together to create a better future for their
country.
Christian identity in
action
Learning
how to live peacefully together is one way that I witnessed Egyptian Christians
putting their Christian identity into practice. The emphasis on the identity of
Christians as acting out the simple message of the Bible was made by Rev. Rizk
and exemplified by actions he and his church in Alexandria have taken. Rev. Rizk
talked about how he has studied theology in both Egypt and the United States,
but his home church in Egypt has influenced his theology the most. He told our
group that he sees that the call of Christians is to act as Christ and meet the
human needs that exist within one’s community. He then told us of the different
ways that his church tries to live this call. He first described how the church
started a nursery school for members of the congregation because both parents
worked and needed a place for their children to go. Then, the church started a
school for people with special needs because a family in the congregation had a
child with autism and in Egypt there is a stigma against this group of people
and very little in the way of educational services. The school has grown to
reflect the current society with the majority of the students coming from
Muslim families. The school works to provide skills to people of all ages with
special needs and also works with the families to incorporate the people into
society and work against the negative stigma. The church sees both the nursery
school and the special needs school as a part of their call of being
Christians. However, the church also works on church planting, believing that
evangelism is also an important part of the gospel and this is not at odds with
the social services they provide. Opening these schools and church planting are
specific actions that the church in Egypt has taken to live out its Christian
identity.
Other
organizations we met with have also found ways to live out what it sees as its
Christian identity. While in Cairo, we met with CEOSS, the Coptic Organization
for Social Services, which is a large nonprofit serving 250 communities
throughout Egypt working in the areas of development, culture, and resource
development. The organization was started and is run by Christians, but sees
its mission as much broader. The mission as stated on their website is “to
promote the sanctity, equity, and harmony of life. It seeks to contribute to
the transformation of society by nurturing moral and spiritual awareness,
enhancing a sense of belonging, promoting respect for diversity, addressing
conflict, and advancing social justice for individuals and communities.”[8]
The organization sees this mission as part of the gospel that is for all
people, not just Christians. They emphasize that they work for all Egyptians,
regardless of religion or social status. I was impressed to hear about all the
work that CEOSS does and how it is responding to the needs that are in Egyptian
society. They do not give any direct handouts, but instead support other
organizations that do, and try to address some of the root causes of conflict
in the country by such actions as facilitating dialogue between Christians and
Muslims.
Another
example of where I saw Christians living out their identity was a visit to Manshiyat
Naser, better known as Garbage City. This area of Cairo is home to some of the
city’s poorest people who have been the outcasts of society whose main
occupation is that of garbage collecting. Although many of the main streets
have been cleaned, there was still garbage everywhere, including inside the
houses. However, at the end of the road were two huge churches built out of the
rocks. There, we learned the incredible story of a Coptic priest who felt a
call from God to witness to the garbage collectors and live within that
community. He saw the humanity in the people there and today the church
includes sixty thousand families. Instead of a place of garbage and poverty, I
saw the neighborhood as place where God’s love was able to take hold and
transform lives. As we talked with a man who grew up there, we learned how life
there is still really hard for the people, but the church has made things
better. The church works to meet basic human needs as well as provide a space
for anyone to feel welcome. Through its witness to the city’s marginalized and
outcasts, the church has grown to huge numbers and is living out its Christian
identity in a radical way.
My changing identity
My
time in Egypt changed the way I look at identity. First, while living in my own
specific context in the United States, I often forget how much my identity is
influenced by the history and traditions of my family, my nation, and my
religion. The United States does not have as old of a history as Egypt, but its
history is still a large source of identity for Americans. I am influenced by
this history in many ways that I have recognized and other ways that I am still
figuring out. Within my Mennonite faith, I can see very clear ways that
tradition, especially the pacifist tradition, has largely influenced my
identity and my actions. Growing up in this specific tradition has changed the
way that I see the world around me. Within the larger Christian tradition, my
time in Egypt allowed me to see how my identity has been shaped by biblical
history. I felt at home in the churches we visited because the history of God’s
people is also my history. I could celebrate with the church in Egypt because
these were my brothers and sisters in Christ. History and tradition have a
profound impact on identity.
My
time in Egypt also made clear how there is often a paradox in our identities.
Identity overlaps many different areas of our lives and often these different
identities do not mesh well together. In both Egypt and the United States, I
see how religious and national identities are often at odds. Sometimes you have
to choose which identity you act from, while at the same time, it is important
to be able to find ways to recognize and live in the paradox. This is not an
easy task, but I am encouraged that it is possible from the ways I witnessed
many Egyptians authentically trying to do this. I also recognize, though, that
this paradoxical identity changes when one is part of a minority group. After
being in Egypt, I am able to more fully recognize the privilege of living in
the majority. As a white, middle-class, heterosexual American, I do not face
many of the daily struggles that minority people do. My privilege allows me to
concentrate on large-scale justice issues because I do not face discrimination
and struggle on a daily basis. The trip reminded me of my privilege and how this
also impacts my identity and my actions in real ways.
Finally,
as I witnessed Egyptian Christians making choices to live out their Christian
identity by meeting simple human needs and trying to be Christ’s love to the
world, I was inspired. We are all given a certain identity in the world, but we
also have the freedom to make choices of how we live out that identity. I hope
that I am different because of my time Egypt, witnessing people living out the
simple gospel message. I want to continue to find ways to live out my own
Christian identity in the context of where I am now in the United States. I
live in a very different context than Egypt, but there are needs all around me
and my choices can affect lives. Just as my identity influences my choices, my choices
and actions help determine my identity in the world.
Conclusion
My time in Egypt allowed me to witness
many different layers and aspects of identity. History and traditions still
shape identity today and can be used to remind people of a shared identity.
Identities are also often paradoxical. Egyptian Christians have to live with
the paradox of identifying both with Egypt and Israel in the exodus story and
what it means to have a national identity that is at times at odds with a
Christian identity. American Christians also face a similar paradox as we want
to bring peace to the world, but are citizens of a country with an oppressive
military and foreign policy. Idenitites are also largely defined by social
location and holding a minority identity changes the way one acts in the world.
Egyptian Christians face many different problems than American Christians and
are impacted greatly by their position of being a minority group in Egypt.
However, people also have a choice of how to live out their identity in the
world. I witnessed Egyptian Christians living out the gospel message of meeting
needs in society and showing Christ’s love. Identity plays a huge role in our
lives and is complex and multi-layered and often presents paradox. However, by
recognizing the many different aspects, we can find ways to live out our
identity in ways that make this world a better place.
[5]
Ibid., 12.
[6]
Ibid., 242.
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