London–The repercussions of Egypt’s New Year’s Eve church bombing have reached London, a city of about 20,000 Copts.
The bombing, which took place at the Church of St. Mark and St. Peter in Alexandria, killed 23 people and injured scores.
St. Mark’s Church in west London is presently in a state of mourning for the victims of the terrorist attack. The oldest Coptic church in the UK, it was consecrated in its current location in 1979.
Police guarded the Christmas Eve mass there on 6 January, due to fears that the church could be under threat. An extremist website, Shumukh al-Islam, which allegedly named the bombed Alexandria church as a target, was also thought to have listed three Coptic churches in the UK, including St. Mark’s.
Yet according to Father Antonius Thabet, a priest at St. Mark’s, more people than usual attended mass, indicating the congregation’s desire to show support and unity.
St. Mark’s hosted a Christmas morning reception for people to pay their respects and show solidarity with the Coptic Church and Egypt. As well as members of the congregation and the Egyptian community, representatives of local and Arab organizations attended, seeking to pass on their condolences. The mood was somber, as people sat quietly on chairs around the edges of the room, and a visitor commented, “it’s like a funeral.”
Among the visitors was a delegation from the Egyptian embassy in London. Ambassador Hatim Seif El Nasr said that this is an annual visit for him, as Coptic Christmas is a holiday for all Egyptians, but “this year is of course more important because we should not allow terror to hijack our celebration of this very special day.” Looking to the future, he added “solidarity is the only antidote to this poison.”
Besides a mood of sadness and loss, there was an understated defiance in the church. Deacon George Awad seeks refuge in his faith in the face of such adversity. For him, this attack and others that have targeted Copts in the past have only strengthened people’s belief and determination. The result has been that “we pray more, we fast more, we go to church more, and we love each other more,” he said.
Awad, the General Bishop of the Coptic Orthodox Church in the UK, expressed sorrow and concern for Egypt. “We are deeply saddened and disturbed that once again, days of joy and celebration have been turned into a time of mourning and weeping.” He criticized Egyptian authorities for their “passiveness” and failure to prevent the rising levels of violence, which “has sent out the message that Christians in Egypt are an easy and legitimate target.”
The shock waves of the bombing have reverberated across the globe and extend beyond the framework of the Coptic Church, as shown by a small protest held on Christmas evening outside the Egyptian embassy in London. The rain ensured that the turnout was modest, but die hard supporters, Egyptian and non-Egyptian, came out with a message of solidarity and unity.
Arish Sharifi is not Egyptian but draped himself in the flag as a gesture of camaraderie. “I’m here to show solidarity for the people of Egypt, to show that regardless of religion, or what organization or group you belong to, you’re all one people… It shouldn’t be divided between Christians and Muslims,” he said.
Fellow protester Mohamed Gade believes that attacks of this sort affect all Egyptians, regardless of where they are. He said, “to have conflict between Muslims and Christians, the kind that aims to destabilize a country that’s already suffering, is a major blow to any Egyptian… Sectarian violence is an issue that we’ve seen in many different countries, like Iraq and Sudan, and obviously we don’t want this to happen to Egypt.”
Staging this demonstration outside the embassy, the official presence of Egypt in the UK, highlights people’s anger towards the government and the fact that this is about more than solidarity. Gade added that violence of this sort is “something that needs to be looked at very carefully and the government is required to put much more effort into guaranteeing security measures in holy areas.”
Kamal Helbawy is a former spokesman for the Muslim Brotherhood who now resides in the UK. Although he attended the demonstration to show solidarity with Christian Egyptians and offer consolation to the victims’ families, he was also there “to protest against the performance, the bad and underdeveloped performance, of the Egyptian government.”
Heblawy called the attack “the new setback”, and he is not alone in thinking that a line has been crossed. As Bishop Angaelos stated, “these are no longer sectarian scuffles or attacks on Christian churches and communities, but premeditated acts of terrorism and violence that are unprecedented in Egypt. A very different solution is now needed to deal with a very different kind of problem.”
