Egypt Grows More Dangerous

Two stories today highlight that Egypt is on the brink of disaster.  First, in an eery echo of Iran in 1979, protestors have stormed the American embassy, pulled down the American flag, and replaced it with the black flag of radical Islam.  Thankfully, the embassy staff had been alerted to a possible disturbance and had already evacuated the embassy.  This attack, however, is a breach of international law and a direct affront to American prestige and influence in Egypt.

At the same time, reports are emerging that Egypt’s millions of embattled Coptic Christians may be banding together to protect themselves from escalating persecution.  NPR is reporting that Christians are forming their own “Brotherhood”:

A former leader of the Muslim Brotherhood occupies Egypt's presidential palace, leaving many of the country's Coptic Christians deeply anxious about their future.
Now, a new group calling itself the Christian Brotherhood has emerged, vowing to stand up for the rights of Copts.

On a Cairo rooftop recently, members of the new Christian Brotherhood are debating how to respond to the first major outbreak of Muslim-Christian violence since President Mohammed Morsi came into office in June.

The incident in the village of Dahshour, south of Cairo, began as a personal spat between a Christian and a Muslim in a local laundry. It quickly escalated into communal violence, and eventually the entire Christian community — about 100 families — fled the village.

Given Egypt’s proximity to Israel, we could be entering the most dangerous phase in the Middle East since the Yom Kippur war of 1973.  Iran is progressing towards a nuclear bomb, Egypt is in the hands of the Muslim Brotherhood and is moving tanks into the Sinai, and now not even the American embassy is sacred.  Millions of Christians are at risk of violent persecution, and Israel once again faces the nightmare of seeing territory it traded for “peace” being used as a launching pad for attacks.

On this eleventh anniversary of September 11, Islamic radicalism remains a deadly force.