The Good Samaritan of Egypt

Imam Saad Askar
For the Coptic Christians of Egypt, the 7th of January is the day that they celebrate Christmas.  It is supposed to be a time of joy for the Coptic community, but for the one Coptic Church in Egypt, it was a near tragedy.  As the Coptic Christians of the Church of the Virgin Mary and Abu Seifin in the Nasr City district of Cairo, Egypt were celebrating their mass, two students of Al Azhar University noticed a suspicious man carrying a case to the church.  They students alerted Saad Askar, the Imam of a local Mosque who alerted the authorities and shouted to the Christian congregation to leave the church immediately.  

 Members of the Egyptian military arrived in time to defuse two of the bombs.  Unfortunately, the third one detonated, killing bomb squad member Major Mostafa Ebeid al-Azhar.  Imam Askar's courageous action has put his own life in danger as the Jihadist terrorist are now threatening him.  However, Imam Askar defended his actions, stating that "We have to stand by each other's side and take care of each other.  Those who target places of worship have no religion.  They are neither Christian nor Muslim."  Imam Aksar's words have rang true with many, as this bombing attempt took place a little over a year after the Sinai Mosque Attack in Nov. of 2017 that saw over 300 Muslim men, women, and children slaughtered at the hands of ISIS terrorists.  

 International Christian Concern Founder Jeff King praised Imam Askar's brave actions.  In his praise, Jeff King points to the Parable of the Good Samaritan in the Gospel of Luke.  In his parable, Jesus points out that when a man was viciously attack, it was the Samaritan (Great animosity existed between Jews and Samaritans in the Old Testament times) who stopped to help the injured man at his own expense, while the Priest and the Levite (high members of Jewish society) chose to look the other way.  The message of Christ was very clear, that despite the fact that these people followed what was viewed as a flawed theology, hatred was never the right way.  Goodness can be found everywhere, and we must always remember that.  

 Sources:

Burger, John.  "Imam Foils Bomb Attack Against Coptic Church in Egypt."  Aleteia.  Jan. 15th, 2019.  Accessed from https://aleteia.org/2019/01/15/imam-foils-bomb-attack-against-coptic-church-in-egypt/.

"Egyptian Policeman Killed Defusing Bomb Near Coptic Church."  BBC.  Jan. 06, 2019.  Accessed from https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-46772729.

"Imam Foils Deadly Attack Against Church on the Eve of Coptic Christmas."  AsiaNews.  Jan. 09, 2019.  Accessed from http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Imam-foils-deadly-attack-against-church-on-the-eve-of-Coptic-Christmas-45928.html.

Klett, Leah Marieann.  "Muslim Leader Foils Deadly Terrorist Attack Against Christian Church in Egypt: 'We Have to Take Care of Each Other.'"  The Gospel Herald.  Jan. 10, 2019.  Accessed from https://www.gospelherald.com/articles/71917/20190110/muslim-leader-foils-deadly-terrorist-attack-against-christian-church-egypt.htm.

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