uprising in Egypt

A little less than two weeks ago there was a bombing at a Church in the northern part of Egypt in the city of Alexandria as churchgoers attended mass on New Years Eve. Approximately 21 people were killed and over 70 people were injured. This terrorist attacks symbolic of rising problems in Egypt, an Arab nation with a Muslim majority. Coptic Christians make up the minority population in Egypt. After the attack, Coptic Christians rose up and protested the attack. This attack was an attack on religion; an attack on civilians; an attack on ideology;

Today a shooter boarded a train in southern Egypt and shot a Christian man,71 years old too no less and wounded 5 others; one was the wife of the man who was shot. The shooter was identified as a 23 year old off-duty policeman. This is really startling and unsettling. I do not understand how Hosni Mubarak can stand there and say he is doing everything to protect the Christians in Egypt when a policeman can board a train and do something like this. Mubarak is not doing enough to protect his people.

This is not first or the last time things like this wil happen. However, it is becoming more frequent. I think Muslims and Christians in Egypt need to stand together to stop the violence. The religious tensions in Egypt are bound to rise and create much strain on the government to control the violence. However, whoever is responsible for the attack on the church may very well want exactly that---for the tensions to rise.

Its just really scary to see all of this violence occurring due to religious and political ideology differences that exist in Egypt. There are stark similarities to the violence occurring in Egypt and the violence that is occurring all over the world. It is clear the people of Egypt are fed up. The Christians are fed up with the religious persecution they face. The Muslims are fed up with the Christians complaining about the inequality/discrimination they face. The Muslims AND Christians are fed up with the overall lack of concern for the citizens of Egypt from the government. The rich, the poor, the Muslims, the Christians-- Every class of people, every religious group in Egypt has something to complain about. So its no wonder that in a matter of two weeks two violent acts occurred.

It is time for Egypt to wake up and realize that the current state of the country is NOT ok. Egypt, a nation that used to be so successful in ancient times has skipped a beat in recent decades and fallen off the charts to be one of the most corrupt and religiously as well as economically divided countries in the world. The gap between the rich and poor is getting worse everyday! As appalled as I am by the attacks, I am not all that surprised. It was only a matter of time before an attack like this caught the attention of the world. If reform doesn't occur soon in Egypt the country will see alot more than just a terrorist attack on a church or a shooting on a train.