From the Daily Caller:
Former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton warns Egypt’s ancient Coptic Christian minority could become increasingly endangered should the protests against Egyptian strongman Hosni Mubarak drive him from power…
…Bolton points out Egypt’s outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, which promotes the Islamist ideology employed more violently by Hamas and other terror groups, stands to gain despite being a late comer to the revolt.
“One thing I want to say about all of these young people and all of these university students is what they’re learning in the universities is very similar to what the Muslim Brotherhood preaches,” Bolton said. “So we have to worry about the radicalism among the students is very, very high.”…
The really bad news is that no matter how it comes out, Egypt’s Christians will come out losers – they are already severely repressed by Mubarak’s regime and a successor regime, especially if the Islamo-fascists of the Moslem Brotherhood gain influence, will likely be even worse.
Ultimately, unless Moslems learn how to be tolerant, the only hope for the Christians of the Middle east is self government. The Copts of Egypt are, after all, the descendants of the original inhabitants of Egypt and so it would be a matter of simple justice to break off part of Egypt and make it a Christian nation. Only thus can Christians be certain of such basic rights as life, property and the freedom to worship.
UPDATE: The Moslem Brotherhood makes a play for influence in Egypt and a spreading Islamist revolt.
UPDATE II: Seems the Egyptian police has ceased to patrol the Gaza/Egypt border and the bad guys are now moving in to Egypt – from NRO’s The Corner:
Stratfor, the news analysis service, is now reporting the following, which it states is from its source in Hamas but which it has not confirmed. It is consistent with other reports that the Egyptian police have melted away:
The Egyptian police are no longer patrolling the Rafah border crossing into Gaza. Hamas armed men are entering into Egypt and are closely collaborating with the MB [Muslim Brotherhood]. The MB has fully engaged itself in the demonstrations, and they are unsatisfied with the dismissal of the Cabinet. They are insisting on a new Cabinet that does not include members of the ruling National Democratic Party.
The question now: what will Egypt’s army do? Clamp down on the protesters and sent Hamas packing? Or allow Hamas to take armed control of the revolution? Bad news for the whole world if anyone remotely connected to Hamas/MB gets in to power in Egypt…means almost certain war with Israel and Lord only knows what else.
UPDATE III: NRO also has a report about how Egypt’s Copts are fairing:
Upper Egypt, the southern part of the country where many rural Christian Copts live, has been tensely quiet, I’m hearing from knowledgeable sources. This is an area of farmers and peasants, who have limited internet access and relatively low literacy. The area has also had a long-term and strong security presence due to sectarian tensions and to its serving as a traditional base for Islamic extremists (Gamaa’at Islamiyah, Egyptian Islamic Jihad, Sadat’s assassins, the Luxor tourists attackers). For now, most people in the south are bracing for the worst, stocking food supplies, and huddling around their televisions and radios following developments to the north.
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