TIME – EXTRACT: Shenouda’s ultimate legacy is probably twofold. He made it nearly impossible for Coptic married couples to divorce within the church; and he made a strategic decision to ally his church with Mubarak’s government as a means of assuring his community’s safety. That last stance often led Shenouda into embarrassing situations like repeated public endorsements of Mubarak — including one in the midst of the 2011 revolution that ended Mubarak’s reign.
Under Shenouda, the Coptic Church struck a common Middle Eastern bargain: the religious or ethnic minority allies itself with an authoritarian ruler as protection against the Muslim majority. But in Egypt and elsewhere, that bargain is now obsolete. Secularist dictators like Mubarak have been replaced and Christian communities must fend for themselves — often with elected Islamist governments. With Morsy, a lifelong Muslim Brotherhood official, occupying the presidential palace and a new constitution being drafted by a council dominated by Islamists, one of Tawadros’ first challenges will be managing this redefined relationship between church and state.
It will be a daunting task. Even before the revolution, a younger generation of politicized Copts had long since stopped expecting political courage or leadership from the church. They regarded Shenouda’s policies as far too conciliatory — desperately dedicated to staying on the good side of the Mubarak government, no matter what the cost was. Read the whole article here » | Ashraf Khalil | Monday, November 05, 2012
