by Raymond Ibrahim
Egypt’s War on Christian Memory
The crisis surrounding the historic Church of the Virgin Mary in Rashid, Beheira Governorate, Egypt, has once again erupted—this time with brazen attempts to obliterate what remains of the Christian monument. The perpetrators are not anonymous “radicals” but the sons of a criminal court counselor (judge)—men of influence who act like gangsters—determined to demolish the remnants of the church before a government inspection takes place. Their goal is transparent: erase all trace of the church’s Christian identity before the law can intervene.
Thanks only to the intervention of Rashid police, the full demolition was stopped mid-act. The attempt was exposed by Father Luka Asaad, the church’s priest, who has refused to remain silent even at personal risk. He described the incident as “an attempt to erase the church’s historical identity before the litigation stages were completed.” For speaking out, he was beat, dragged out of his church, and robbed of his phone as he tried to document the destruction.
The workers hired to destroy the church’s domes and roof did so under the flimsy pretense of “ownership rights.” One of the sons of a counselor—ironically a senior judge in the Egyptian judiciary—claims he purchased the church in 1990 from the Greek community. Even if true, such a claim is irrelevant: Egypt’s own judiciary has ruled that churches, like mosques, cannot be bought, sold, or demolished.But opportunism has nothing to do with law and everything to do with seizing Christian property while hiding behind a legal façade.