For those of you who do not follow the media last week has been a scene of violence in the middle east, this time it was Egypt, in the city of Alexandria, where a suicide bomber targeted a Coptic church, killing and inuring many innocent people. This must not be a big surprise for anyone in Egypt, a couple of months ago a christian was stabbed and murdered in the same city, on the same backgound – the religous intolerance of some in Egypt.
Many argue that the action did not come from within Egypt but from outside, maybe al-Quida. The regular conspiracy theory in the Arab world always points a finger at Israel as a cause of any kind of problem, for example the shark attacks in Sinai a month ago (some claimed it was Israel who “sent” the sharks) or eagles spying on Saudi Arabia ground (a research on the migration of eagles done around the world with the university of Tel-Aviv participating).
This kind of attack is not outside the ordinary for anyone who follows the modern day Muslim belief, which has perfect reason to believe that there should be no other religion than Islam and that there is no place for any other belief system next to Islam, especially in places that are ruled by Muslims or ever have been under Muslim law (which places much of Southern Europe under that principle).
If anyone asks how religions can be dangerous and physically threaten the lives of millions of people, that is exactly how and why. Islam is (to its believers) the final word of God, it is the last and final set of rules and “best practices” the all-mighty has dictated to the prophet via his angel. There is no question in the mind of a true Muslim that there is no other truth and that following the word of the prophet will lead to a very happy ending. In Islam, much more than in Christianity, trying your best to be like the prophet actually makes sense and has a direct reward system behind it. The prophet did not tolerate any other religion (under the house of war, not the early and diplomatic house of peace) so there is no reason for his followers to do any different.
Add to this the pre-programmed viral power of Islam (the way it is programmed to spread quickly and convert everyone to its law) and you have yourself a problem, well, at least if you plan to have any other religions or belief systems around. It is one of the main issues with most of the worlds conflicts, and will probably get worst in time. Even within the Arab/Muslim world there is no peace because of this ideology, since no one path of Islam can accept the other.
And so, the Coptic church, a true relic of history, finds itself attacked with the clear purpose of total destruction 2,000 years after it started, in the same city that saw Christians advocate their cause to pagans, later to convert to Islam by the power of the sword. One can not but wonder when the great city of Alexandria will, as Richard Dawkins puts it, “Go one God further” and see the light.
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