Amr Hamzawy, prominent Egyptian academic, founder of the Freedom Egypt Party, and former parliamentarian in 2012, wrote a particularly poignant article describing his experience at the funeral at St. Mark’s church in the Cairo suburb of Heliopolis and reflecting on the sad and dangerous turn in the course of Egypt’s political and social development. Decrying both the damage done by the Muslim Brotherhood’s narrow-minded pursuit of power and the heavy-handed military intervention into politics, Hamzawy laments the general descent into violence, the loss of perspective with regard to liberal democratic ideals and human rights, and the plight of Coptic Christians caught in the sectarian crossfire. To read more on Hamzawy’s perspective, see his article titled, “Two Sorrowful Scenes at a Church Funeral” on EgyptSource.

Image: Photo: Coptic protest October May 2011 (Maggie Osama)