Discussions about Egypt bring to mind the pyramids and the Sphinx, the Egyptian captivity of the ancient Israelites, and the biblical plagues that allowed Moses to lead the Israelites on the Exodus in the 1400s B.C., after 430 years of Egyptian captivity. And, of course, we may remember the Egyptian mummies.
Modern Egypt, as then, is still mostly desert, but its ancient gods and goddesses are “history.” Roughly 90 percent of today’s Egyptians are Muslim, with most of the rest being Coptic (Egyptian) Christians.
Christianity is believed to have been introduced into Egypt by Saint Mark, in Alexandria, a few years after the death, burial and Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
This week, though, there was trouble in modern Egypt, as 156 Coptic Christians were accused of very “un-Christian” activities, such as attempted murder and possession of explosives. Fifteen police officers were injured after security forces halted the construction of a church.
Egypt’s long story has been a turbulent and varied one, and continues to be.