7th Rangers: Egypt: Yet Another Ancient Coptic (Christian) Monastery Left to Ruin - Read pact of Omar to humiliate Jews and Christians, remember banned words by Mahathirudan in Malaysia
Fighting Seventh
The Fighting Rangers On War, Politics and Burning Issues
Rudyard Kipling"
“When you're left wounded on Afganistan's plains and
the women come out to cut up what remains, Just roll to your rifle
and blow out your brains,
And go to your God like a soldier”
General Douglas MacArthur"
“We are not retreating. We are advancing in another direction.”
“It is fatal to enter any war without the will to win it.” “Old soldiers never die; they just fade away.
“The soldier, above all other people, prays for peace, for he must suffer and be the deepest wounds and scars of war.”
“May God have mercy upon my enemies, because I won't .” “The object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard die for his.
“Nobody ever defended, there is only attack and attack and attack some more.
“It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived.
The Soldier stood and faced God
Which must always come to pass
He hoped his shoes were shining
Just as bright as his brass
"Step forward you Soldier,
How shall I deal with you?
Have you always turned the other cheek?
To My Church have you been true?"
"No, Lord, I guess I ain't
Because those of us who carry guns
Can't always be a saint."
I've had to work on Sundays
And at times my talk was tough,
And sometimes I've been violent,
Because the world is awfully rough.
But, I never took a penny
That wasn't mine to keep.
Though I worked a lot of overtime
When the bills got just too steep,
The Soldier squared his shoulders and said
And I never passed a cry for help
Though at times I shook with fear,
And sometimes, God forgive me,
I've wept unmanly tears.
I know I don't deserve a place
Among the people here.
They never wanted me around
Except to calm their fears.
If you've a place for me here,
Lord, It needn't be so grand,
I never expected or had too much,
But if you don't, I'll understand."
There was silence all around the throne
Where the saints had often trod
As the Soldier waited quietly,
For the judgment of his God.
"Step forward now, you Soldier,
You've borne your burden well.
Walk peacefully on Heaven's streets,
You've done your time in Hell."
Egypt: Yet Another Ancient Coptic (Christian) Monastery Left to Ruin - Read pact of Omar to humiliate Jews and Christians, remember banned words by Mahathirudan in Malaysia
Coptic Solidarity : Yet another ancient monastery in Egypt is on the verge of ruin.
Due to heavy rainfalls on Feb. 19, 2022, the Saint Paul monastery
near the Red Sea Mountains of Egypt suffered extreme damage—including
collapsed walls and devastation around the roads and countryside—as seen
in a video published shortly thereafter. Even the roads to and from the monastery have been cut off. One of the monks published an urgent appeal, saying, “We are exposed to a tragedy in the truest sense of the word—a tragedy unprecedented in scope.”
Founded in the fourth century, the monastery is named after Saint
Paul the Anchorite (227-341)—history’s very first Christian hermit, who
preceded (and inspired) Egypt’s more famous monk, Saint Anthony the
Great. The monastery was built around the cave that Saint Paul lived in
for some 80 years and is place of pilgrimage. It’s worth noting that a month earlier, on Jan. 6, 2022—ironically,
Christmas Eve for Egypt’s Coptic Orthodox Christians—the walls of another ancient Coptic monastery in Egypt, founded in the fifth century, came crumbling down.
In both cases, it seems clear that the government of Egypt has been
somewhat apathetic in preserving or repairing these nearly two-thousand
year old structures. After all, one seldom hears of the collapse of
Egypt’s much older pre-Christian antiquities, which are zealously
maintained. Yet Egypt’s ancient Christian heritage seldom gets the same
care.
To what extent, one wonders, is such apathy an implicit response to Islamic law? As is well known, the so-called Conditions of Omar (my partial translation here)
maintains that, while preexisting churches and monasteries may be
allowed to exist, they should never be repaired or refurbished; they are
to be left to the ravages of Time. The exact excerpt from the Conditions
follows: “[conquered Christians are expected] not to build a church in
our city—nor a monastery, convent, or monk’s cell in the surrounding
areas—and not to repair those that fall in ruins or are in Muslim
quarters.”
To reiterate, to what extent are these well-known teachings
influencing—even if subconsciously—the authorities’ nonchalant response
to the ongoing dilapidation of Egypt’s ancient Christian heritage?
