A Word About Egypt

I want to start out by saying that I believe religious liberty (for people of ANY faith or NO faith) should be a basic premise of any culture. 

I am a Christian.  I believe deeply what Jesus Christ said in John 14:6 – “I am the way and the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.”  Those who do not follow Christ have every right to believe as they do, but as a Christian, I want all who do not follow Christ to have every opportunity to do so – and their misdirected faith is a source of sadness to me, rather than anger.  As a Christian, my primary function in life is to spread the good news of the salvation brought by Jesus, not to drive non-believers away from it.

With that said, I want to emphasize that non-belief should be respected and tolerated, not supported.  This subject is brought to mind by a news item that I read today.  In Egypt, a woman and her seven children have been sentenced to 15 years in prison for their conversion to Christianity.

Nadia Mohamed Ali was raised as a Christian.  She converted to Islam 23 years ago when she married Mohamed Abdel-Wahhab Mustafa, a Muslim.  After his death, she decided to convert back to Christianity.  It is that action that precipitated the sentence against her and her children.  As a Christian, I could succumb to the temptation to question her faith and her religious conviction – whether to Christianity or to Islam.  But the Bible clearly teaches me that the relationship between any individual and God is judged only by God – so I will leave it where it belongs.

My real issue in this story is something else.  Something not directly involved in the story.

The United States government has, currently does, and clearly plans to continue to send aid to the Egyptian government.  Beyond any cash aid, the US is scheduled to start deliveries later this month (January, 2013) of 10 F-16 fighter jets and 200 Abrams tanks.  That is about $213 million in military aid to a country that has no interest in religious liberty.  The deal was made some time ago – when Hosni Mubarak was President of Egypt.  Since it was approved by Congress at that time, it can only be withdrawn by the President.  Obama has shown no interest in rescinding the aid, thought, even though it is now destined to go to a regime headed by Mohamed Morsi, who in 2010 said of Jews and Israelis that they were “Descendents of Apes and Pigs” and “Bloodsuckers.”

To those that would say it is not the function of the United States to dictate the policies of other governments, I would respond with complete agreement.  I would further respond, though, that it is not the function of the United States to support governments that promote policies so diametrically opposed to our own, and have policies so antagonistic to our firm and long-term allies.

When we look at the importance of religious liberty in the community of nations and at the attitude of the Morsi regime toward Israel, our staunchest ally in the region, it makes no sense at all for the United States to follow through with this aid.