Tante Angeel and Co.

Advocates of the Coptic Christians in Egypt often voice their one-sided views of the religious intolerance of Muslims towards the Copts and ignore the religious bigotry towards Muslims rooted in Coptic society in Egypt.

Let me tell you about my childhood neighbor in Egypt, Tante Angeel ("Auntie Angel.") Tante Angeel was a very old Christian Coptic Orthodox spinster who lived in the building across from us. Tante Angeel was a very famous character in our neighborhood. In the Coptic society there are many Tante Angeels, but poor Tante Angeel herself is the victim of my story. She is now deceased so let me start by saying God bless her soul and forgive her.

Tante Angeel was Islamophobic. You would often hear her fighting with various Muslims around her. She fought with her porter and ran down the stairs with her broom to beat the Muslim kids who would play under her balcony. It was not strange to hear Tante Angeel yelling her lungs out if she discovers that the taxi driver that came to pick her up to go to church was Muslim. Yes! Tante Angeel asks taxi drivers if they were Muslims or not, and if they turned out to be, watch out, as the fight would start and the curses would fly.

Tante Angeel comes from a very prestigious and rooted Coptic background. Tante Angeel liked me very much as a child (I'm Christian of course) She was so pleasant when she wanted to and very religious and kind to all Christians around her. Tante Angeel is not the only one in my neighborhood that disliked Muslims. There were many relatives and friends of Tante Angeel that felt the same but chose to be quiet about it.

As a kid when I went to the Coptic church, Abouna (the priest) would hint about how sheikhs can be easily challenged by Coptic priests about their faith and how their religion is false. The topic of our Sunday school lesson or youth group discussions would have nothing to do with Islam but on many occasions this topic had to be brought up. When I went to church I found many old (very old) ladies like Tante Angeel that would spout hate towards Muslims even while they were still in church.

The only picture I posted on this entry is the old flag of Egypt. The three stars are symbols of Christianity, Islam, and Judaism under the state of Egypt. It represents a religious tolerance in older Egypt that has since disappeared...

Despite the phenomenon of Tante Angeel and Co., my grandmother, mother,and many others from the old generation happily existed with Muslims. My mother recalls a great environment of tolerance in her generation that we need to recreate today.