Sham’ee Asaad, a Coptic writer and thinker, along with two others, Islam Gawish and Mervat Youssef, have launched a Facebook campaign titled al-Ikhwan al-Misreyoun (the Egyptian Brotherhood) which, they say, aims to reject “the sectarian classification of Egyptians.”
The campaign was well-received by its Facebook audience and saw more than 700 members join in less than two days, according to Asaad.
In statements to Al-Iskandariya Al-Youm, Asaad said the campaign is a response to the rising wave of sectarianism in Egypt. The members of the campaign–who belong to different religions–have launched the movement to combat a growing wave of extremism manifested by the keenness of many Egyptians to express their religious affiliation in a "gross" manner, particularly following recent sectarian incidents, Saad said.
The objective of the campaign, which has chosen Facebook as a launch platform, is to re-establish the Egyptian identity by highlighting the commonalities shared between Egyptians, said Asaad.
Youssef, one of the three founders and a student at Alexandria University's faculty of medicine, says on the Facebook page, "These past few years have changed the face of a once-tolerant Egypt…Once the British High Commissioner said it is only possible to tell Egyptian Muslims and Christians apart during prayers, but where do we stand now? Today everyone is raising the flag of his religion. Everything about us has changed: our clothing, greetings, and the street where we were raised. We need to live together as Egyptians…In our veins runs the same blood even if others try to make us think otherwise…We are all on the same boat and share the same destiny…Do not let anyone drive us apart for reasons which only God knows."
The title of the campaign was chosen to counter the Muslim Brotherhood, which Youssef says segregates Egyptians through its mottos, ideas and activities.
Gawish, 21, a caricaturist, blogger and the designer of the campaign’s logo–which features the crescent, cross and Egypt’s flag–explained that the title of the group is intended to draw attention to the fact that the Muslim Brotherhood classifies Egyptians along religious lines.
He added that the campaign's founders are in the process of establishing a headquarters for their incipient social movement, which aims to fight all forms of sectarian violence. The movement's leaders plan to give lectures and organize activities to integrate Muslims and Christians and to reduce sectarian tension, said Gawish.
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
