Egypt; yesterday, today and tomorrow?

If you were caught by surprise to see uproar and riot on the streets of Cairo this week, you were not alone. It appears that most of us were astonished by the scenes that flashed across the world on T.V.

However, I must confess that I was truly bemused by President Obama's solution to the mess in Egypt.

As buildings burned and bodies were hauled off for burial the President proclaimed that " free and fair elections" was the only way forward. Thus the magic word "DEMOCRACY" would solve all of Egypt's troubles.

But let's slow down a little. Even the briefest study of history will show that, while democracy has worked reasonably well in the 'Christian' West, in the nations ruled by Islam this form of government has never succeeded.

There are many reasons for this but let me give you the most obvious one.

The Christian faith teaches the supreme value of the individual and, by extension, instills in men a sense of justice and fair play. This allows for the democratic miracle to work; namely that a large minority of people are willing to be ruled by a fractionally larger majority.

In Islam (the word means submission) all too often, the mass of  people end up being ruled over by a sultan, war-lord, caliph or whoever the strong man might be.

There can never be compatibilty between a religion that demands total submission by virtue of its own name and a faith that liberates people to think for themselves and thereby come to a personal relationship with God.

If you are a citizen of a country with a Christian Heritage be profoundly thankful (whether you are a believer or not).... you may have just won first place in the lottery of life.


P.S. Tomorrow and for the rest of the week, Doug Ferris , a valued friend and colleague of mine, will be cooking up breakfasts based on his first hand experience of living in Cairo.