"Many Moslems have been strong defenders of Christians against attacks from the Muslim Brothers"

An eye witness view from a Western religious serving in Egypt, dated 15 August :

 

•  This part of the story especially what regards attacks on churches and Christian properties is often not communicated in Western media. The readiness on the part of the Moslem Brothers to use violence is known to everyone here but the picture given to the West is that the sit-ins were peaceful demonstrations. This is not the truth. Not only were many in the sit-ins armed but also those who wished to leave were not allowed to. The only way to leave the sit-in was as a corpse - yesterday at Rabaa Al Adawiya an underground room was found with many dead bodies. A story is going around here in Berba that a young man from here went in the early days of the sit-in to help for a day by making tea etc. When he asked at the end of the day for his ID (which he had to hand in when he entered) he was shot and his body was taken back to Berba. Who knows if it's true..
• Funding: it is claimed and seems to be a well-accepted fact that everyone at the sit-in received a handsome daily "wage". Most Egyptians are poor, so this would have been an important drawing card to gather those who would be ready to leave their work and remain camping out, even if they were not convinced Brotherhood members.
• My interpretation of Baradai's resignation: he was severely criticized in Egypt for his efforts to negotiate with foreign diplomats and the MBs, was accused of delaying the decision to clear the sit-ins and no longer had any credibility in the country. His reason for resigning is that force was used to disperse the sit-ins. Also I think his international reputation would have been damaged if he had not resigned but here in the country he is seen as abandoning his country in the moment of need.
• Today I asked several Christians here whether they regret the ouster of Morsi now that “all hell broke loose” yesterday. Their answer was very clear: absolutely not. Now that the sit-ins have been dispersed and in spite of the price Christians had to pay yesterday, the country can now move forward. They feel that the true picture of the MBs must now be clear to the West: they have no interest in Egypt, only in turning the country into an Islamist state and using any means to reach that goal. The sit-ins had to be dispersed and everyone knew that negotiations with the MBs would never succeed. Therefore the only way to do it was by force and a price had to be paid. People do not believe that what happened yesterday will continue on a large scale. Yes, there will be sporadic attacks, but yesterday was their chance because all eyes were focussed on Cairo, the police presence was weak in the governorates and so they were “free” in a sense to carry out their attacks without being stopped.
• People find it very difficult to accept that Europe and America do not understand or refuse to understand the reality of the Moslem Brothers and their aims.
• Another very positive result of June 30 and July 26 was that there is now an “Egyptian” pride in their country regardless of whether Moslem or Christian. Moslems and Christians were side by side in the streets and squares calling for Morsi’s ouster and for the military to deal with violence and terrorism. Many Moslems have been strong defenders of Christians against attacks from the MBs. This morning on a talk show we heard a commentator say that it was Christians yesterday who paid the highest price, but were those who most showed self-control in face of the attacks.
• We are all well, here. We count on your prayers for this country and for all its citizens of good will. Happy feast of the Assumption – the reading of Revelations 12 is most appropriate for what we are living here at the moment: our God is a God of life!

The English-speaking journalist in Cairo who conveyed the above remarks:

The assessment of the MB in this piece is right and the western media's insistence that the pro-Morsi, 'anti-coup' demonstrators were peaceful is well known to be a lie. The violence and intimidation they have used and continue to use are being recorded on numerous amateur videos that are now on social media and on Youtube. Unfortunately the foreign press approach has done much to harm the reputation of once respected news organisations and of foreigners from those countries living here. It is still very tense and there is definitely more trouble ahead. We are safe at home. The office is closed because there are marches by very aggressive pro-Morsi MB groups and although it is well secured in the area where the office is located, getting to and from is not so easy.