Defying church ban, Egyptian Christians defy church ban and travel to Jerusalem

April 13, 2012

Defying church ban, Egyptian Christians defy church ban and travel to Jerusalem
By DIAA HADID
Associated Press

JERUSALEM (AP) _ After the death of their spiritual leader, more than
2,000 Egyptian Copts have poured into the Holy Land for the Easter
holidays, defying a ban he imposed on visiting Jerusalem and other
Israeli-controlled areas.

The influx _ after decades when Egyptian pilgrims were a rarity _ adds
a new element to the already diverse mix of languages and faiths in
Jerusalem's Old City during the holy season. The pilgrims are clearly
distinguished by the Egyptian accent of their Arabic and long cotton
robes worn by many of the men.

"It's the most beautiful thing in the world to see light of the
Messiah. We have dreamed of this for a long time," said Halim Farag,
60, in the plaza outside the cavernous Church of the Holy Sepulcher,
built on the site where Christians believe Jesus was crucified and
resurrected.

Farag, his sister and his wife paid $860 each for their five-day trip
_ money they scraped together over a year of saving and borrowing.
They will stay for Coptic Easter, which is Sunday, following the
Orthodox calendar used by some Eastern churches.

For many Copts, visiting the Holy Land, and Jerusalem in particular,
is one of the most meaningful acts of faith they can perform. Some
liken it to the pilgrimage to Mecca that Muslims are obligated to make
at least once in their lives if they can.

But for the past three decades, very few Copts have made the journey
because of the ban by Pope Shenouda III. Shenouda imposed the ban to
protest Egypt's 1979 peace agreement with Israel, saying Christians
shouldn't visit Israel until it makes peace with the Palestinians.
Shenouda was also upset over a custody dispute with the Ethiopian
Orthodox Church over a rooftop monastery at the Church of the Holy
Sepulcher. That dispute remains unresolved.

Small groups of Copts have always defied the ban. But following
Shenouda's death in late March at the age of 88, there has been a
clear spike. The ban remains in place, but the visitors said they
believed this was their chance.

"There is nothing more beautiful than to visit the holy sites. This is
a pilgrimage that shouldn't tied to politics," said a 62-year-old
pilgrim who would only identify herself by her first name, Samia,
because she was worried about punishment from the Church.

Another woman said the pilgrimage is "a dream for all of us" but
admitted she was concerned over the repercussions, both from the
Coptic Church and the Egyptian public, who largely reject any
normalization of ties with Israel.

"You don't know what they will do to us when we come back _ especially
after they see what numbers we came in," said the woman, wearing a
knee-length black skirt and black shirt.

The Copts, mostly middle-aged or senior citizens, have been busy
milling around the Holy Sepulcher throughout the week. They have
trundled to Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity, built on the site
where they believe Jesus was born. They have shopped and haggled on
the way, charming many Palestinians with their

Egyptian accents and humor, made familiar throughout the Arab world
through generations of popular Egyptian movies and soap operas.

A Palestinian tour guide who works with the Coptic community said most
in the wave of pilgrims "are old, and they want to visit at least once
in their life."

"They revolted against the pope's decision," said the guide, who like
the woman spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid problems with the
Church.

The precise number of visitors is hard to measure. A Coptic church
official estimated the number of visitors from the community this year
is at least double last year's, an assessment that was echoed by the
tour guide.

In an indication of the strong growth, an Egyptian airport official
said about 650 Copts have flown to Israel this holiday season,
compared with 150 in past years.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of Egyptian
security rules. Many other pilgrims enter Israel through its land
crossing with Egypt.

The Israeli Interior Ministry said 2,500 Egyptians entered the country
during the first 10 days of April, but had no further figures or
comparisons from the previous year.

April is one of the busiest tourist seasons, drawing an estimated
225,000 Christian visitors from around the world, according to the
Israeli Tourism Ministry.

Israel captured east Jerusalem, home to the city's most sensitive
Christian, Jewish and Muslim holy sites, in the 1967 Mideast war and
its annexation of the area has never been internationally recognized.
Israel also controls borders into the West Bank, where the biblical
town of Bethlehem is located. Other sites, like the city of Nazareth,
are in Israel proper.

The Coptic Church has not yet named a successor to Shenouda, and it
remains unclear how strictly the next leader will enforce the ban.

Pilgrims face being denied the sacrament when they return home to
Egypt, said Father Antonious al-Urashalimi, secretary of the Coptic
Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem. He said the Church would decide on
an individual basis whether to impose punishments. Those not
considered elderly could be banned from the sacrament for six months
to a year.

The punishment is hefty for Coptic believers, who say it is equivalent
to being denied union with Christ through eating the bread and
drinking the wine symbolizing his body and blood.

The flow of Copts to the Holy Land could also bring a backlash back
home in Egypt, where Copts make up about 10 percent of the 85 million
population.
The 33-year-old peace between Israel and Egypt has never been warm.
The few Egyptians who do make the journey to Israel are often viewed
with suspicion back home. Already, one newspaper article in a
pro-government newspaper has reported on the visits to Jerusalem in
what the pilgrims felt were dark undertones.

Few expect violence against Copts in Egypt to rise because of these
visits. But Copts said they feared their visit would be used as
propaganda by hard-line Islamists or others trying to portray them as
disloyal.

"They want to show that the Copts aren't nationalists," al-Urashalimi
said. "We hope God will enlighten those minds, those people who say
this is the root of treason, because we are Egyptian nationalists who
have sacrificed many things for our homeland."
___
Associated Press writer Sarah El Deeb contributed to this report from Cairo.