The church of Anba Moussa al-Asswad, St Moses the Black, in Minya some 250km south of Cairo, has been notorious for the sheer scale of destruction wrought on it by Islamist terrorists on 14 August 2013. In fact, some of the most widely-circulated photographs of the ruinous outcome of the synchronised nationwide terror attack waged by the Islamists against the Copts at that time came from Anba Moussa’s. And some of the famous photographs that showed the Copts, resilient and undefeated, later worshipping among the ruins of their churches, were shot there. Now, Anba Moussa al-Asswad’s has been fully restored, and turned into an architectural masterpiece.
On Sunday 5 January 2020, Minya Governor, Usama al-Qadi, accompanied by Anba Macarius, Bishop-General of Minya and Abu-Qurqas, opened the newly-restored church of Anba Moussa al-Asswad.
The opening was attended by State and military officials; Usama Antoun as representative of the Engineering Authority of the Armed Forces; Muhammad Mahmoud Abu-Zeid, deputy of the Governor; General Ahmed Gebril, assistant Secretary-general of the Governor; as well as a number of politicians and business managers, and representatives of the various Churches in Egypt, clergy and congregation.
Watani presents its readers with a photographic collection of the newly-restored church and its opening ceremony.
The restoration and opening of Anba Moussa’s marks the completion of the repair, restoration, and in some cases rebuilding work executed by the Egyptian Armed Forces on all 84 churches and Church-affiliated buildings destroyed by the Muslim Brothers (MB) in a nationwide terror attack on 14 August 2013.
The Islamist terror against Egyptians in general and Copts in specific, however, goes back much earlier than August 2013. The Islamist MB regime had come to power in Egypt in 2012, an outcome of the 2011 Arab Spring. But Egyptians, the majority of whom are moderate Muslims, did not take kindly to the fundamental, non-democratic practices of the MB; rebellion against them mounted and culminated in a massive 30 million strong revolution on 30 June 2013. The Egyptian army stepped in and backed the masses to avoid civil war; the Islamists were overthrown on 3 July 2013 and replaced by an interim secular regime.
In retaliation, the MB conducted terror operations against the army, police, and civilians in Egypt. The Copts came in for more than their fair share especially when, on 14 August 2013, the police disbanded the five-week-long Islamist sit-ins at the Cairo squares of Rabea al-Adawiya in the east of the city and al-Nahda in the west. The sit-ins had become a scourge for the local residents, and spearheads for daily violence against the police and civilians.
Once the disbanding operation started in Cairo, a string of synchronized, nationwide attacks began against Copts. The MB and their supporters assaulted, looted, destroyed, and torched 84 churches, and some 150 schools, businesses, homes, fields, and even an orphanage in Minya. A full report of the carnage can be found under the title “Avalanche of hate” at https://en.wataninet.com/egypt-arab-spring/egypt-post-30-june/avalanche-of-hate/1292/
Watani International
8 January 2020