“Unknown persons” recently vandalized a beloved Christian icon in Muslim majority Egypt.
Belonging to the Monastery of the Virgin Mary, in Durunka, Asyut Governorate, the large icon depicts the Holy Family: Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. As part of their tourism efforts, Egyptian officials had asked the monastery—which is built atop a spot frequented by the Holy Family when they fled to and stayed in Egypt during Christ’s youth—to bring the icon out to the entrance of the road that leads to and is about a mile away from the monastery.
As a Dec. 25, 2022 report explains,
For the first time this year, travelers to Egypt can follow what is believed to be the trail that the Holy Family followed in this foreign land, thanks to the completion of a long-anticipated project by Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.
The project, which connects twenty-five locations [including the monastery in Durunka] connected to the Holy Family’s journey through the country, had been under development since 2013 and launched in May 2022, when the final sites of the trail were opened for the public.
Despite such “ecumenical” efforts, on Jan. 9, 2023, the monastery’s monks discovered that the large icon had been defaced with black spray paint smeared all over the faces of the Holy Family. Another, less valuable icon also at the entrance was similarly vandalized.
Monastery officials immediately removed the icon back into the monastery, where they have reportedly managed to restore it.
Discussing this incident, and how Egyptian officials and media are stressing that the identity of the vandals is unknown, a Coptic journalist, somewhat sarcastically said, “We know what ‘unknown persons’ mean”—an apparent reference to the fact that Islamic hostility against Christian icons is nothing new (examples here and here).
Nor is it limited to the Islamic world. In one instance in Greece—where 2,339 incidents of church desecrations have been recorded since Muslim migrants first flooded that nation in 2015—Muslims videotaped one of their own, topless and dancing to rap music, entering into and utterly desecrating a small church, including by smashing its icons.
As for Egypt, though the Jan. 9 assault on one of the spots of the Holy Family’s journey may seem to bode ill for that nation’s tourism efforts, there is, in fact, little to fear. Unlike Egypt’s Christians and their private churches—which are attacked with seeming impunity—the 25 points of the Holy Family’s journey involve Egypt’s image and money-making efforts. No doubt all proper precautions will be taken to safeguard against any would-be Islamic assaults.
I know many people who visit Egypt for their holidays, it’s not considered safe to leave the hotel complex.
I find that quite bizarre what you wrote, my, how times have changed since my wife & I were there in 1980.
We travelled by public transport from Cairo all the way down to Luxor & Abu Simbel & stayed in cheap hostels. We never had any problems what so ever with the Egyptian people.
It is sad to hear from you that so much has changed.
PS My wife & I are white & were born in England.
But are you Muslims?
NO we are not Muslims, Siddi Nasrani is my “pen name “
As always with them they want all over religious displays banned and Removed here we have the ACLU and other Humanist/Atheists groups trying to do the same
Canada is no different. Trudeau even wears socks with Arabic writing on them which I assume only Muslims can understand, while he thinks Christians are the worst of society.
Jesus and His followers are being cancelled in most nations these days, but Jesus lives in the hearts of His followers so He will never die. Even though they may kill us, we will live forever in His presence. But those who reject and despise Him will suffer an eternal death.
We are all free to make that choice.
Very interesting. But what is the basis for saying that the Holy Family visited the site where the monastery is? I’m not an expert but I don’t believe such a reference can be found in the New Testament.
When I visited museums im Europe, such as the Prado amd the Uffizi, I noticed quite a few paintings of the Rest on the Flight to Egypt. It seems to have been quite popular with artists, probably because it showed the Holy Family as HOLY, but it also showed Mary and Joseph as HUMAN tired paremts