I am looking at a reproduction of an engraving of Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulcher, said to the be the site of Jesus Christ’s Crucifixion and burial. The church in this image, based on an 1856 photograph, has neither cross nor belfry. It stands in compliance with the Islamic law and traditions of the Ottoman (Turkish) Empire, which ruled Jerusalem at the time. I mention the engraving for a reason. It relates to last weekend’s massacre of two dozen Coptic Christians in Cairo by Egyptian military and street mobs. The unarmed Copts were protesting the destruction of yet another church in Egypt, St. George’s, which took place in Elmarinab following Friday prayers on Sept. 30. The trigger was repair work on the building — work the local authorities had approved.
Does that explanation make sense? Not to anyone ignorant of Islamic law. Unfortunately, that criterion includes virtually all media reporting the story.
