The Good Sort Of Human Shield

It's not all about doom and gloom here at Eye On Islam. Occasionally I like to feature some more uplitfting stories that provide a small amount of hope that the totalitarian strictures of orthodox Islam aren't all-pervasive.

This story is certainly one of those occasions:

Muslims turned up in droves for the Coptic Christmas mass Thursday night, offering their bodies, and lives, as “shields” to Egypt’s threatened Christian community.

Egypt’s majority Muslim population stuck to its word Thursday night. What had been a promise of solidarity to the weary Coptic community, was honoured, when thousands of Muslims showed up at Coptic Christmas eve mass services in churches around the country and at candle light vigils held outside.

From the well-known to the unknown, Muslims had offered their bodies as “human shields” for last night’s mass, making a pledge to collectively fight the threat of Islamic militants and towards an Egypt free from sectarian strife.

There is a hell of a long way to go in Egypt, as well as throughout the Muslim world. For as many thousands of Muslims that may seek to protect the embattled Christians of their countries, there are just as many, if not more, who will happily attack those Christians' churches and call for their execution under draconian blaphemy laws. These tough realities, however, should not dissuade us from applauding those Muslims who have now probably put their own lives in danger by standing up for the human rights of non-Muslim minorities in their lands.