April 16, 2011

A little behind in blogging but will try to catch up. Class went well last Wednesday. On the way to Cairo, Dr. Frahim (Suez Canal University VP), another faculty member, and I stopped by a large steel producing firm. Dr. Frahim had an appointment with the managing director of the facility. We met in a large modern board room, all the electronic gizmos you would ever want and a setting that made the business world appealing. The four of us had coffee and the primaries engaged in small talk. During the conversation the Director reached into his pocket, produced a checkbook, and proceeded to write a check and hand it across the table to Dr. Frahim. The check was for the cost of a Mosque to be built at the University. One check: one Mosque. This had to be a fundraisers dream. The fascinating part is that the check originated in the hands of a Christian and passed to a Moslem. The Christian community in Egypt was present before the time of Mohammed, and remains a vibrant part of the Egyptian landscape. Unfortunately, supportive acts across faith go on typically unnoticed. While acts of terror and the stupidity of fanatics are reported with such frequency they almost appear “normal.” In my limited experience, I find caring acts across faith far outweigh the negative behaviors of the intolerant.