Little comfort for Egypt's Brotherhood during sacred Eid
10/15/2013 5:20:01 PM
Every year, millions of Muslims around the world sacrifice an animal, a sheep, a camel, a goat, as part of the Eid al-Adha festival, the meat to be offered to the poor. It is a time for families to celebrate together.
But with a son in an Egyptian jail for his ties to the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, Oum Amr's family was too distraught to perform what is a sacred ritual in Islam.
"Eid has no meaning without my son," she said in Alexandria, Egypt's second city and a traditional Brotherhood stronghold. "We are accustomed to performing the sacrifice every year, but this year, it's just not the same."
Other Egyptians connected to the movement were ill inclined to celebrate at a time when leaders are behind bars.
Instead of immersing themselves in their faith, Brotherhood members and their families seem preoccupied with the impact of one of the toughest security crackdowns on the Middle East's oldest Islamist movement.
When Mohamed Mursi became the first Brotherhood official to be freely elected as the president of Egypt last year, his supporters imagined they would celebrate many Eids in power.
Instead, they are on the defensive once again after enduring decades of repression under Egyptian leaders bent on breaking their influence.
But with a son in an Egyptian jail for his ties to the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, Oum Amr's family was too distraught to perform what is a sacred ritual in Islam.
"Eid has no meaning without my son," she said in Alexandria, Egypt's second city and a traditional Brotherhood stronghold. "We are accustomed to performing the sacrifice every year, but this year, it's just not the same."
Other Egyptians connected to the movement were ill inclined to celebrate at a time when leaders are behind bars.
Instead of immersing themselves in their faith, Brotherhood members and their families seem preoccupied with the impact of one of the toughest security crackdowns on the Middle East's oldest Islamist movement.
When Mohamed Mursi became the first Brotherhood official to be freely elected as the president of Egypt last year, his supporters imagined they would celebrate many Eids in power.
Instead, they are on the defensive once again after enduring decades of repression under Egyptian leaders bent on breaking their influence.