By Azza Heikal It was not the face that launched one thousand ships in Homer's Elide, but the soul that united Muslims and Orthodox Christians together upon the land of love and tolerance. If the story of Helen of Troy points out the negative impact of love that drove people to war and bloodshed, our Helen's story is the complete opposite. She was a young beautiful girl from Greece, living with her parents in Suez while her father worked at the canal in 1956. As her father lived with the Egyptians, he refused to leave the country, choosing to stay in Helmeya, Cairo, after Gamal Abdel-Nasser nationalised the canal. A love story twinkled in the eyes of two youngsters: Khaled El-Malki, son of a sheikh, and Helen, daughter of the Greek engineer. At that time, Egypt was a country moving towards freedom, independence and enlightenment; there was no tension between Muslims and Christians. Both parents welcomed the love story and accepted the marriage, which lasted for half a century. That family used to celebrate all feasts together, and on Sundays Helen used to pray in her church at Saint George's Monastery while her husband never missed a Friday prayer at the mosque. In Ramadan, Helen cooked for her children and grandchildren, and during her Lent she avoided meat, chicken and dairies. When her hour approached and the shadow of death hovered over her body, her veiled daughter asked her to utter the two professions of Islam, so as to be buried a Muslim. Helen insisted to remain Orthodox and be buried in her church. It was an unforgettable day when scores of people, Muslims and Christians, attended her funeral at the church. While the church father was praying for her pure soul, we were reading Al-Fateha from the Quran. The Holy Spirit heard different prayers and listened to many voices, all asking God the Merciful to afford rest for the soul of Helen and to accept her into his kingdom of heaven. That is Helen of Egypt, not of Troy. This week's Soapbox speaker is a professor of comparative literature, writer and critic.
