A papal order to ‘immediately' disperse and go home was ignored by hundreds of Copts protesting outside the State television building in central Cairo. Pope Shenouda III, the head of the Coptic Orthodox Church, called upon the protesters to end their 10-day-long protest. “Those protesting outside the TV building should realise that things have gone too far. Some people, who are adopting a line alien to yours, have infiltrated your ranks,” he said. Addressing the protesters as ‘my sons', he added that there had been scuffles and gunfire. “All this harms your reputation and Egypt's. You must therefore immediately end your protest.” The papal order came after clashes there, days earlier, had left 78 people injured, re-igniting fears of wider sectarian incidents in Egypt. The protesters' negative response must have disappointed Shenouda III. The irresponsible attitude of Coptic demonstrators and their families is unprecedented. Shenouda's sons' refusal suggests that the voice of wisdom has been deadened in Egypt in the wake of the recent revolution. This absence of the voice of wisdom has resulted in a hostile atmosphere between Muslims and Copts. Although the sense of insecurity in Egypt remains largely imperceptible, fears about the escalation of sectarianism are growing. It is also regrettable that political activists and campaigners for democracy have stuck their fingers in their ears are refusing to listen to other people. Things will only calm down when people start listening to the voice of wisdom again.
