A spiritual view of Egypt in transition
For most Egyptians, and for many global onlookers, the aftermath of Hosni Mubarak’s resignation as Egypt’s president has been an ecstatic moment akin to the falling of the Berlin Wall. TV and radio broadcasters have been having a field day capturing a momentous historical event. Social media such as Twitter and Facebook have been abuzz with celebrations from all corners of the world.
Into that fray of emotion stepped a very calm-headed Moez Masoud, a popular Cairo host of English and Arabic broadcasts about Islam, who has been a stalwart of the protests. And in an interview with the BBC directly following Mr. Mubarak’s announcement, Mr. Masoud wanted to talk about the spirituality of the Egyptian people.
He spoke of the congregating masses in Tahrir Square in terms of their spirituality and said he would devote his life to harnessing the “spiritual, not just religious” life of the Egyptian people, to help develop “the right kind of character.” He said he felt that spirituality, not the feared emergence of radical Islamism, was what the Egyptian people were about, and he vowed to help “de-radicalize the environment.”
As one of many distant observers who felt “joined at the hip” to the protests through prayer, I was grateful to hear that Masoud saw a deeper spiritual basis for what had transpired, and a reason for hope with respect to what lies ahead.
He saw the Egyptians as having a spiritual calling to be a blessing to all the world.
The idea of being “spiritually called” can inform the prayers of those who want to see the best for Egypt over the coming weeks, months, and years. When we appeal to God in prayer to reveal the truth to our consciousness, this plays a significant role in every progressive step. All revolutions – individual or collective – when based on bringing out the truth, are just that: divine goodness coming into human view, never to be veiled again.
One aspect of God’s nature is freedom – genuine spiritual freedom. God is always free! Nothing ever has or ever could fetter even an iota of His/Her being. In truth, the same is the eternal biography of man – that is, of all men, women, and children when understood as God’s loved ideas. A political revolution doesn’t create such spiritual freedom, but it can uncover it to a degree, and evidence its normality.
The freedom won by Egyptians over the past three weeks will endure to the degree it is grounded in God, Spirit, and supported by spiritual understanding. Human effort can be reversed, as has been historically seen in earlier events where a repackaged tyranny has tried to crowd out the good gained in the aftermath of a revolution. But if it becomes apparent through prayer that what the people of Egypt have achieved is the outcome of God’s power, then it becomes equally clear that the evil which proved powerless to prevent its uprooting is also powerless to hijack the goodness brought to light in its stead.
Each of us can humbly strive to see and acknowledge the creative way in which God, infinite good, unveils the spiritual truth of man’s eternal freedom in practical progress. Then our prayers can stand and prove true the rousing words from Mary Baker Eddy “Truth is always the victor” (“Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures,” p. 380).
Egypt’s people have spoken with profoundly admirable resilience and restraint and won a wonderful victory through qualities that have their source in the divine Mind, God. We can prayerfully stay on board with them as they spiritually nurture, and humanly cement, their victory.
Adapted from the Christian Science Sentinel online.
