The uprising through Egyptian eyes

The Catholic lay community Sant Egidio is one of the best known Church-related organizations for its work in promoting peace and dialogue among people of different cultures and faiths. For more than forty years, the Rome-based community been instrumental in getting enemies to sit at the negotiating table to work for peace in Ivory Coast, the Republic of Guinea and Mozambique. They provide counselling and care for Aids victims and their families, advocate for a global end to the death penalty and the liberation of prisoners of conscience and hostages of violence.

One of their recent conferences in Rome was entitled “Christian-Muslim Coexistence: a future together”. The Egyptian, Muhammad Rifaa al Tahtawi was one of the Muslim representatives who addressed the meeting. The former spokesman of the prestigious Al Azar University in Cairo, he resigned from his position not long after the popular demonstrations in Tahiri square began. The protesters, demanding freedom and democracy, succeeded, largely peacefully, in overthrowing the regime of President Hosni Mubarak.

Tahtawi spoke to Vatican Radio about the uprising in his country. Listen to this report by Tracey McClure: