{"id":32072,"date":"2015-11-15T11:49:24","date_gmt":"2015-11-15T09:49:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/copticocc.org\/site\/?p=32072"},"modified":"2016-12-04T11:57:29","modified_gmt":"2016-12-04T09:57:29","slug":"%d9%85%d9%82%d8%a7%d9%84-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%a3%d9%86%d8%a8%d8%a7-%d8%a5%d8%b1%d9%85%d9%8a%d8%a7-%d9%85%d8%b5%d8%b1-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%ad%d9%84%d9%88%d8%a9-131-%d8%a3%d8%b1%d9%90","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/copticocc.org\/en\/%d9%85%d9%82%d8%a7%d9%84-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%a3%d9%86%d8%a8%d8%a7-%d8%a5%d8%b1%d9%85%d9%8a%d8%a7-%d9%85%d8%b5%d8%b1-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%ad%d9%84%d9%88%d8%a9-131-%d8%a3%d8%b1%d9%90\/","title":{"rendered":"Beautiful Egypt 131 \u2013 \u00abRelieve the People\u00bb \u2013 November 15, 2015"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\u00a0 \u00a0In one of the previous articles entitled \u201cA Promise and a Warning\u201d, published on July 12, 2015, we spoke of Pope Simon I, the forty-second patriarch, and his relation with Abdul Aziz bin Marawan the proconsul of Egypt. During that era, lots of tribulations took place because of the Melchites who ordained a bishop and two priests unbeknownst to the proconsul. So, he charged the Pope with treason and sending Egypt\u2019s news to India. But, the Pope was declared innocent eventually. <\/span><\/h2>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0After the Pope\u2019s departure, St. Mark\u2019s See was vacant for three years. Then Pope Alexandros II was ordained forty-third patriarch. We also spoke of the caliphate of Abdul Malik bin Marawan during which his brother Abdul Aziz, the proconsul of Egypt, fell sick and died in 704 A.D. in Helwan. This took place after the death of al-Asbagh, his son.<\/span><\/h2>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0Yet, during Abdul Aziz\u2019s tenure, al-Asbagh used to interfere in Egypt\u2019s affairs. He hated Copts a lot, for someone reviled them saying that their books contained swear words. So, he befriended a deacon called Benjamin who used to disclose the Copts\u2019 secrets to him. He translated the Bible and religious books into Arabic for al-Asbagh that he might know that Christian books contain nothing against Muslims or anybody else.<\/span><\/h2>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0What made matters between the ruler and the Church worsen was the Melchite patriarch reviling the Coptic monks. He spread a rumor that they had a lot of money, which made al-Asbagh count the monks and impose \u201cjizyah\u201d on them for the first time in Egypt. He prohibited monasteries from ordaining new monks and laid heavy fines on bishops (apart from what Copts had already been paying), which had a negative impact on them.<\/span>
\nAs we mentioned beforehand, Abdul Malik bin Marawan became caliph after his father. He made Damascus his headquarters. He appointed his son Abdullah bin Abdul Malik proconsul of Egypt. Abdul Malik was succeeded by his son al-Walid who re-assigned Abdullah Egypt\u2019s affairs, then deposed him. He appointed Qurrah bin Shurayk, then Abdul Malik bin Rifa\u2019a al-Qini. After al-Walid\u2019s death, his brother Soliman became caliph.<\/span><\/h2>\n

Abdullah bin Abdul Malik bin Marawan (86-90 Hijri) (705-709 A.D.)<\/span><\/h2>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0He is the son of Caliph Abdul Malik bin Marawan. He was assigned Egypt\u2019s affairs after his uncle\u2019s death. At the beginning of his tenure, his father asked him to follow his uncle\u2019s suit, for the latter ruled Egypt for about twenty years. But, Abdullah did not follow his father\u2019s advice.<\/span><\/h2>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0When he arrived in Egypt, prices increased. So, Egyptians were unhappy with him. Abdullah persecuted the Copts. Butcher, a historian, writes that his tenure, which lasted for three years, was one of persecution of the Copts.<\/span><\/h2>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0Bin al-Muqafa\u2019 maintains that when Abdullah took over Egypt\u2019s affairs, Pope Alexandros went to congratulate him. But, Abdullah laid a three-thousand-dinar fine on him and ordered that he be imprisoned and insulted until he paid the fine! Copts failed to dissuade him from this decision. So, a deacon asked the proconsul to set the Pope free that he might roam Egypt with him to collect the required money. The proconsul approved. Thus, the Pope paid the fine, having borrowed it from the congregation. It is said that Abdullah used to summon monks and bishops to scorn and insult them.<\/span><\/h2>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0Yet, the proconsul\u2019s brother got to know of his bribery and injustice. So, he deposed him, appointing Qurrah bin Shurayk in his stead.<\/span><\/h2>\n

Caliph al-Walid bin Abdul Malik (86-96 Hijri) (705-715 A.D.)<\/span><\/h2>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0He became caliph after the death of his father Abdul Malik. During his tenure, the Islamic State extended eastward and westward, for he conquered India, Andalusia, and Africa. His conquests reached their peak as he seized Samarkand and the Indus River. Al-Walid cared for his subjects. He appointed his brother Abdullah proconsul of Egypt and ordered him to have the country\u2019s annals rewritten in Arabic instead of Coptic which was still in use. Historians maintain that the caliph cared for the State\u2019s development, especially in the field of architecture. So, he established the Mosque of Bani Umayyah and an asylum for the sick and elderly in Damascus. Yet, he demolished St. John\u2019s Church in Damascus. His tenure lasted for ten years. Al-Walid assigned Qurrah bin Shurayk, then Abdul Malik bin Rifa\u2019a al-Qini the affairs of Egypt.<\/span><\/h2>\n

Qurrah bin Shurayk (90-96 Hijri) (709-714 A.D.)<\/span><\/h2>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0Qurrah took over Egypt\u2019s affairs after Abdullah. He restored berkat al-habash, planted sugar cane therein and called it \u201cQurrah\u2019s Stable\u201d. Also, he restored Amr bin al-\u2018As Mosque in Old Cairo as per the caliph\u2019s orders. Yet, he was crueler than his predecessors. So much so that one poet said the following:<\/span>
\nHow amazed we were <\/span>
\nTo know you appointed Qurrah ruler<\/span>
\nDeposing a good leader,<\/span>
\nthus disobeying your father.<\/span><\/h2>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0Qurrah treated the Copts badly. So, he laid a three-thousand-dinar fine on Pope Alexandros when he came to congratulate him. The Pope could do nothing but borrow it from the congregation. He roamed Upper Egypt to do so. Yet, he was able to collect only one thousand dinars after two years. Also, the Pope underwent several tribulations as some people reviled him, telling the proconsul that he had someone mint dinars for him. So, Qurrah arrested the Pope, closed the patriarchate until the man was declared innocent. Qurrah\u2019s tenure lasted for six years, until his death. He was quite unjust, which made Egyptians hate him. Historians maintain that Omar bin Abdul Aziz once said, \u201cAl-Hajjaj in Iraq, al-Walid in the Levant, Qurrah in Egypt, Uthman bin Hayyan in Medina, and Khalid in Mecca! O God! The world has become full of cruelty and injustice; please relieve the people!\u201d<\/span><\/h2>\n

Caliph Soliman bin Abdul Malik (96-99 Hijri) (715-171 A.D.)<\/span><\/h2>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0He was pledged allegiance to after his brother\u2019s death. He tried to follow his brother\u2019s suit. So, he conquered Tapuria and Georgia at the beginning of his tenure. He tried to conquer Constantinople, but failed. It is said that he was no blood-shedder. Rather, he was eloquent. Also, historians spoke of his justice, despite his miserliness. During his illness, he wrote to Omar bin Abdul Aziz, assigning him the caliphate after his death. He wrote, \u201cI hereby do name you my successor, and Yazid bin Abdul Malik yours. So, be obedient and fear God. Do not clash, lest others covet you.\u201d He died after two years of sovereignty. He had already assigned Abdul Malik bin Rifa\u2019a the affairs of Egypt who was assigned the post by his brother al-Walid. Ussamah bin Yazid was her tax-collector. His story was \u2026 Stories never end in Beautiful Egypt.<\/span><\/h2>\n

General Bishop<\/span>
\nHead of the Coptic Orthodox Cultural Center<\/span><\/h2>\n

<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 \u00a0In one of the previous articles entitled \u201cA Promise and a Warning\u201d, published on July 12, 2015, we spoke of Pope Simon I, the forty-second patriarch, and his relation with Abdul Aziz bin Marawan the proconsul of Egypt. During that era, lots of tribulations took place because of the Melchites who ordained a bishop […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":19638,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[51],"tags":[6391,6389,7121,7120,14114,682],"class_list":["post-32072","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles","tag-almasry-alyoum","tag-beautiful-egypt","tag-relieve-the-people","tag-7120","tag-14114","tag-682"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/copticocc.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32072"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/copticocc.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/copticocc.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/copticocc.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/copticocc.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32072"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/copticocc.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32072\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41116,"href":"https:\/\/copticocc.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32072\/revisions\/41116"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/copticocc.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19638"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/copticocc.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32072"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/copticocc.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32072"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/copticocc.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32072"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}