Ezzat’s Story…by Whitney Farmer – Un Pop Culture | @MDWorld
Whitney ran a rock music club on the beach in L.A.. She has an MBA, and she prays for people.
Two weeks ago, Ezzat Atallah was almost the subject of my blog.
Now that he is dead, I will write about him.
Ezzat, an Egyptian Christian, had been taken into custody at a bookstore across the border in Libya in the city of Benghazi. He and three other friends, also Christians but from different countries, had been placed under arrest for proselytizing.
An Egyptian friend had sent our prayer group an update of his status after his wife Ragga’s first visit. He had already been tortured so badly that he had been unable to walk without assistance. The letter had said that they were hoping for some intervention from our State Department. Despite the many moral failings that our country has exhibited, there still is something somewhere imbedded in our vision and concomitant statutes (or muscle) that have developed that give oppressed people in other lands hope that we can help.
Shortly after that, there was news that the State Department was briefed about the situation and was getting involved. Shortly after this, meteors began falling from the sky and burned out sports stars began visiting North Korea. During same this time, the Islamic officials in charge of Ezzat’s incarceration began shifting him through four different venues, playing hide and seek and making official accountability difficult. And they kept torturing him.
From what we were told, Ragga was somehow able to take pictures of his body before his funeral. Wounds from his torture were prominent. The official statement is that he died from complications from diabetes and heart disease. His body was laid to rest on Wednesday.
For Ezzat’s family back in Egypt, they are now faced with what their future will hold. They are not safe, and they are grieving. It is understandable if they decide to leave. There has been discussion about somehow bringing them to America. But if they apply for political asylum, my understanding is that they would be forever prohibited from returning to their homeland. And they love their land and their people who call it home. More than anyone, they are counting the cost of the choices that are being placed before them.
Last November at a conference, I saw our Egyptian friend again. The first time I met him the year before, we were part of a lunchtime caravan that included the French Gypsies (of course…) racing to In-N-Out Burger. This year, I finally got to meet his wife. She is a pharmacist, and has faced danger because people know that she is a Christian. Their family including their grown children has struggled with the thought of leaving. But they have all decided to stay…
There is a legend within the gypsy community that a part of their people came from Egypt. It is from this that the name ‘gypsy’ was derived. The legend is that satanic forces were enraged that the infant Jesus was hidden and safe in that land from the child killing hunt of Herod the Great. Demonic powers retaliated against the people of that land because it was there that Jesus and his parents found asylum after being warned by the Angel Gabriel to flee. As hellish violence was unleashed, Egyptians fled for their lives. They were scattered, became diaspora, and found refuge with the traveling community who had started their migration from India generations before.
The name ‘Egypt’ means dark. Sometimes darkness is not a word of malevolence but instead is a place of rest and protection. Like a womb, that dark and warm land kept Jesus and his parents hidden and safe until Herod died.
For Christians there now, it is not safe. And yet they stay. And they die.
What could be worse than what has happened to Ezzat, what is happening to his family, and what may happen to others?
Answer: Dying an ordinary death after living a life without value.
Quote of the Blog, from Austin O’Malley (1760-1854): “Some that will hold a creed unto martyrdom will not hold the truth against a sneering laugh.”
Image of Ezzat Atallah, courtesy of www.theinnoplex.com
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March 16th, 2013 at 3:48 pm
Save me from people who chain God on their side.
My condolences, sweetie
March 17th, 2013 at 9:08 am
Very sad story Whitney, but thank you for writing it. The Egypt-gypsy legend is something I had never read before. Very intriguing. Thanks for that too.
March 17th, 2013 at 10:02 am
Whitney,
I can’t imagine having to make that decision; whether or not to leave the land of my birth. But many have left their homelands and were able to return when things changed for the better. I think I’d choose a safe life for my children.
March 17th, 2013 at 10:40 am
Thank you for this, Sister.
“But they have all decided to stay…” And thereby, both this martyr and his family have given the same answer that Shimon Peter gave to the L-rd’s hard question referenced in John 6:67.
May their example and sacrifice give courage and strength to all who know the reason for their hope and confidence…as it has me.
Peace and grace to you, Whitney.
March 17th, 2013 at 11:30 am
Much Loved Martha -
I need to clarify that I didn’t know Ezzat and haven’t met his family. I’m sorry if I wrote in a confusing way. The Egyptian friend and his wife that I wrote about are a different family who are being faced with retaliation for their religious beliefs.
The reason I didn’t use their names is because I didn’t want them to show up on any internet searchs. We know that their emails are monitored. Maybe paranoid, but they (and others who write from countries that don’t have religious freedom) are very careful when communicating. They have code words and keystrokes for sacred names and actions, such as prayer and faith.
And I agree wih you about people who are presumptious. Still love the interaction in Joshua 5:13-14… The Commander of the army of the Lord is on the side of the Lord. It is our place to get on HIS side, not vice versa. Joshua’s response is perfect: Give me my orders.
March 17th, 2013 at 11:40 am
George (Jorge in L.A….) -
I thought that the gypsy legend was interesting when I first heard of it, too.
Sad story. But I bet that if Ezzat knew ahead of time what was going to happen, he still would have made the same choices.
I bet his torturers were forgiven by him before he died. I wonder what their lives are like now, and what their futures will hold…
March 17th, 2013 at 12:04 pm
Moriarty -
I don’t know if Ezzat and his Ragga have young children or not. I don’t think so…But the Egyptian friend and his wife who I also referenced have kids who are grown enough to be able to make their own choices. Individually, they have so far all decided to stay there together.
I’m with you. If I had young kids, keeping them safe would consume me I think. But sometimes people don’t see danger coming.
I remember reading about Reese Howells who started a Bible College in Britain where Haile Selassie was given refuge when the Nazi’s invaded Ethiopia. When he and his wife needed to go in Africa on what they knew was a dangerous assignment, they left their toddler son in safe keeping back in Britain. That boy grew up to run the college after his father died.
That seems right to me.
March 17th, 2013 at 12:13 pm
Regis -
Something that has always touched me in the account of Stephen’s death is that when he got a vision of heaven, Jesus was standing up. He wasn’t seated. I think about the honor that is given an athlete who crosses a finish line after an impossible race, or a soldier who has fallen in battle, or a someone who is nobility who enters a room…All of these would make someone stand in respect.
That Jesus did this for the guy who was the busboy in the cafeteria where everyone used to hang out always makes me weep.
March 17th, 2013 at 4:21 pm
Whit,
Don’t know if I was clear. My criticism was aimed at those who would persecute Ezzat and his family, not at him. That’s what I get for posting before coffee.