A Blog by the Editor of The Middle East Journal

Putting Middle Eastern Events in Cultural and Historical Context

Friday, April 12, 2013

A Weekend Nostalgia Picture That's Timely (if Nostalgia Can Be Timely)

I know this makes two Nasser pictures in one day, which might suggest I'm more of a Nasser admirer than is in fact the case. But I often post old pictures to start the weekend, and given the week's events and the growing tensions between Copts and Muslims in Egypt, this photo is a reminder that things were once better. 

While Muhammad Morsi did not attend Pope Tawadros II's installation or Christmas services, President Nasser and Pope Kyrillos VI (Pope 1959-1971) got on well, and according to most accounts genuinely liked each other. Here they are in 1965, preparing to lay the cornerstone of the new Coptic Cathedral in Abbasiyya: the same church that came under attack last Sunday.

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