Message from Muslim Leaders

November 13, 2007. Every second Tuesday at the seminary there is an event called the "Scholar's Seminar", begun by previous coordinators and in which I have some part for arranging who speaks. Today a visiting professor from Norway, Dr. Jan Opsal, reviewed a recent letter by 138 Muslim leaders throughout the world to Christians. You can read about it by going to "Come to a Common Word" on your web site and to the ELCA web page and searching out Dr. Mark Hansen's response as leader of Lutherans in the U.S. and the Lutheran World Federation. My first picture is of the El Fath mosque near central Cairo, and for most of us from the west all this may seem majestic, mysterious, and a bit overpowering. After three months in Egypt it is still very much the same as when I first came, majestic, mysterious, and more than a bit overpowering. Here are some of the comments which Dr. Jan shared and some of the reflections by the group which gathered to hear him (my second picture). He noted that of the 138 the vast majority are from the Middle East and only one woman signed the original letter, though another has added her name to a subsequent list. Missing from the signers are Muslim scholars from countries in Asia where many, many Muslims live. This letter is a follow up to a letter written by 38 Muslim scholars in response to an address by Pope Benedict XVI a year ago. That letter was very polemical, as was the declaration by the Pope which started that exchange.

Dr. Jan pointed out that the tone of this letter by the leaders is less so, and that it focuses on common themes in the Christian and Muslim holy books. It deals with the responses of humans to God - to love God about all else and to love our neighbors as ourselves. It does not discuss the love of God to us, nor does it suggest any specific steps for further dialogue or action among the faith communities. It does represent a significant number of the diverse Muslim community speaking together, brought about by an institute in Jordan.

Comments from the persons who attended suggested it would be well for world Christian leaders to whom the letter is addressed to contact leaders in the Arab Christian churches in this region for their reflections in framing their responses. Some felt that the letter is really intended to address Christians living in western Europe and the United States. Others shared that living with and under Muslim majorities continues to be difficult, a far cry from a love for neighbor which is voiced in the letter. Do you have any comments you want to share?

The schedule is now set for January and for the spring term here. This Norwegian professor will present a course on women in the Qurán and the Bible (with some suggestions from Dr. Susan Hedahl, a professor from Gettyburg Seminary who visited here last week). There will also be a January course on the history of Christianity in Syria. Dr. Mark Swanson, now at the Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago and former director here, will find time to tutor some students in Muslim-Christian relations. Studies in Hebrew, in the Coptic language, and the Letters of Paul will be part of the Biblical studies concentration starting in February and I will teach the course on Christianity in the Middle East, Part II (from the coming of Islam to 1900).

Blessings to you all in your ministry as we move toward Advent. Roger

More about the Master's Program

Oct. 23. Greetings again from Cairo, Egypt. I want to say more about the Master's degree program here at the seminary. In particular, I wish to tell you more about the themes of the papers which the students write as part of earning a degree. Four second year students pictured earlier will spend the spring term of 2008 on this work. But first, a picture to introduce all of this. When Dr. Robert Smith who directs the ELCA effort in the Middle East visited here last month, we went the ancient section of Cairo, where this ruin of a Roman fortress and several early churches and a synagogue are located. Robert and the missionaries of the ELCA here in Cairo talked about our responsibility to "accompany" the peoples of this place and be prepared to learn from them as well as to share what we can with them.

....The first student, Sungmin, will write about the disappearance of the Nubian Christian church, following the conquest of Egypt and the destruction of this Roman fortess by the Muslims in the 7th century a.d. She will be using unpublished sources in an attempt to determine why this Christian community did not survive when others did.

....The second student, Nashat, will research the development of a Protestant Christian translation of the Bible into Arabic, which was done in the 19th century, and its adequacy for the mission of the church today. One of the ramification of the Arab conquest of this region was the gradual replacement of languages like Coptic in everyday life, and so if Christians wish to witness, it is in the common language of people in this part of the world.

....A third student, Magdy, will tell us about the impact of Protestant Christian missionaries who introduced programs of adult education and Sunday schools to the established Orthodox churches of this region. Part of the missionary effort from the United States and Europe beginning in the 19th century was to work within these established Christian communities, sharing new innovations for their ministries.

This second picture, showing the flight to Egypt of Mary, Joseph, and the infant Jesus to escape the slaughter of the young children in Bethlehem, is also from the site in old Cairo, traditionally held to be the temporary home of the holy family. There have been many stories of peoples fleeing persecution and warfare, and in our time none has been more tragic than the bloodshed in the Sudan which still continues after 30 years. I hear reports from Sudanese students at this seminary that when Christ is preached in the midst of that conflict, young people still come forward to commit their lives to Christ.

....Daniel, a student from the Sudan, is writing his thesis on the concept of suffering which St. Paul presents in his 2nd Letter to the Corinthians. It will have a special meaning and relevance for him, and for his people, and maybe for all of us. I will keep you informed about the progress of these papers.

Soon, I will write again, and give you more information about the Sudanese refugee community in Egypt. We have three ELCA missionaries working with them. More later. I am well and hope that you all are. Peace, Roger

The Graduate Program at ETSC

The Graduate Program at ETSC - OCTOBER 9, 2007 - Greetings again in the Lord's name from the Evangelical Theological Seminary in Cairo! We have begun our fall term, and I want to tell you a little about the Graduate Studies program which I oversee. It was begun several years ago, primarily to train scholars who had finished their Master of Divinity degree and had some parish experience. This two year program includes classes (25 semester units over the period of a year and a half) and the writing of a thesis supervised by a member of the faculty. Recently the country of Norway has recognized the validity of this degree. While it is open to visiting students from Europe and America, it is designed mainly to provide a solid education foundation for teachers from Egypt and other Near East and African countries who will return to their countries. It also provides a way by which these graduates may move on to other seminaries and universities in Europe and the United States for Ph.D. work. Some are presently studying in the U.S. after completing their Master's degree here. The classes are taught in English.

The picture above shows Dr. Julius Scott, preparing to teach a course in the Intertestamental period (between the Old and New Testament times), and three Egyptian students. The second picture shows two male students from the Sudan, the woman on the left from a Baptist Seminary in Cairo, and a woman from Korea, who came to Egypt in missionary work a few years ago and was recently married to the man with his hand to his forehead. This man, a Presbyterian volunteer worker from the U.S., serves as the development director for the seminary among other things. He has been an invaluable help to me in my orientation, with his knowledge of the seminary and he speaks some Arabic! The seminary charges little for its courses and even with this many students depend on scholarships from home churches and other donors. You can e-mail me at rogerrab39@yahoo.com for more information about this.

Among with Dr. Scott, Paul Dilley, who is finishing his doctoral work at Yale, teaches classes this term in advanced Greek, the Coptic language, and a history course in Christianity in the Middle East up until the time of Islam. One foreign student from Norway is also taking a directed studies class from me on the history of the Christian Church in the Middle East from the beginning of Islam until 1800. (One of the field in my master's program long ago was on the history of Islam - though I never expect I would come to teach it here in Egypt). More about the topics the students have selected for their dissertations next time. As I close, I want to add my prayers for Doris Fletcher and the community of faith at Messiah, Pasadena, California. Wm. Robert Fletcher, along time devoted Christian in that place, died this past week. I had worked with him before coming to Egypt.

I am well and hope you are. You can respond to this blog or you can still reach me at my Yahoo e-mail address listed above. May God bless you. Roger Rogahn

Reviewing Calvin while viewing ancient pyramids

The seminary held a weekend retreat Sept. 21 to 24th for all of its undergraduate students and I was invited along with the graduate studies students I work with. Someone was available to translate for those of us who spoke no Arabic. The undergraduate program is in Arabic, since pastoral ministry will be conducted in that common language. English is also encouraged and tutoring is provided so that students can read from the English language resources in the library and some of them can be prepared for graduate studies in the program I oversee and to attend other learning institutions in the U.S. for advanced degrees. (More about that next time when I describe my work in more detail).

We were at a hotel/retreat center when what should appear out of the midst while a student was reviewing the "Institutes of the Christian Religion" by John Calvin but a view of the ancient pyramids of Giza. One of the purposes of the retreat was to connect this generation of students with the valuable resources of past generations. (but not that far back!) The presentations stressed the value of the French/Swiss reformer for ministry today, along with the study of scripture, done at the seminary in both Hebrew and Greek. Several students spoke about their summer experiences (a requirement) in parishes, retreat centers and institutions which care for the ill and people with addictions. Another purpose if the retreat was to build community and to welcome new students to this four year program toward ordination (the student body totals over 120). Although students may be married, the majority are encouraged to remain single until they have finished their studies. Reminded me of some of that history in the U.S.

I was asked to be one of the preachers and to base my sermon on the theme: Ephesians 4:13 (grow into) "unity of the faith, in knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, in maturity and into the full stature of Christ." I mentioned the struggle of people in El Salvador to forgive their enemies for their terrible crimes at time of war, but finally they were pray with such fervor "forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us", that the image of the fulness of Christ would appear in the place of that of ones enemy. Our church has talked about how the struggles and the experiences of peoples of the lands to the south of Europe and the United States should be shared with others in that region of the globe, and I hope to contribute something of my experiences from El Salvador to encourage that dialogue to increase in future years. Some students expressed interest in this. I take my meals in the seminary dormitory and there have been requests for an English language table, and a chance to share informally as well as in the classroom. NEXT TIME: THE GRADUATE STUDIES PROGRAM.... Roger

(still learning about sending the photos - rog)

Greetings after one week at the Evangelical Theological Seminary in Cairo. I have received a fine welcome here and started following through on the plans made by Dr. David Grafton, my predecessor. The fall semester does not begin until the 25th of September so I have done some exploring along with my work. The picture to the right sets the tone for ministry by the Christian Church in Egypt and throughout the Middle East. It is of the Citadel or fortress first begun by Salad al-Din in 1176, the noted opponent of King Richard of England and other Christian crusaders, and of the mosque of Muhammad 'Ali, a major worship center for the Moslems of Egypt until today. Moslems comprise well over 95% of the people living in this country. It symbolized the close connection between religion and politics of that era. Such a connection of church and state we might assume has waned our modern age of the "separation" of these two institutions of our societies, but it is still very present in modern Egypt and the Middle East. Moslems often view Christianity as connected to the political agenda of the United States and the "western" world, and discourage evanglization by Christians in their lands outside of narrow conclaves of their established, walled properties. Freedom of conscience is protected, but not the opportunity to evangelize on the part of "foreign" Christian groups.

This can be illustrated by the second picture, of the Church of St. Andrew in downtown Cairo, (to the right). You can see that services are at 10:00 a.m. on Fridays and Sundays and that the sign is quite modest in size. Few people attend on Sundays, because it is a regular working day in Egypt. The doors through which I took this picture are only opened briefly during the week to allow children to enter for school, for a refugee assistence program, or prior to and following worship times. Otherwise the doors are closed, and the walls obscure most of the church buildings. I asked the pastor if he could erect a bigger sign, or string a banner across the entrance and he answered: "Probably not. Only the long established orthodox communities could probably get away with something like that, and it would need to be within their walls."

Yet, there are efforts I am beginning to learn of where Christians seek to initiate dialogue with Moslems, while being sensitive to the long and harsh histories and the present realities of antagonisms between our faiths and our nations. The Rev. Paul-Gordon Chandler, an Episcopal priest at St. John's in Maadi, a suburb of Cairo, has just published a book entitled: "Pilgrims of Christ on the Muslim Road, Exploring the New Path between Two Faiths." It should be released by now in the states, and I am looking forward to reading it and discussing it with the author. You might wish to check it out.
I have so much to learn and and to share of this experience which is unfolding daily. I will write in about two weeks, as we approach the opening of the school year. (9-2-07)