An Egyptian teacher of Arabic language whipped a 10-year-old Coptic Christian boy with 40 lashes using an electric wire last week in a Cairo school.
10-year-old Babawi Farag in better times.
The doctors who later examined the boy’s wounds “could not believe that a teacher could do this,” said the child’s father.
The incident occurred on October 21, during the Coptic student’s last class of the day, Arabic language. Then, the teacher told the pupils to remain silent until they had copied all the Arabic phrases he had written on the board. When Babawi, the Coptic boy, asked the student in front of him to move his head so he could see the board, the teacher proceeded to lock the door and flog the Christian boy 40 times with a large electrical wire all over his body.
According to the father, who spoke with MCN, the boy received a “fatal beating.” He passed out and was drenched in his own blood. After being inspected by doctors, he was also found to have damage to his bones and kidney.
No one from outside seemed to hear the boy’s continuous screams and the other students were too afraid to intervene said the father, who works as a security guard.
Because the Koran is the basis for Arabic language studies in Egypt, it is likely that the Arabic phrases on the board were derived from Islam’s holy book. In this context, perhaps the teacher became especially irate because, of all students, it was the “lowly” Copt who was being “blasphemous” by talking.
Interestingly, a few weeks earlier, Ibrahim Eissa, an Egyptian television personality, made some remarks relevant to this case.
After pointing out that it is good to teach the Koran to Coptic Christians in public schools, as it is essential for mastery of the Arabic language, Eissa said: “But here we come to the real question: Why isn’t Christ’s Sermon on the Mount, as recorded in the Gospel—which is one of the greatest and brightest of statements, full of wisdom and justice—also being taught?”
He then stressed that, if Copts should be taught the Koran, so should Muslims learn from the New Testament: “And if you disagree, then you are unjust, unfair, and unpatriotic.”
Knowledge of Christ’s Sermon on the Mount may have gone a long way in restraining the Arabic language teacher’s violent rage.
The abused Coptic boy’s father has since filed a report with police, spoken to school authorities, but, according to him, “Until now, no legal steps have been taken against the teacher.”
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