Egypt Coverage Round Up II | Sojourners

Egypt Coverage Round Up II

1100203-egyptchristiansThe situation in Egypt continues to stun the world. Today we heard reports of attacks on journalists and human rights workers. In an interview with ABC's Christiane Amanpour, Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak declared, "I would never run away. I will die on Egyptian soil." Keep reading for a short round up of links you may have missed.

* A photograph of Christians protecting Muslims while they pray during protests (photo above).

* The New York Times reports that the crackdown in Egypt widens to foreign observers:

With fighting between pro- and antigovernment forces escalating throughout the day, supporters of President Hosni Mubarak attacked foreign journalists, punching them and smashing their equipment, and shut down news media outlets that had operated in buildings overlooking Tahrir Square, which has become the epicenter of the uprising.

* Christiane Amanpour recounts her interview with Hosni Mubarak:

I've just left the presidential palace in Cairo where I sat down for an exclusive 30-minute interview with President Hosni Mubarak. He told me that he is troubled by the violence we have seen in Tahrir Square over the last few days but that his government is not responsible for it. Instead, he blamed the Muslim Brotherhood, a banned political party here in Egypt.

* Jim Wallis calls on Christians to speak out and ask Obama to tell Mubarak to leave now:

Mubarak has often used thugs to intimidate the Egyptian people, steal elections, and repress those who dissent from his dictatorial and corrupt regime. And the truth is that President Mubarak is the big thug. It's time for him to immediately resign and leave Egypt, and allow a genuine political process to begin with fair and free elections in a new Egypt. And it's time for President Barack Obama to call for Mubarak to resign.

* Nicholas Kristof's Twitter stream and Facebook page. His column this morning tells a story of courage amidst violence:

I was on Tahrir Square, watching armed young men pour in to scream in support of President Hosni Mubarak and to battle the pro-democracy protesters. Everybody, me included, tried to give them a wide berth, and the bodies of the injured being carried away added to the tension. Then along came two middle-age sisters, Amal and Minna, walking toward the square to join the pro-democracy movement. They had their heads covered in the conservative Muslim style, and they looked timid and frail as thugs surrounded them, jostled them, shouted at them.

Yet side by side with the ugliest of humanity, you find the best. The two sisters stood their ground. They explained calmly to the mob why they favored democratic reform and listened patiently to the screams of the pro-Mubarak mob. When the women refused to be cowed, the men lost interest and began to move on - and the two women continued to walk to the center of Tahrir Square.

* Al Jazeera continues its live stream of events in Egypt.

* Andrew Sullivan's compelling face of the day.

* ABC News is compiling a list of all journalists that have been threatened or detained in Egypt.

*Waging Nonviolence asks, "Is Sudan next?"

* And finally, video footage from Cairo of the protests:

Cairo Intifada from tabulagaza on Vimeo.

Jeannie ChoiJeannie Choi is web editor at Sojourners.