Archbishop Carey visits Sudan and Egypt
Episcopal News Service. October 19, 1995 [95-1276]
James M. Rosenthal, Director for Communication for the Anglican Communion and editor of Anglican World magazine
(ACNS) Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey used a trip to Egypt and Sudan in early October to strongly challenge Sudan's Muslim government leaders to end persecution of Christians, while he delivered a message of encouragement to those he called "the forgotten people of Sudan."
At times the enthusiastic welcome Carey received from Sudan's people gave his trip the air of a papal visitation as thousands of people greeted him at his various stops. The grueling three-day event focused on the country's northern section, fulfilling Carey's desire to meet the Christian community in the capital of Khartoum, as well as in Juba, the historic heart of the Episcopal Church in Sudan and the seat of the archbishop.
Carey had restricted an earlier trip in late 1993 to the largely Christian south after the Islamic government in the north attempted to impose last-minute restrictions and demanded that the trip be government-sponsored rather than pastoral.
In Egypt, Carey delivered a lecture on interfaith relations at Al-azhar University in Cairo, a prestigious international center for Islamic studies, and met with both government and religious leaders.
Carey made repeated calls during his public appearances in Sudan for conciliatory dialogue between Muslims and Christians so they could "stand together, strengthen one another and build up the common good." He praised Sudanese Christians for their vibrancy of faith amidst so many hardships, and called on the Sudanese to be "a prophetic church as you speak out for the poor and vulnerable and as you seek to resist attempts to subdue your faith."
In the blazing sun in Khartoum, Carey told 15,000 worshippers, including leaders of 14 denominations, that unity was at the heart of the future of Sudan. He said, "We are one people made in the image and likeness of God. The divisions we experience are man-made divisions. They are not the will of God, for all people are precious in his sight."
Carey went on to speak of some of the fears of Christians in a land where many feel there is lack of tolerance towards Christianity. Christians "are not treated as equals," he said. "They often feel persecuted by the laws of this land. The list of grievances which Christians feel is long and heavy. Religious tolerance which should be at the heart of any civilized nation is not being granted them."
Carey's sermon was interrupted nearly 20 times by applause as people identified with what was being preached. The verbal translation met with disapproval at several points when the interpreter toned down some of Carey's remarks. Shouts of the correct Arabic echoed through the stadium.
Sudan's Archbishop Benjamin Yugusuk spoke warmly of Carey's sermon and said, "You know it wasn't you speaking, it was someone else, it was the Holy Spirit."
As Carey met government officials he emphasized that the process of Islamicization in Sudan was unacceptable. He said that he was deeply concerned about the persecution and abuses of human rights that were being reported to him. All government ministers denied that these attacks were taking place, and accused organizations like Amnesty International and the United Nations of seeking to subvert the government. But Carey made it clear that he was not convinced by the answers. He told officials that they "were not facing reality if they felt Christianity could just be pushed aside."
In a closing press conference in Khartoum, Carey again emphasized the need for trust and dialogue. "The government was keen to insist that its record of human rights is second to none and directly challenged me and other Westerners to actually give proof of abuses of human rights," Carey said. "Members of the government also insisted that there was no intention to make Christians second-class citizens. They said it was their intention in fact to make sure that Christians could practice their faith freely.
But, Carey said, "either there is gross abuse of human rights going on or there is not. How can the world be wrong when the reports have been coming from so many different directions? I have been able to raise these questions as a friend of Sudan."
He pledged to continue to raise questions after his return to England. "We all long for peace in Sudan," he said. "Sudan is an exhausted, spent country which is crying out for peace and reconciliation. It has marvelous people who could rebuild the nation to make it prosperous once again. So, although I go home, I will be leaving part of myself behind in terms of my affection for the country and the people."
In Juba, a government-controlled region in the south which one pastor called "the heart of Christian Sudan," 90,000 people gathered for worship after lining the streets to wave palm branches as his motorcade drove by.
At the service, Carey encouraged those present to be of good courage, and assured them that he knew of their suffering and the displacement of thousands of people. Speaking of his previous visit to the south, Carey said that he had heard "terrible stories about the persecution of certain groups of people in different parts of your country, the Nuba Mountains and elsewhere, of torture, rape, destruction of property, enslavement and death. I ask those who are able to take this message to them. You are not forgotten. In your suffering may you know the crucified Christ's presence."
Carey added, "We in the Anglican Communion are deeply grateful for your witness, your faith, your rejoicing the Lord. If our first impressions of Sudan may be of tragedy, our last impressions are of the triumph of Christ crucified and raised from the dead."
While Carey was able to observe firsthand the degrading conditions in which thousands of displaced people are living when he visited two refugee camps, he complained about apparent manipulation of the itinerary to downplay the suffering. A scheduled visit to one of the largest displaced persons' camps simply disappeared from the schedule on the excuse that there was too little time. On a visit to the Mayo Camp, the archbishop's motorcade was directed past an Episcopal church site to an Islamic dispensary instead. Carey noted he was "deeply sorry to hear that he had disappointed those waiting for him" at the church. At the dispensary, medicine was displayed as freely available even though the party was told repeatedly that only the rich can obtain them.
Carey said he was encouraged by a number of Christian and Muslim aid projects he saw, but in at least one incident was confronted by the threatening atmosphere that seems to prevail in the camps. An activist who spoke passionately in front of Carey was immediately arrested, and large numbers of police and security men, some plainclothes and in their teens, suddenly appeared to control the crowd.
Eileen Carey, the archbishop's wife, made a separate visit to a women's project in Khartoum sponsored by the Sudan Council of Churches where women were being taught sewing and household skills. Mrs. Carey heard the sobering cries of women who spoke of their dilemma as women in a war culture, and promised that she would help, especially with gathering books for a library on the complex. Also in Khartoum Mrs. Carey met with several hundred Mothers' Union members and other women churchworkers in All Saints' Episcopal Cathedral.
In his visit to Egypt before the Sudan trip, Carey was invited to deliver a lecture on interfaith relationships at the Al-Azhar University in Cairo, a training school of Muslim Imams or spiritual leaders from throughout the world. The university is linked to Al-Azhar Mosque, the leading center of Islamic studies in the Muslim world, and is also probably the oldest university in existence.
"The same religions which have such potential for creating community have, sadly, all too often divided and alienated people from one another," Carey said. "This darker side of religion all too often shows itself in places around the world where the gentle tones of mature faith are silenced by the shouts of intolerance and ignorance."
Carey stressed the need to promote "friendship, not hostility; understanding, not ignorance; reciprocity, not exclusivism; co-operation, not confrontation."
Carey also preached at Episcopal services in Cairo and Alexandria, and visited social projects of the Episcopal Church in and near Cairo and Menouf. He visited both national and local government leaders, the Sheikh of al Azajr and the Grand Mufti of Cairo as well as other Muslim leaders. He also visited with leaders of the Coptic churches.
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