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Dear Mina,

Firstly, allow me to apolologise for having thought you were female (and a nun at that!). Had your name been written as "Minas", I would never have made the mistake, since Minas is not only a famous saint, but also a very manly name in Greek!

I once met a Copt in Cyprus, who introduced himself as Egyptian, and I offended him too by greeting him with "Salaam". I felt very foolish when he told me he was a Christian, as I feel now having given you the impression that I would in any way favour the imperialism of Islam over the most ancient and venerable race of the Copts! Sr Theopesta, on this forum, is also Coptic (I think), and she has been a great source of wisdom and inspiration. We Cypriots had a rather unfortunate skirmish with our "Islamic" neighbours back in 1974 which led to our country being divided in two, so believe me when I say I have no reason to favour either the Islamic faith or the "culture", a word which I use here in the broadest possible sense as any form of collective human expression.

Nevertheless, I do agree with Mariusz that we should forgive our enemies, and even love them. This does not mean lying down and letting your country be pillaged or your people be killed, but it means never forgetting that our neighbours are created in the Image of God, just as we are - even when they are behaving like demons! From what little I've heard about it, Copts have had a very bad time in predominantly Muslim Egypt, so your sense of indignation at Prince Charles' omission is understandable. I doubt very much that Charles does not respect and cherish the Coptic people and religion; I think it more likely that he has inherited his father Philip's lack of political acumen.

Your description of the historical episode between Amr-Ibn el Aas and the khaliph Omar Ibn El Khattab is truly depressing. If it is accurate, then they behaved like a couple of barbarians, even if they believed they were doing so in the name of their holy book. Nevertheless, we must judge them not by modern, but by early medieval standards, and ask what equivalent barbarisms our own Christian culture has in its record (Heraclitus doesn't sound very "civilised" by such standards in your description either). Every civilisation in every historical era offers something, and at the same time takes something away from the world. The Muslims transmitted the learning of Aristotle and the Greek philosophers to the West at a time when it was lost (what the RC Church then went ahead to do with this knowledge is another issue). They offered us words and transmitted concepts like "algebra" and "alchemy" (from which modern Chemistry is derived), and our whole numerical system is based on Muslim learning. To say that "Islam has no art" is to deny the beauty of Arabic calligraphy and arabesque design.

I'm not saying I agree with Islamic teachings or the behaviour of Islamic leaders today or in the past. I just hope to convey a sense of keeping things in perspective, appreciating the good while maintaining a critical distance from the bad. I can't see any future without dialogue as an expression of Christian love. But I'm also aware of my speaking from a place of relative safety, since my life is not currently actively in danger. Please forgive me for having given offence, and accept my prayers to our Lord and His Virgin Mother for yourself and your wonderful Coptic culture, which I hope to visit and become acquainted with one day.

In Christ
Byron