Young people went into the streets of Tunisia and Cairo and Damascus and Bahrain and other areas of the Middle East to protest the existence of regimes that benefited those with power. They demanded basic human rights and wanted an end to violence and hatred in their nations. Alas, the buds of spring have turned into decaying flowers of May. These young people failed to grasp that as long as others were denied human rights they could not have human rights. They failed to recognize in the process of ridding themselves of one tyranny, they were helping to establish others. Christians in Syria cling to the dictatorship of Basher al-Assad because he will not allow Muslim fanatics to kill them. Half the Christians of Iraq have fled for their lives under pressure from newly empowered Muslim fanatics whose concept of democracy is adhere to their concepts as to what constitutes a free society.
Egypt highlights the failure of the spring revolution. Once Mubarak was gone, Muslim fanatics filled the streets of Cairo attacking Coptic Christians and uttering wild rumors about abduction of Muslims by Christians. The issue is NOT whether some Christian woman was prevented from converting to the Muslim religion, the issue is blaming groups of people because you are angry at the actions–or alleged actions– of a few. This pattern repeats itself all over the Middle East.
Perhaps, it is difficult for Muslims to recognize that Coptic Christians or Iraq Christians pre-date the arrival of the Muslim religion. In attacking them for practicing their religious beliefs Egyptian Muslims inform the world of their lack of belief in democracy. They have transformed a hopeful revolution into a sad saga of hate, anger, and violence to those in the minority.