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‘Night and Day Difference’: The Growth of Good Publishing in Egypt
Over the past year or so, I’ve been noticing a pattern in the international stories I cover—wherever there’s a gospel-centered movement, there’s a new and growing Reformed book publisher. This is true whether the population can’t afford books, doesn’t often read, or is in a majority-Muslim culture.
“If Reformed theology is anything, it is a system,” said Joseph N., a theology professor in Egypt (he’s using a pseudonym for security purposes). “That’s why people like it—it just makes the most sense out of the Scriptures. So that takes time to think through and process. And I think books allow you to do that, more than even just hearing and then going away.”
Physical books allow you to underline, take notes, and wrestle through longer trains of thought. And studies show that students who read on paper consistently understand the material better than those who read on a screen.
“In God’s providence, there’s something about it,” said 10ofThose CEO Anthony Gosling. “Look at the library of Alexandria—what was that for? It was an effective and efficient way of passing on knowledge.”
The original library in Alexandria is known as the most famous and important in the ancient world. In Jesus’s time, it probably held more than half a million scrolls. Some of the world’s most influential scholars—think Euclid and Archimedes—learned and thought there.
Today, Alexandria is home to a small Reformed publisher called El-Soora, which has sprung up in conjunction with—you guessed it—a small but expanding movement of Reformed theology.
The Gospel Coalition talked with several church leaders who live and work with Christians in Alexandria. I asked about Christianity in Egypt, how Reformed theology began to grow there, and why anybody in Alexandria would need more books.
Egypt is interesting to Christians—so much of the history of God’s people happens there, and Alexandria was home to Athanasius, one of the most famous early theologians. Joseph, what is Egypt’s religious landscape like now?
Joseph N.: About 90 percent of Egypt is Muslim and about 10 percent are Christians—primarily Coptic. (Editor’s note: Coptic Christians believe the Bible but also practice confession and penance, hold to the intercession of the saints, and claim that man’s salvation needs both faith and works.)
For the last 170 years, there has also been a historic Presbyterian church here. It was fairly biblical until the last part of the 20th century, when it began to drift. That’s because there are few theological resources in Arabic, so pastors were always sent overseas to get advanced degrees. They would attend liberal seminaries in the United States. Liberal theology began creeping in, and pastoral care for people began to decline.
Liberal theology began creeping in, and pastoral care for people began to decline.
In the 2000s, a small team from a conservative Presbyterian denomination, including me, came to Alexandria. We began to do some training. When the Anglicans started the Alexandria School of Theology in 2005, they invited us to lead and teach there.
We had carte blanche to teach what we wanted, so we taught Reformed theology.
What happened next, Sherif?
Sherif Fahim, professor at Alexandria School of Theology and general director of El-Soora Ministries: I was in the new seminary’s first class, and I started to bring the teaching to my church as a young leader—not even as an elder or a pastor.
I was strongly resisted by everyone. But I didn’t say, “Guys, let’s switch to Reformed theology.” I would say, “Let’s see what the Scripture says.” And I would invite other members from our church to join the seminary—not to become pastors but just to learn. Eventually, I was able to convince, in the first maybe four or five years, about 15 to 20 people to join the seminary.
Sherif Fahim speaking at a conference / Courtesy of Rick Denham
During the Arab Spring in 2011, our pastor left the country. I and two others who had gone to the seminary were ordained as elders, and suddenly, the session was Reformed. By God’s grace, more people became convinced of what we were doing. Now, if we tried to preach something other than expository preaching, people would not be happy.
In 2015, a few of us started El-Soora, which means “The Standard” (Rom. 6:17), to promote gospel-centered theology. Our first event was a seminar in Alexandria featuring Don Carson. Maybe 70–80 people came. We also began translating and publishing articles and books.
The Lord has been gracious. Two years ago, we were able to start a pastor’s cohort where we read books, write papers, and have smaller conferences. We had 14 pastors in our first cohort.
With partnerships with organizations such as Desiring God, Ligonier, Reformation Heritage Books, Crossway, TGC, and P&R, we’ve been able to translate, write, and publish more than 35 theology books in Arabic. And this year’s conference, in January, drew more than 500 people.
Samuel, have you seen any changes in the evangelical churches in Egypt since El-Soora began?
Samuel, a theology professor in Egypt (he’s also using a pseudonym for security reasons): Some of the changes I see are in myself. The first time I met Sherif was in 2013. I was in the [seminary] library, and he said, “Are you searching for something?” I said, “I’m searching for something for my devotions.”
He said, “Do you read English?” and gave me Desiring God by John Piper, which showed me how Reformed theology is a result of robust biblical exegesis.
Now, if we tried to preach something other than expository preaching, people would not be happy.
Now, a few years later, we have Desiring God and other good books on the gospel in Arabic. We also have Egyptians writing and speaking from a Reformed perspective in Arabic.
I love seeing some local churches starting to have regular Bible studies. I have noticed more people studying the Bible to find answers to how to respond to Muslims, how to respond to atheists, or how to understand the doctrine of the Trinity. They read the Bible to know how to ask good questions and have good answers.
That has made many youth excited to share the gospel. It’s encouraging to see people from Muslim backgrounds coming to faith—I don’t know the numbers, but I meet them often.
It’s also encouraging to see more and more young guys want to learn about what is happening in El-Soora and Reformed theology. This year, we had so many people at our conference that we ran out of space and had to close registration.
That’s so encouraging. Still, it’s odd to me that in Alexandria, home to history’s most legendary library and so close to the birthplace of Christianity, there aren’t many gospel-centered resources available in the local language.
Joseph: Yes. In fact, all the teaching at the Anglican seminary and elsewhere is really at the bachelor’s level, because there aren’t enough resources in Arabic that would allow a master’s of divinity or a master’s in theology in Arabic. So people who do those programs read most of their books in English. There are not very many commentaries, especially Reformed commentaries.
Joseph, you’ve been working in Alexandria the longest. What are you most excited about for the future?
Joseph: I’ve been here now 25 years, and the difference is night and day. There’s more interest in reading, more hunger to read good books—theological books, gospel-oriented books.
The bookstore at the El-Soora conference this year / Courtesy of Rick Denham
Then, because Egypt has a major impact across the Arabic-speaking region, it’s beginning to kind of trickle out. El-Soora has 10 smaller conferences at local churches each year—people are inviting us in to teach the gospel. And as the gospel spreads and by God’s grace, more people live gospel-oriented lives. Then that makes a great apologetic, a great open door to say, “Well, this is why I am like I am, and how the gospel has impacted me.” That opens the door to talk about Reformed theology.
When I look at the history—people like that first Presbyterian missionary in the 1850s, who worked for years, and the church wasn’t strong. They hardly ever saw a convert to Christ. And I am reminded we stand on the shoulders of people who plowed and sowed and watered, and in some ways we’re seeing the harvest. It’s a trickle, but there’s definitely been growth.
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