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146 pages

English

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Based on real events, Paradise Regained tells the story of Egyptian Coptic Christians massacred for their faith in a terrorist act secretly sponsored by the Muslim-dominated government. The story explores Egypt's rich culture and tradition while painting an unforgettable tapestry of the collision between Christianity and Islam. Based on Biblical facts and extensive research.

Sujets

Histoire

Egipto

Egypt

Terrorism

History of Africa

Informations

Publié par	First Edition Design Publishing
Date de parution	05 avril 2012
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781937520731
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0480€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

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PARADISE REGAINED
Based on Current Events
__________
Edward Shafik
PARADISE REGAINED
Copyright © 2012 by Edward Shafik
ISBN 978-1-937520-73-1
Published by First Edition Design eBook Publishing
March 2012
www.firsteditiondesignpublishing.com

Cover Design by Duncan Long

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without written permission from the author.
Dedication
This book is dedicated to the memory of the six martyrs of the 2010 Nag Hammadi massacre. Their blood cried loud to the Lord, and Egypt’s former President Housni Mubarak and his ministers are facing murder charges in the court.
This book is also dedicated to the oppressed Christians in Iraq, Syria, and other nations dominated by Muslims who believe that by killing Christian and Jews, they are serving bloodthirsty Allah.
Foreword
Most American Christians are ignorant of Islam’s teachings and assume it to be an alternative path to the God of the Bible. Edward Shafik is the son of a Baptist pastor who ministered in Egypt for thirty years. He knows firsthand these lies and unravels their origins in this spellbinding novel.
Born and raised in Egypt, Ed is personally familiar with the persecution of its Coptic Christians. Paradise Regained is based on the true story of six fine young men who were murdered for their faith—murders which may well have been ordered and paid for by the Egyptian government itself.
These murders were well documented, taking place at a Christmas Mass service in Nag Hammadi, Egypt on January 6, 2010. The faces of these young men will be indelibly marked on your memory as you read of their lives, their loved ones, and their unwarranted deaths. Ed brings to life, with terrifying detail, the fear these Egyptian Christians endure, as well as the corruption which blinds its government to such crimes.
Finally, he takes us to New Jerusalem and paints an unforgettable tapestry of heavenly realms and the paradise that Mohammed’s followers have lost.
Be warned—you will never again be complacent about the dangers of Islam. It is not a “religion of peace.”

Joanne Hillman
Award-Winning Author
The Woodlands, Texas
Preface
While living in the United States for the last thirty-five years, I have kept up with events unraveling in my native Egypt, particularly as they affect the human rights of my oppressed Coptic brethren. The 2010 massacre of six Christians outside the St. Mary Coptic Church in Nag Hammadi was but one of hundreds of instances of sectarian violence that took place under Presidents Sadat and Mubarak regimes. My heart is groaning along with millions of Egyptians for the ongoing slaughter of the faithful and burning of churches.
I wrote Paradise Regained over a one-year period in which I followed the news of the massacre and its aftermath closely—from the protests to the riots to the trials and punishment of the murderers.
Combining real events with plausible speculation and volumes of research, I have altered names, locations, and other details for dramatic and legal reasons. Any similarities are not intended.
Magdy’s journey to New Jerusalem was my response to a soul-searching question I have about what Heaven will look like. While the Bible gives us many glimpses, Paradise still is a mystery that St. Paul refuses to reveal in his letters. While some Biblical details may be subject to interpretation, I believe that my fictional depiction of the New Jerusalem is as breathtaking as the printed word will allow.
My account is based on the Book of Revelation, several publications about Heaven, and sermons by Dr. Charles Stanley, Dr. Ed Young, Pastor John Hagee, and Rick Warren.
It’s my desire to show that while Islam offers its followers a carnal false Paradise of depravity and excess, Christianity promises the believer a true Paradise with Christ as its light.

Yours in Christ,
Edward Shafik
Acknowledgements
The author thanks Mr. John Leatherman for his great work in editing the manuscript. His dedicated efforts and mastering of the language graced Paradise Regained with that luster that many readers had praised.
Special thanks to Joanne Hillman, Vanessa Reily, Carrie Lewis, Janet Brown, and many other wonderful writers who invested their time and knowledge to improve the text.
Mr. Long, creator of the cover art for this book is a true believer who refused to charge me for his work. My heartfelt thanks to him for using his many gifts for the kingdom of God.
Chapter - One
Dressed like a bridegroom for his wedding, Magdy Kamal Fahamy had an appointment with death.
Passengers leaving the steam train clashed with the human herd trying to board, jamming the doors.
Standing back from the chaos on the platform, Magdy used a little trick he’d learned from his Boy Scout years: he pulled a whistle from his pocket and blew hard. “Get away from the door; Secret Service Police are coming. Let the people on board out first, or I’ll throw all of you animals in jail.”
Some froze in fear and obeyed, allowing the arriving passengers off the train without injury.
Luckily, no Secret Service Police came to seize Magdy as an impersonator.
He fought his way through the crowd onto the train. Farmers crushed inside, their rough faces ploughed by winds and hard work. Women in long, black gowns resembling potato sacks carried crying children whose dirty faces served as landing grounds for flies. A rotten-egg scent hung heavy in the compartment.
A muscular man with a scarred face and a wrestler’s build called out from his seat, “Excuse me, Afendy?”
Finally realizing this hulk was addressing him, Magdy made eye contact. Only eighteen, Magdy still found Afendy (Mister) only appropriate for his father or big brother.
“Care to sit by the window?” The man sat next to a plump woman in a black veil, and beside her on the bench, a stack of suitcases and packages claimed the window seat.
“Yes, please.”
“Captain Ahmed El Faumoy is at your service.” He began shifting the baggage to the floor below the bench.
Helping move the last two, Magdy struggled with their heft. What was in there, barbells?
“Thank you, Afendy.” El Faumoy sat and crammed the last bag between his legs. “Sit, sit.” Smiling, he patted his wife’s thigh. “Don’t mind Fatima. She doesn’t bite.”
Magdy took his seat and hung his head out the window, gulping fresh air. The draft softly caressed his cheeks and freed his soul. The worn tracks shone under the sun’s rays, belying their age. The train whistle screamed like a mourning woman as the train left the station.
He pulled his head in and settled into his seat. A freshman studying architecture at Sohag University, Magdy was returning to his home in Nag Hammadi, Egypt, for Christmas break. With every chug and clack, the train brought him closer to his family and his high school crush, Janet. Imagining her face and voice, he realized how much he missed her.
Suddenly a hand rubbed against his side.
Fatima pressed against him, and he felt every curve of her body. Her shiny cat eyes peered at him over the loose veil, rippled by a seductive smile.
Was she flirting? Lord have mercy.
To free himself, he shifted to the window and dangled his head out again. The sweet aroma of the lush green fields purged her exotic scent.
Satan was tempting Magdy, big time. What would Father Mathew say?
El Faumoy looked Magdy’s way. Did he think Magdy started this? Men like him had killed for less.
Trying to act casual, Magdy felt a hand pulling on his pants. Fatima! He jumped away as though shocked with a thousand volts.
Fatima tipped her head toward El Faumoy. “My husband wants to talk to you.” Her soft voice chimed like the soprano aria in Aida .
Magdy swallowed hard and looked at the muscular giant. Warm blood rushed to his face.
El Faumoy showed no signs of suspicion or threatening. “Afendy, are you going to Nag Hammadi?”
“Yes, the next stop.”
El Faumoy howled like a wolf. “So are we. You’ve seen how heavy my packages are. What a jam. We could use a strong young man like you. Will you help us?”
Though wary, Magdy felt obliged for the window seat. “What did you have in mind?”
“At Nag Hammadi, I’ll jump from this window to the platform. Then you’ll hand me the luggage, one by one, and then help Fatima to exit through the door. What do you say, Afendy?”
How would this big ape jump out of the train’s window without getting stuck? Talk about passing a camel through the eye of a needle! Which part would go first, head or tail?
Magdy looked at Fatima, who had warmed him like an electric blanket during the ride. He took an inventory of the five packages under the seat.
The lifting would be no problem. But escorting Fatima to the exit?
Magdy prayed for help.
“Brother El Faumoy, you escort your lovely wife. I’ll go through the window, and you throw them to me. What do you think, brother?”
The woman squirmed like the giant sand worm of Dune , and her breast squashed against Magdy’s chest.
The husband scratched his skull, looked at the window opening, and surveyed his scattered bags. Then he smiled a mouth full of a smoker’s yellow fangs. “Okay, Afendy. You look like an honest man. Watch for thieves; they’re everywhere.” Looking at his wife, he yelled, “Fatima, get ready.”
Fatima gave Magdy a parting pat and a wink with her big black eyes. She moved closer to her husband’s thick arm.
The train howled like a hungry wolf. It came to a full stop at Nag Hammadi, and the struggle between the passengers incoming and leaving ensued again. Riding the third-class train in Upper Egypt could be a life-changing experience. With wallet, pants, dignity, eyes, and limbs all at risk, a passenger should be thankful just to stay alive.
Magdy received a text message on his cell phone from his elder brother, Gergis: I’m at the station . He searched the throngs outside until he located Gergis running parallel to the train, then shouted his name.
Six feet tall with wide brown