Relationship With Coptic Christians
Coptic Christians were allowed a degree of freedom under al-Muizz. Copts were among those appointed to the highest offices of the empire and were allowed to freely practice their religion. Under Al-Muizz, the viceroy of Syria was Quzman ibn-Nima, a Copt who remained a Christian. The Nayrouz festival, the celebration of the Coptic New Year, was permitted though prohibitions on some of the activities, such as fire illumination and water splashing, were instituted.
The relationship between al-Muizz and the Copts of Egypt has been the subject of a number of legends written later by Coptic Christians. One such legend involves al-Muizz challenged Pope Abraham of Alexandria to move the Mokattam mountain in Cairo, recalling a verse in the Gospel of Matthew which says:
If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.
According to Coptic sources, Pope Abraham of Alexandria ordered the Coptic community to keep vigil and to pray for three days and nights. On the third night, Pope Abraham had a dream in which Mary directed him to search for Simon the Tanner. The legend continues that with the prayers of the Coptic community, led by the Pope and Simon, the Mokattam mountain moved. This story is recounted in the book History of the Patriarchs of Alexandria, written by Severus Ibn al-Muqaffaʿ. Later Coptic sources would further assert that this miracle led al-Muizz to convert to Christianity, and that he was baptized at the church of Saint Mercurius in Cairo in a baptismal font that continues to exist to this day, and which known today as the Sultan's Baptistry. According to this legend al-Muizz abdicated the throne in favor of his son, and spent the rest of his life in a monastery. This story is rejected by influential Muslim historians such as Ahmad Zaki Pasha and Muhammad Abdullah Enan.
Read more about this topic: Al-Muizz Lideenillah
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