“One senses that same hatred and desperation [that fueled the Germans] as the Muslim Brothers respond to the military’s crackdown by attacking defenseless Christians,” Doran reasons, “We may be thankful that the Muslim Brothers lack the organizational skill of the Nazis, but it appears they lack none of their hate.”

No, it’s not just me—Andrew Doran agrees over at the National Review. The Kristallnacht, an infamous series of attacks against Jews throughout Germany and parts of Austria, occurred in 1938. The “Night of Broken Glass” referred to all the smashed windows of shops, synagogues, and other buildings targeted for systematic vandalism. The actual crimes were committed by Nazi paramilitary groups and civilians; the National Socialist government did not intervene on behalf of Germany’s Jewish citizens. The Kristallnacht marks the first chapter of the Holocaust.

History does not repeat itself, but it certainly does rhyme. With the democratically-elected President Mohamed Morsi overthrown by military coup for his radicalism, the Muslim Brotherhood decided to vent frustrations on Egypt’s minority Christian population. As my colleague Faith McDonnell reported several days ago here and here, Islamists specifically targeted Christian businesses and churches all within a span of a few days. The persecution reached a fever pitch more recently. Rich Lowry went so far as to say, “Egypt is in the midst of an anti-Christian pogrom.”

Pogrom language must be understood with caution: the Muslim Brotherhood lack the concentration camps and government structure of Hitler’s Germany. Egypt suffers less from an all-controlling despotic police state than an anarchic civil conflict, where innocent Christians placate the wrath of Islamist extremists. “One senses that same hatred and desperation [that fueled the Germans] as the Muslim Brothers respond to the military’s crackdown by attacking defenseless Christians,” Doran reasons, “We may be thankful that the Muslim Brothers lack the organizational skill of the Nazis, but it appears they lack none of their hate.”

Famous theologian Miroslav Volf also inquired about the Kristallnacht-Egypt connection earlier this morning on Twitter:

Is something like the fateful “Kristalnacht” happening in Egypt? A coordinated attack on dozens of Christian homes, churches, and businesses

Ironically, Volf himself signed the controversial “A Common Word” document that was supposed to rehabilitate Islam’s image in the West. For Volf at least, this was an exercise in “embracing the other.” One wonders if his confidence in this project has been shaken at all. In fact, since the “Common Word” places the onus of historical guilt on the Crusades and none on notorious jihads, the signing almost seems like a betrayal of Egyptian Christians and other minority faiths suffering in Islamist countries.

Regardless, the turmoil in Egypt will be remembered as a pivotal point in history: the Muslim Brotherhood has pushed the centuries-old Christian presence to a historic low point. Copts, Catholics, and various Protestants suffered for their faith while the West cheered the adoption of a particular political constitution that could not secure justice. I refer, of course, to popular democratic rule, which was manipulated to accomplish much persecution.

Nevertheless, the faith will endure. In times of religious harassment of the brethren, one is reminded of G. K. Chesterton’s Ballad of the White Horse:

That on you is fallen the shadow,
And not upon the Name;
That though we scatter and though we fly,
And you hang over us like the sky,
You are more tired of victory,
Than we are tired of shame.

That though you hunt the Christian man
Like a hare on the hill-side,
The hare has still more heart to run
Than you have heart to ride.

That though all lances split on you,
All swords be heaved in vain,
We have more lust again to lose
Than you to win again.

Barton Gingerich is a research assistant at the Institute on Religion and Democracy. He holds a BA in history from Patrick Henry College and is a member of Holy Trinity Church in Fairfax, Virginia. This article first appeared on the Gospel Coalition blog and is used with permission.