{"product_id":"guirguis-the-torchbearer","title":"Guirguis The Torchbearer","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis historical fiction novel describes the life of the Coptic Christians a century after the Arab conquest of Egypt. It is being published posthumously, from the Egyptian author Iris Habib El-Masry (1910-1994), known for her \"Story of the Coptic Church,\" the first comprehensive book on Coptic history that follows a modern historical approach. This novel follows Guirguis, the protagonist of this novel, who was commanded by his brother to be a \"torchbearer\" in the community he lived in, thus fulfilling Christ''s commandment to be a \"light unto the world.\" The setting of this novel, as well as the historical circumstances, are based on real facts. Guirguis lived in eighth-century Egypt, during the reign of the ruthless Muslim Caliph, Marwan II of Umayyad (reigned from 744-750). Although very little is known and said about eighth-century Egypt, especially about the Copts who lived during that dark time, El-Masry brilliantly portrays all of the monumental scenes and brings to life names that would have long been forgotten in history.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"MediaPlace","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57309402497406,"sku":"NW9781939972491","price":18.09,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1379\/1261\/files\/9781939972491.jpg?v=1778579786","url":"https:\/\/mediaplace.com\/products\/guirguis-the-torchbearer","provider":"MediaPlace","version":"1.0","type":"link"}