A number of people in East Tennessee are watching the Middle East turmoil very closely including a Christian Egyptian family who moved here four months ago.
The family said God spoke to them. He told the family to leave Egypt by the end of 2012. A radom lottery by the United States allowed them to move to Tennessee in May.
The mother, who prefers not to use her name publicly, spoke with 10News Thursday.
The Egyptian was born into a Christian Family in Cairo, Egypt. She understands why Muslim Egyptians are upset over an anti-Muslim film.
"Even if some of the Christian people believe this is true about Muhammad, we should not talk about it. Jesus taught us in the Bible we need to love everyone," said the mother of two.
Even before the movie, it was hard being a Christian in Egypt. Radical Muslims were turning up the heat, the mother said. Now, the woman worries problems will only grow in her home country.
"It really makes the gap between the Christian people in Egypt and the Muslim people very big. The Christian people in Egypt, or even in other Arab countries, will pay too much for their lives, their blood, for this movie," she said.
While the mother understands the protest, she does not understand the violence. She said her heart and prayers are with the Americans in harms way and the dead U.S. ambassador's family.
The woman's brother and sister still live in Cairo. She spoke to them by phone Thursday. They're safe and trying to avoid the protests.