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3 décembre 2010

Are the Copts "oppressed"?

While Islamization is gaining ground in Egypt, Copts - Christians of Egypt- are more likely to leave the country. They say they are victims, in Egypt, of discrimination increasingly strong on the part of Muslims. Some even say they are "oppressed" ...

Cairo__Old_Cairo__Hanging_Church__Egypt__Oct_2004"The weapons are stored by the Copts in their churches can have no other objective than to be used in future against Muslims (...). The Church is preparing for a war against Muslims. (...) There is an ongoing effort, organized in a systematic way to prepare for the day when the division of Egypt into two countries will be claimed: one for the Copts and one for Muslims". These words were said by Mohammad Selim el-Awa, Secretary General of the International Union of Muslim students on the Al Jazeera last October. A few weeks before this interview, Father Bishoi, right arm of Shenouda III, Pope of the Copts  Orthodoxes launched in the lines of the Egyptian daily Al-Masry Al-Yom "Muslims are hosts in Egypt". A sentence which the Pope himself, apologized for a few days later. This battle of little phrases that annoy, and launched by medias, is indicative of the current tensions between Muslims and Copts in Egypt.

The rise of extremism : The Coptic minority is less than 10% of the Egyptian population. In the '60s, Christians and Muslims lived in harmony. Today, cohabitation is much more problematic.
Islamization is gaining ground in Egypt through the media and schools and Copts feel increasingly cramped. To "tag" their differences, Christians are now routinely tattooed from an early age, a small cross inside the wrist. Similarly, mobile phones are often covered with stickers of Jesus or the Virgin Mary, and when they ring, it is often a religious tone that comes out. Thus, in the streets, public transport, it is easy to recognize Christians from Muslims.

Wednesday morning, in front of the the Coptic ortodoxe cathedral in Abbassiy in Cairo, two armed guards posted at the entrance to the Shrine  told us gently but firmly "You can not stay in front of these gates". John, a 20 years old Christian, comes to see us "It's for your safety. Muslims are crazy. They might want to put a bomb in front of our church. And we must be wary of government. It is who organized the kidnapping of Christian girls to convert them to islam. All this is in order to oppress us", he notes in perfect English, proof that he comes from a relatively good social level. John lives close to the church. He goes there several times a week, whether for a meeting or parish reunion. It is also part of the church he try to find his future wife, a Coptic Orthodox, like him.

This attitude of paranoia annoys George, another Copt of 30 years old that we met in a cafe in Cairo. "The problem with most Christians is that they don’t deal with other than Christians, they do their shopping in a Coptic grocery, they go to schools run by the church ... No wonder that they become paranoid". For Georges, the Christian community is largely responsible for the current climate of tension. "They feel that Muslims are plotting behind their backs and that they all want to kill Christians which is wrong. Yes, it is true that Christians are facing a kind of discrimination, Building a church is very difficult for example when authorization to build a mosque is obtained in an hour, but it stops there. They would just make the effort to reach out to Muslims to be convinced. A lot of my friends are Muslims and all goes well".

If security was strengthened at the gates of the main churches of Cairo, is in response to the shooting of Naga Hammadi, a small town in Upper Egypt. On January 7, 2010, Orthodox Christmas Day, six Copts were killed out of office at midnight. The attackers were acting in retaliation for the rape of a Muslim girl by a Coptic man. This massacre was a trauma for the Christians of Egypt who, therefore, organized demonstrations in Cairo to protest against the fact that the authorities do not protect enough their community.
Cherif Albert, a copt journalist, was outraged by the upsurge of violence. It is nonetheless critical of the exaggerated response of his community: "What happens in Upper Egypt has nothing to do with the situation of Copts elsewhere in our country. There is still tribal rules that prevail. When a family suffers a disgrace, especially in cases of rape, she must get revenge. Religion has nothing to do with it. The same would be passed if they were two Muslim families".

Conversion : In this context of tension between the two communities, conversions are rare. That would however have been the desire of Kamilia Sheheta, a young Copt woman married to a priest in the town of Minya in Middle Egypt. The young woman left home after a trivial domestic dispute last July. After that, the versions diverge. Relatives said she was kidnapped by Muslims who wanted to convert her to Islam. According to Muslims, Kamilia would have tried to convert to Islam last year and a half but she could not. That's why she left her family to Cairo, to find refuge in a mosque and convert to good. After several weeks of flight, the authorities found Kamilia and turned her over to the Church who still keeps the young lady in an undisclosed location in order to hide her from medias.

The conversion of one Christian is seen as a huge betrayal by the community. In 2003, history had already occurred with Wafaa Constantine, another priest’s wife. Her community had organized a hunger strike to demand that authorities find her. Now back in his parish, Wafaa did not comment as to what had happened. Did she manage to convert? Nobody can provide. For Ayman Sabet, a Copt translation, conversion of a Christian to Islam is seen as a betrayal by the church : "Seven years have passed between the two cases. Is there no other cases of conversion? Of course it does. But there was no noise whatever. Christians have felt hurt in their pride because they were two wifes of priests. When it comes to unknown people, my community soesn’t cares".


imagesThe religious channels behind the propaganda : While the disappearance of Kamilia Sheheta, the first to have stirred up hatred were the religious television channels, whether Christian or Muslim. The term "crazy of God" does not apply to Muslims only. As there TV muslin preachers, there are also insane Christians that plague the chains of our community", says Ayman Sabet.

Another criticism against these Coptic TV channels, like El Hayat (based in Cyprus) : They are often funded by donations from Christians of the diaspora, mainly in America. A reality widely criticized by Muslims but which defended Cherif Albert: "It's a fad. Like all minorities in Egypt (Baha'is, Bedouins, Nubians), my community is trying to move the West. She complains of oppression and marginalization to take advantage of the "globalization of human rights". However, Ayman Sabet regrets this solution: "I think that if they have a real problem in Egypt, this is where they should find support and not get the side of the United States. Especially as the West seeks only its own interest. "

Coincidence or not, more tensions between the two communities grow, more Christians are likely to go on weekends in the Egyptian monasteries bult 15 centuries ago. Most are located in Wadi Natron, a valley on the road between Cairo and Alexandria. There, the "Desert Fathers" welcome the faithful and fulfill their small daily hassles. Christiane, a young copt woman, spends one day a month to find the "baraka" blessing. Today, she came to bless her new car but also light candles for friends and colleagues Copts or Muslims".

What Copt means?
Originally, the word "Copt" comes from the Greek word "Aiguptos" which means the Egyptians. When the Muslim Arabs arrived in Egypt, they used the word "Copt" to designate the inhabitants of Egypt, who were mostly Christian.
By time the term Copt, which had originally an ethnic sense, was charged with a religious meaning. It now means the Christians of Egypt.

Big clashes between Muslims and Christians
November 6, 1972: Muslims burn the premises  of "the association of the Holy Book" in al-Khanka (north of Cairo) because Christians have done prayer inside it  order to transform it into a church without a permit.
November 8, Muslims organized a protest march. A Christian takes on the demonstrators, prompting them to burn the house of the Christians and other buildings belonging to this community.
June 12, 1981: In the neighborhood of al-Zawya al-Hamra, Muslims say they are owners of a land on which Christians were planning to build a church. The fight between the two communities degenerates. The riots caused 81 dead among Christians.
December 31, 1999: In the village al-Kochh, located at 440 south of Cairo, disputes between a Christian merchant and a Muslim customer lead to clashes over three days between the two communities. 20 dead, including 19 Christians.
November 21, 2005: Muslims go to church Mar-Girgis Alexandria to protest against a play written by Christians who mocks Islam. 1 dead and 90 wounded.
April 15, 2006: A Muslim stabbed Christians out of 3 churches in Alexandria. A Christian dies. The next day at his funeral, clashes between two communities caused 15 wounded.
November 21, 2009: the village of Farshout in Qena, Upper Egypt, a Christian kidnaps and rapes a Muslim girl. Muslims demonstrate and burn 17 stores belonging to Christians.
January 7, 2010: A Muslim opened fire on the Christians out of a church in Naga Hammadi. Six Christians and one Muslim soldier killed. The murderer wanted to avenge the rape of Muslim girl in Farshout.

INTERVIEW WITH SHEIKH MOHAMMAD MOSTAFA

Preacher and imam of a salafi mosque.

What is the difference between Copts and Muslims in the 60s and now?
In the 60s, and even a dozen years ago, the two communities were the fabric of one people. They lived together without any problems. Muslims attended the marriages of Christians and vice versa. If anyone, Christian or Muslim, had a problem, friends and neighbors who belong to the other community did their best to help. Relations were simple. Since the late 80s and early 90s, this relationship have changed. This is due to the rise of a radical current in the Egyptian Church. A stream that sees Christians as a people completely different from other Egyptians. We began to hear words like "Christians are the original people of Egypt, even the number 2 of the Coptic Orthodox Church, Bishop Bishoi, said that "Muslims are hosts". It is a shocking speech. With us, the Muslims, there are always wise men that can hinder those who adopt extremist discourse. But among Christians, this speech comes from men of the church.

Muslims, especially Salafis accuse Christians for being ignorant "kafir", what do you think about that?

All Muslims see the non-Muslims as ignorants ... but also non-Muslims see Muslims as ignorants. The evidence is that the Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Pope Shenouda III, once said that those who are not Christians will not go to heaven. Everyone thinks that his religion is the true religion. But Islam requires us to protect Christians. If Muslims oppressed Christians, how they still exist in Egypt by millions?

What do you think of harsh speech adopted by some imams in Middle Egypt (Assiut and Menia) against Christians?

I do not think any Imam, even the most extremist, can utter a bad word about Jesus or Virgin Mary. Islam respects them. There is even a Surah in the Qur'an, whose name is Mariam.

But the priests there say that the imams incite people to stone the Christians on their way to church! What do you think?

If what you say is true, then these imams are completely wrong. But I will say that no imam, who knows well his religion can incite Muslims to commit such an act. I fear that this is a rumor in order to give a bad image of Muslims. I say it's the Christians who attack us: The priest Zakareya Boutros always insult Islam in his TV channel. A church in Alexandria made a play that mocks Islam. So who is attacking who?

Are the Salafists tolerant with Muslims who convert to Christianity?
Islam forbids it, but nobody has touched those who did it. On the other hand, see what happened with Wafaa Constantine and Kamelia Shehata who converted to Islam. Christians have not calmed down until the government forces the two women to return to church, and since that, nobody knows anything about them.
One of the problems between Christians and Muslims regarding the change of religion is Orthodox Christianity itself. Among them there is no divorce. So those who wish divorcing simply convert to Islam to get it, then they want to return to Christianity. Religion is not a game

How do you see the future of the relationship?
I'm not optimistic. If Christians do not stop provoking the Muslims and undermine the Muslim religion, if the church does not stop behaving like a state within the Egyptian state, the situation between the two communities will still remain tense.

COPTES
INTERVIEW WITH BISHOP THOMAS
Responsible for the parish of Al Quosseya in Middle Egypt.

What is the difference between the situation of Copts in the 60s and now?
There has been the rise of Islamisation of Egyptian society. Many Muslim Egyptians have gone to work in Saudi Arabia and came back with thoughts like the Salafist, an extreme view of their religion. Muslim brothers have grown and helped to separate us. Their preaching was often aggressive against us, they call to hate and not respect. The relationship between us and them began to deteriorate. And over time, demography has changed in Middle Egypt. Many Copts have immigrated to Cairo to feel more free to live their faith and find work. Some began to leave Egypt for America or Europe. These are the most educated who are leaving now. So, our minority status in the south, has only increased over time, creating an imbalance with the number of Muslims. Today, in Al Quosseya, for three churches, there are 30 mosques, meanwhile we represent the third of the population of the city.

Relations between Muslims and Copts depend on regions of Egypt?

Yes. In Cairo, relationships are usually more calm. The problems arise mostly in villages in the south, where the number of illiterates is very high. People often do not have words to express a problem. At the root of conflicts, there are often stories of territory, jealousy, which have nothing to do with religion. They then escalate into conflict between communities, but originally, the problem would be similar between two persons of same religion. We need to educate people so they have the words rather than using their fists.

Christians have new rights, such as a holiday for the Coptic Christmas, the January 7th, what do you think?
This changes nothing. What's the point of considering Christmas holiday and not Easter, which is also a very important day for us. You can not give a holiday to a minority and, on the other hand, deny their right to build a church, it is not logical and it's unhelpful.

Are you free to build a church?
No. It's very complicated. We must meet very complicated criteria. Recently, President Hosni Mubarak has attempted to relax these measures. But in practice nothing has changed. It still lacks authorization to begin construction. At Christmas, I blew our church and even for that I had to ask permission of responsibles in our region. I had to do without because he never responded. It's disgusting because it is very easy to build a mosque.

Last month, the case of Kamilia, this young Christian woman who fled her home has made a lot of noise. The Muslims have said she wanted to convert to Islam and that Christians had not let her. What do you think?
Nobody has the same version of what happened. What I can assure is that there is no problem if a Christian wants to convert to Islam. Tensions are on a family plan and can be alleviated. But when a Muslim wants to join our church, it is blocked. Muslims have a law that prevents the conversion. We, we do not have such a law.

How do you see the future?
Copts will continue to emigrate abroad. This is troubling because our community is gradually emptied of its most educated. I remain convinced that we can solve our problems by more meetings between representatives of religions. The key is to communicate, burst the abscess when needed.

This article was written for the french magazine "Courrier de l'Atlas"

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