Persecution of Copts


The Persecution of Copts is a historical issue in Egypt against Coptic Orthodox Christianity and its followers, and is also a prominent example of the poor status of Christians in the Middle East, specifically the Arab world, Iran, and Turkey, despite the religion being native to the region, and having an older presence than the current religion of the majority. Copts are the Christ followers in Egypt, usually Oriental Orthodox, who currently make up between 10 and 15% of the population of Egypt — the largest religious minority of that country. While it's not as big of an issue nowadays, Copts have cited instances of persecution throughout their history, Human Rights Watch has noted "growing religious intolerance" and sectarian violence against Coptic Christians in recent years, and a failure by the Egyptian government to effectively investigate properly and prosecute those responsible. Since 2011 hundreds of Egyptian Copts have been killed in sectarian clashes, and many homes, Churches and businesses have been destroyed. In just one province, 77 cases of sectarian attacks on Copts between 2011 and 2016 have been documented by the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights. The abduction and disappearance of Coptic Christian women and girls also remains a serious ongoing problem.

Ancient era

Roman rulers

St. Mark the Evangelist is said to have founded the Holy Apostolic See of Alexandria and to have become its first Patriarch. Within 50 years of St. Mark's arrival in Alexandria, a fragment of New Testament writings appeared in Oxyrhynchus, which suggests that Christianity already began to spread south of Alexandria at an early date. By the mid-third century, a sizable number of Egyptians were persecuted by the Romans on account of having adopted the new Christian faith, beginning with the Edict of Decius. Beginning in AD 284 the Emperor Diocletian persecuted and put to death a great number of Christian Egyptians. This event became a bloodshed in the history of Egyptian Christianity, marking the beginning of a distinct Egyptian or Coptic Church. It became known as the 'Era of Martyrs' and is commemorated in the Coptic calendar in which dating of the years began with the start of Diocletian's reign. When Egyptians were persecuted by Diocletian, many retreated to the desert to seek relief, though relief of the spirit and of its worldly desires to attain peace and unity with Christ the Creator, not escaping the persecutions. The practice precipitated the rise of monasticism, for which the Egyptians, namely St. Antony, St. Bakhum, St. Shenouda and St. Amun, are credited as pioneers. By the end of the 4th century, it is estimated that the mass of the Egyptians had either embraced Christianity or were nominally Christian.
In 451 A.D., following the Council of Chalcedon, the Church of Alexandria was divided into two branches. Those who accepted the terms of the Council became known as Chalcedonians or Melkites. Those who did not abide by the Council's terms were labeled non-Chalcedonians or Monophysites. The non-Chalcedonians, however, rejected the term Monophysites as erroneous and insisted on being called Miaphysites. The majority of the Egyptians belonged to the Miaphysite branch, which led to their persecution by the Byzantine imperial authorities in Egypt. First persecutions occurred during reigns of emperors Marcian and Leo I. This continued until the Arab conquest of Egypt. Tragic conflicts between Eastern-Orthodox Greeks and Oriental-Orthodox Copts during that era, from the middle of 5th to the middle of 7th century, resulted in permanent divisions and consequent emergence of anti-Eastern Orthodox sentiment among Copts and anti-Oriental Orthodox sentiment among Greeks.

Islamic era

The Muslim conquest of Egypt

The Muslim conquest of Egypt took place in AD 639, during the Byzantine empire. Despite the political upheaval, Egypt remained a mainly Christian, but Copts lost their majority status after the 14th century.
This process was sped along by persecutions during and following the reign of the Umayyad Caliphate, and then Fatimid caliph Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah. Later on Copts accepted Arabic as a liturgical language by the order of Pope of Alexandria Gabriel ibn-Turaik.

Modern era

Observers note a large gap between rights for Copts and other minorities that exist under the law and what exists in practice. Critics cite that while in 2016 the parliament worked to pass a bill making it easier for Christians to get government permission to build churches, in practice security officials have stopped actual construction.
In Egypt the government does not officially recognize conversions from Islam to Christianity; also certain interfaith marriages are not allowed either, this prevents marriages between converts to Christianity and those born in Christian communities, and also results in the children of Christian converts being classified as Muslims and given a Muslim education.
The government also requires permits for repairing churches or building new ones, which are often withheld. Article 235 of the 2013 draft constitution requires the next legislative body to create a law that would remove the restrictions on the building of churches. Foreign missionaries are allowed in the country only if they restrict their activities to social improvements and refrain from proselytizing.
Copts complain that disputes between Christians and Muslims are often put before "reconciliation councils", and that these councils invariably favour Muslims. Some Copts complain that the police do not respond when crimes are committed against them. Copts also have little representation in government, leading them to fear there is little hope of progress.
In 1981, President Anwar Sadat, internally exiled the Coptic Pope Shenouda III accusing him of fomenting inter-confessional strife. Sadat then chose five Coptic bishops and asked them to choose a new pope. They refused, and in 1985 President Hosni Mubarak restored Pope Shenouda III.
The government and other Egyptian sources blame tribal behavior in rural Egypt for much of the violence.
During Mubarak's regime, Copts were still struggling to avoid persecution but there were two appointed Coptic Ministers and one governor, in addition to one Copt known as one of the most successful businessmen in the world. Copts face heightened persecution and marginalization as their churches are systematically attacked. Naguib Sawiris does not reside in Egypt anymore.
Period after 2014, as the Salafi doctrine gets to dominate Egypt in replacement of the unpopular MB approach to religion and state, a stricter interpretation of Islam that glorifies discrimination against non-Muslims, in relation to governance, takes over. there are no Copts on Egypt's governmental cabinet versus two during Husni Mubarak's regime, nor serving as governors, nor appointed in prominent educational/scientific positions, such as of a dean for a state university.

Specific incidents

1980s
During this time terrorists increased the frequency of their attacks and widened it to include those whom they viewed as collaborators with the security force, launching an attack on the eve of the Adha Eid using automatic weapons killing Copts as well as Muslims.
Coptic women and girls are abducted, forced to convert to Islam and marry Muslim men. In 2009 the Washington, D.C. based group Christian Solidarity International published a study of the abductions and forced marriages and the anguish felt by the young women because returning to Christianity is against the law. Further allegations of organised abduction of Copts, trafficking and police collusion continue in 2017.
In April 2010, a bipartisan group of 17 members of the U.S. Congress expressed concern to the State Department's Trafficking in Persons Office about Coptic women who faced "physical and sexual violence, captivity... exploitation in forced domestic servitude or commercial sexual exploitation, and financial benefit to the individuals who secure the forced conversion of the victim."

Post-revolution anti-women radical trend afflicting Copts

The synchronization of such fatwas of Abu Islam's and similar scholars that categorize certain groups of women as 'asking for it' just because they are not in the radical boat, or that they are opposers to the regime have been seen as unacceptable and degrading to Egyptian women in general, independent women in particular and more specifically to the Coptic women who were categorized as Crusaders, sharameet , lewd and willing to be raped. Salma Almasrya, an Egyptian Activist said that what the scholar has claimed comes in harmony with the official declaration from state men which blamed the female activists for the rape crimes they were subject to, then comes the un-deterred harassment on the part of the Ministry of Media for two media female interviewers in two different situations calling one on air while asking the other to when she asked about the freedom of expression, a phrase that was considered very offensive by the media causing many activists to believe there was a state-orchestrated terrorism against female activists by humiliation and intimidation rather than force which has been condemned by many media people around the country.
The parliamentary quota for women was removed without debate and a promised female vice-president failed to materialise, amid what political commentator Moushira Khattab called "a radical anti-feminist sentiment". Morsi threatened but stopped short of decriminalizing Egypt's practice of female genital mutilation, carried out on almost three-quarters of Egyptian girls, making it clear he would not tackle an issue he called "a family matter".