On April 16, 2006 a young Muslim entered three Coptic churches in the city of Alexandria in Egypt and began attacking Christians praying there. An 80 year old Copt was murdered, while more than a dozen Copts were wounded. These attacks have sparked an angry reaction from the Coptic sect in Egypt and within the Coptic Diaspora around the world.
The Coptic reaction must be understood in the light of other, recent attacks on Copts in Egypt, other abuses directed against Copts, and a lack of equal civil rights for Copts in Egyptian society.
Riots over a Play
In October 2005, riots between Copts and Muslims broke out in Alexandria because of a play distributed on DVD that Muslims viewed as defaming Islam and Muslims. In the riots that broke out in Alexandria following the play's circulation on DVD, four people were killed and dozens injured.
The name of the play was "Once I Was Blind and Now I Can See." It tells of a young Christian boy who converts to Islam, but then discovers that Islam is not what he first thought it to be. In the end he returns to Christianity.
A few months before the serious incident regarding the DVD's circulation, a young Muslim shot 10 people to death, including several Copts. The youth's lawyer had claimed he was insane, but in April 2006 the district attorney announced that the youth was sane and responsible for his actions when he carried out the massacre.
A few days after the district attorney's announcement, the attack on April 14 took place. When the act became known to the public, severe riots broke out between Copts and Muslims. The Egyptian government, along with several media outlets, tried to restore calm. This time the government claimed that the Muslim youth committed the crime because of an unstable mental state, apparently in an attempt to minimize the significance of the incident.
Reaction in Egypt and Abroad
In response to the attacks on April 14, Coptic religious leaders tried to exercise their influence in the United States—where there is a lobby of public figures acting on behalf of Copts in Egypt and elsewhere. Coptic bloggers posted their thoughts about the incident online. Among them, there is a general sense that in the background of public life in Egypt, a "hidden civil war" is taking place between the Muslim and Coptic communities.
There were protests on April 19 before the White House and the Egyptian Embassy in the American capital. A few days later, there was a demonstration of Copts in Chicago during the opening of an exhibit on Egyptian art and the ancient pharaoh King Tut. At the end of May, there were again protests in Chicago supporting the Copts, and in protest of their difficult civil rights situation in Egypt.
Copts' Fragile Position in Egypt
A thorough investigation of websites by Coptic organizations in Egypt and elsewhere paints a pretty bleak picture of their civil and religious situation based on some of the demands the Copts have made to the authorities. Here are some of the main allegations and demands, demonstrating the fragile position of the Christian population in Egypt:
• There is a high frequency of Christian girls being kidnapped, raped and forced to convert to Islam. Coptic organizations sent a request—or more precisely, a plea—to the authorities to put an end to this terrible practice.
• All of the Arabic teachers in Egypt are Muslim.
• The Koran is often used as the main book for teaching Arabic, including to Christians.
• In all of the schools in Egypt there are mosques, but no place for Christians to pray. • The state essentially supervises the property of the churches.
• A Muslim who converts to Christianity loses a large number of civil rights, such as inheritance rights and custody of his children. Such a citizen receives negative treatment from the authorities. A Christian who converts to Islam receives completely different treatment.
• Very light punishments are given to Muslims who murder Copts, but very severe sentences are meted out to Copts that commit similar crimes.
• Copts are not allowed to enter the well-known Muslim University Al-Azhar.
• The Coptic language is not taught in universities and the history of Egypt's Copts was not taught in schools until recently.
• In the National Assembly there are very few Copts.
• Copts are not represented in government positions, and not as diplomats, not as university presidents, and not as deans.
• Very few Copts are accepted into the military and police academies.
• Very few positions are offered to Copts in the natural sciences.
• The Coptic Church has not been allowed to conduct a census among its believers.
• According to Egyptian law, five percent of the positions in the police and army are reserved for Copts, but in reality, their number is far from what is required by law.
• According to Coptic sources, over the past 30 years, hundreds of Copts have been killed by Muslims.
On June 27 a Coptic shoemaker was attacked in his shop by a knife-wielding young man previously unknown to him who was said to have shouted, "Kafir! Kafir!" (infidel) before killing him.
Dr. Yohai Sela is a researcher of society, politics and media in the Middle East.
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