USCIRF gives Direction for Egypt's Coptic-Muslim Religious Freedom

Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif is soon scheduled to meet with U.S President George Bush during his official visit in the US. On this occasion the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has recommended to the President to repeat his message in his 2005 State of the Union Address where he urged Egypt to alter its direction to lead peace and democracy to the Middle East.

Egypt with its 77 million inhabitants has considerable influence in the region and may influence greatly the political, social and religious drift of countries in the near Middle East region.

A tense situation among the 94% majority of Muslims and Coptic Orthodox Minority are one of the major concerns of worldwide political and religious leaders. Even though the situation among these two religious communities has improved over past 25 years, still many conflicts occur.

The spiritual condition of Egyptians as a whole is improving, as people of both faiths are putting more focus on God. Coptic Orthodox Bishop of Shubra El-Kheima, Amba Marcos expressed: "There has been a growing desire among Egyptians to connect with God, partially because of the economic crisis that we have been living with for so long, and partially because of our desire to retain our own identities, which many feel are slowly being eroded by foreign pressure."

This has resulted in a stricter conservative interpretation of religious terms and ideas on both sides. It has led many people to be even more connected to God and the Church.

Even though the official statement claims there is no gap between Muslims and Christians, and the situation may seem to be calm on the surface, still there are many conflicts taking place among the believers.

Bishop Marcos acknowledged that the Christians in Egypt still face discrimination, "This is something that we have become accustomed to. We no longer bother to complain about it because no one really cares. No matter how often we try to bring it to the public’s attention, it just falls on deaf ears. Even the media will not write about it, the only real exception being Al-Watany, the Coptic newspaper."

One of the problems the Coptic Orthodox church must face is that the respective authorities didn’t give permission to renovate historic churches, which is restricting already started building works.

"I myself have experienced this with this church, where I have a legal permit signed by the governor to build a five-floor annex in the courtyard of the church for the services we provide. We were only allowed to build three and we were never given an explanation as to why we were not allowed to continue. This is just an example," Marcos says.

In response to this situation, the USCIRF released its recommendation for the U.S. government to urge Egypt to:

- Shift de facto responsibility from religious affairs from the state security services, with the exception of cases involving violence, and establish an entity or position (e.g., an ombudsman) in the office of the President to oversee religious affairs in Egypt;

- Allow full access to the constitutional and international guarantees of the rule of law and due process for those individuals charged with violating Section 98 (f) of the Penal Code, which "prohibits citizens from ridiculing or insulting heavenly religions or inciting sectarian strife," instead of having those cases heard by the State Security Courts;

- Repeal the 19th century, Ottoman-era Hamayouni Decree - which requires non-Muslims to obtain a Presidential decree to build a new place of worship - and ensure that all places of worship are subject to the same transparent, non-discriminatory, and efficient criteria and procedures for construction and maintenance;

- More actively investigate societal violence against any individuals or groups on the basis of their religion, particularly the targeting of Coptic Orthodox Christians, to bring those responsible for such violence to justice, and to ensure compensation for those targeted;

- Take all appropriate steps to prevent and punish acts of anti-Semitism, including condemnation of anti-Semitic acts, and, while vigorously protecting freedom of expression, counteract anti-Semitic rhetoric and other organized anti-Semitic activities.

However, Bishop Marcos is optimistic, saying that "interfaith relations have improved, and some in power have taken steps both to open a dialogue and ensure Copts can exercise their full legal rights."

Bishop Marcos is emphasising the importance of education of youth and interfaith dialogue on official and unofficial levels as well: "I believe we need to spend more effort on education to teach children about what unites us as opposed to what separates us," he says. "I believe that there needs to be an open and frank discussion between the leadership of this country and the leaders of the two religions in which they engage in a real conversation about the problems and truly attempt to come up with effective solutions."