[Dialogue] What Copts fear

Fri Dec 9 14:17:07 EST 2005

Colleagues, this may have interest to you. Peace, Harry 
  _____  

What Copts fear

Are the concerns of Copts following the gains the outlawed Muslim
Brotherhood made in the parliamentary elections justified? Gihan Shahine
finds some answers 

That the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) has doubled the number of its seats in
parliament, forming the largest opposition bloc, concerns apparently not
just members of the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP). Many Copts, not
to mention secularists and liberals, have also expressed fear that the
group's rise to power will ultimately turn Egypt into a conservative Islamic
state where Copts will be treated as second-class citizens and women would
be discriminated against.

Only one out of 50 Coptic candidates who ran in the parliamentary polls won
a seat -- probably for no reason other than being a minister -- increasing
speculation that a growing sectarian environment is sweeping the country
where voters cast their ballots according to religious rather than political
affiliations. The speculation found expression in a recent controversial
US-based conference which called for greater US pressure on Egypt, and
restrictions on Washington's aid to Cairo, in light of alleged persecution
of the nation's Coptic Orthodox Christians.

Prominent Coptic thinker and urban planner Milad Hanna was one of the first
to express Coptic fears out loud when he told the local press, "If the
Muslim Brothers come to power, Egypt will be an Islamic state like Iran and
Sudan."

Hanna was quoted saying, "The day the Muslim Brothers win more than 50 per
cent, the rich Copts will leave the country and the poorer Copts will stay.
Perhaps some of them will be converted... I hope I die before this happens."

He reiterated his assertion that "Copts are Egyptian to the core and their
ties with Muslims will remain as strong as ever."

Prominent Coptic thinker Rafiq Habib said the Coptic elite and businessmen,
as well as secularists and liberals, are the ones most worried that the rise
of the Brotherhood to power would put their interests at stake. "The
vagueness of the Brotherhood's agenda and the fierce campaign the state and
secular media are waging to distort their image has further boosted
widespread misconceptions about the group," Habib explained. "Many Copts,
for instance, confuse between [the discourse of] the Brotherhood and [that
of] militant Islamists, although the two are totally different," Habib
added. "There are many extreme edicts that Copts mistakenly think were
issued by the Brotherhood." 

Many analysts speculate that the NDP has been blowing up such fears to
garner the support of Coptic voters and to persuade the United States that
the rise of the Brotherhood "would lead to the persecution of the country's
Coptic community the US claims to defend," Habib added. 

Leading MB member Abdel-Moneim Abul- Futuh argues, "Those whose interests
run counter to [the Brotherhood] use [the banned group] to scare Copts," a
plan that Abul-Futuh insists "has largely failed to fool the public who have
direct contact with members of the Brotherhood." Abul- Futuh mentioned
Brotherhood candidate Saad El-Hosseini who reportedly received the support
of Coptic voters in the constituency of Mehalla. "We always had a clear
stance towards our Coptic brothers which puts them on an equal par with
Muslims in all rights and duties of citizenship," Abul-Futuh said.

For many Copts, however, the Brotherhood has been using what is described as
"elastic" and "vague" terminology that may imply sinister intentions. 

"Up until now the Brotherhood has not declared any real or clear political
agenda," said key Kifaya Party member George Isaak . Not that Isaak is
worried. "I can't be happier about the gains the Brotherhood made in the
[parliamentary] polls because its performance in the parliament will clear
up much of the vagueness surrounding its discourse and show its real
capabilities and influence now that it need no longer act as the martyr of
the nation."

The group's slogan -- "Islam is the solution" -- has been a major bone of
contention. Many Copts were incensed, believing the slogan implied they were
being treated as second-class citizens who would be forced to succumb to
Islamic Shari'a law in a predominantly Islamic nation. The Brotherhood, for
its part, repeated assertions that its slogan meant that Islamic
civilisation is the reference of a "non-discriminatory" agenda, which gives
precedence to citizenship.

Copts insist the use of the word "Islam" makes them feel excluded and, as
Hanna argued, "would immediately mean giving precedence to religion over
citizenship.

"Egypt should be a secular country where all citizens are treated equally
regardless of their religious affiliations," Hanna insisted. 

Sameh Fawzi, managing editor of the weekly Watani newspaper, argued,
"Citizenship as a term was largely absent in the Brotherhood's official
statements, which instead referred to Copts as Ahl Zimma (non-Muslims
enjoying the protection of Muslims). 

"This Islamisation of the state would reduce both Copts and Muslims to
single blocs succumbing to a unified Islamic project and such radical edicts
like those published in the group's official magazine in 1980 which nearly
banned Copts from establishing churches and joining the army," Fawzi said.
Although the edicts were reportedly issued more than two decades ago, Fawzi
remains worried that the same person who issued them, Abdullah El-Khatib,
"still holds a prominent position in the group".

Abul-Futuh, however, countered that the group had "made it clear in an
official statement issued in 1994 that citizens are the source of power and
are equal in all rights and duties regardless of religion and gender. 

"No law, no matter how divine, can be enforced without the public's
consent," Abul-Futuh told the Weekly. "We respect the Christian creed and
would never impose any law that would prohibit Copts from practicing their
religious rituals." He mentioned the fact that three Copts had been working
in the political office of the group's founder Hassan El-Banna as further
proof that the Brotherhood was never anti-Coptic. 

That said, however, Habib insisted the Brotherhood "now has a bigger
responsibility to make its well-intended principles known to the public and
declare a clearer, more specific agenda using terms which do not confuse.

"Copts, for their part, should engage in a dialogue with the Brotherhood to
get a clearer picture of their beliefs and agenda away from antagonist media
propaganda," Habib said.

Al-Ahram Weekly Online : Located at:
http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2005/772/eg13.htm 

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