Christians in Egypt are deeply troubled and look to the future with trepidation

One year after the beginning of the "Arab Spring" in Egypt the Christian minority, the Copts, are deeply troubled and look to the future with trepidation. The Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) in Göttingen made this statement on Tuesday. "Many young Copts, who had joined in the efforts to overthrow the Mubarak regime, view the electoral victories of the Muslim Brotherhood and the Salafists with great concern," noted Ulrich Delius of the STP's Africa section. "It is to be feared that the exodus of Christians out of Egypt will increase." The human rights organization appealed to the German government to urge the governing Supreme Military Council and the leading political parties in Egypt to ensure better protection of the rights of this religious minority. 

"The euphoric days when Christians and Muslims demonstrated together in Tahrir Square for more democracy are gone," stated Delius. "Many Copts are frustrated by the fact that, under the military council, crimes against Copts are still not being prosecuted by the judiciary." The Copts are waiting still today for a credible investigation and punishment of those responsible for the bombing attacks on the cathedral of Alexandria that took place on New Year's Eve in 2010. Furthermore, no one has been punished to date for the Maspero massacre on October 9, 2011, in which 27 Copts were killed in gunfire from soldiers. Rather than holding the military personnel responsible, more than 30 Copts have been charged in court for their participation in the protests that were violently put down on October 9. In Upper Egypt and in Alexandria in particular, attacks on Christians by radical Islamic groups are on the rise.

Following the overthrow of Mubarak, the Copts are struggling not only for better protection of the faithful, but also for more rights. "This battle has had only limited success so far," asserted Delius. For example, construction and remodeling of places of worship, once severely limited, has been deregulated. On the other hand, however, Copts have only two representatives in the newly elected parliament. Last Sunday the Supreme Military Council, unpopular with most Copts, sent five more Copts to parliament as representatives. Young Copts in the Maspero movement appealed to the Muslim parties last weekend to ensure equal rights for Christian women and to treat the Coptic minority, who make up ten percent of the country's population, as partners on an equal footing with Muslims.