Background:

This recording is of a conference that focuses on Coptic rights in Egypt through a historical examination of facts, the roots of the problems and some recommendations. The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR) organized small study groups in order to examine the topic in a scientific and practical way.

For more information, please refer to the preceding tapes I, and III of EOHR Seminar on Copts

http://www.arabwestreport.info/en/eohr-seminar-copts-i

http://arabwestreport.info/en/eohr-seminar-copts-iii

Side A:

Political analyst, Dr. Tal‘at Jād Allāh,  focused on recommendations including  “creating a national committee for citizenship rights and the freedom of expression in order to file several lawsuits regarding the elimination of the strict rules that regulates building churches; the recovery of lands taken by the Ministry of Endowment.” Over 2000 acre which belonged to Christians was taken by the Ministry in the days of President Jamāl ‘Abd al-Nāṣir.

 Jād Allāh called for the extermination of all forms of discriminations against Christians. According to him such discriminations have become norms in the society. He also called for putting an end to the mentioning of religion on identity cards in Egypt. Jād Allāh further talked about the need to form a national committee for the Egyptian media, the latter shall be responsible of dealing with all kinds of programs that criticize religion. Another national committee shall be responsible for education in order to compensate for the fact that the Coptic population is not mentioned in the school curriculums. 

Dr. Mīlād Hannā, a Coptic intellectual, emphasized the importance to include the whole society in such discussions so they will not remain restricted to the elite. 

Mr. Muḥammad Munīb, an Egyptian author, insisted on the importance of focusing on practical actions and stressed the consequences of representing the problems as if they concern only Christians which can in turn agitate the Muslim population. Therefore, he emphasized the importance of taking into consideration the complex construction of the society while dealing with such issues.

Mr. Mamdūḥ Ramzī, lawyer and president of the Egyptian Organization for Anti-Discrimination, talked about how Egyptian voters have become religious voters instead of voters who are interested in the political aspect of the parties. Therefore, he expressed the need for applying the proportional representation system.

Rev. Jamāl ʿAjāybī, talked about the multiple violations committed against churches regarding constructions and restorations, he gave two examples one in Sohag and another one in Alexandria. He called for filing a lawsuit in order to put into force the decision taken by the Minister of Interior which states that authorization for churches restoration could be taken by local authorities.

Side B:

A man called Muṣṭafa insisted that Christian problems in Egypt are not exclusive to them but they concern the whole Egyptian society. He stressed the possible negative sectarian position adopted by some of the speakers.

Mr. Sulaymān Shafīq, journalist and researcher at the Ibn Khaldūn Center for Development Studies (Egypt), made several recommendations including changing the Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs to a Ministry of Egyptian Endowments that includes Christian representation. He demanded that authorities would consider a public discussion around applying a quota system in the Parliament in order to guarantee a good percentage of Christian representation in the legislative body. Thus, he urged the EOHR to form a unit to examine legal mechanisms in order to stop all forms of violation of citizenship rights committed because of contradicting the religious beliefs.

Christian human rights lawyer Maurice Sādiq called for a civil code to be applied on Christians, for a limited number of districts to Christian candidates during the legislative elections. He also explained that al-Khat al-Hamāyūny [Hamāyūny Decree] did not state any sentence on its violation.

Attendee Mr. Mīlād Yūnān  highlighted the importance of forming a human rights committee to fight for  not mentioning one’s religion on identity cards. He also talked about the importance of publishing what has been discussed in this conference to the public as a way to raising awareness of the society.

Professor Aḥmad al-Sāwī from Cairo University raised the issue of Christian participation in political life, as well as some forms of discrimination in the professional sphere: at the university for instance and he explained that this problem is not exclusive to Christians, therefore, there is a need for setting standards that applies to all.