The Public Attorney's release of 70 detainees in the Naj‘ Ḥammādī incidents [Reviewer's Note: this is obviously a mistake. The release refers to those arrested in al-‘Umrāniyyah.] came only two days after the church leaked reports concerning Pope Shenouda's anger and speculation that he will seclude himself in the Wādī al-Natrūn Monastery.
This brings to mind a rerun of the push and tug relations between the church and the state.
According to Kamāl Zākhir, founder of the secular Coptic current, the usual state answer in such situations takes the form of placating the pope by appointing a number of Copts known to be close to him to the People's Assembly, the approval of a law, or facilitating the construction of a number of churches.
The innovation this time, according to Zākhir, is that the National Democratic Party (NDP) caused the electoral failure of important Coptic candidates close to the pope, yet appointed a Copt unacceptable to him, this being Jamāl As‘ad ‘Abd al-Malāk.
This new NDP policy prompted Dr. Tharwat Bāsīlī, the Head of the National Democratic Party's Policies Committee (who is known to be close to Jamāl Mubārak), to express his anger:
"This time, regarding the al-‘Umrāniyyah incidents, the government cannot be defended. What can we say to angry expatriate Copts? how can we justify the use of live ammunition against defenseless demonstrators?"
The pope has opted to return to the old rules: declaring his anger, hinting at the cancellation of Christmas celebrations. His latest stance has succeeded in securing the release of 70 of those detained in al-‘Umrāniyyah.
