Bishop Pachomius, the acting patriarch of the Coptic Orthodox Church, said that national unity does not mean that the majority should become a dictatorship, adding what is really needed is a nation for each and every Egyptian on the grounds that every human being has the right to live in his/her home country.

“Pope Shenouda was a great journalist. His articles were comprehensive with history and knowledge,” said the caretaker patriarch during ceremonies to commemorate the late Coptic Orthodox Pope Shenouda III at the Syndicate of Journalists.

Dr. Mahmūd ‘Azab, an advisor to the Grand Shaykh of the Azhar, said that national unity has been embodied since the 1798 French Expedition to Egypt, the 1919 Revolution and the January 25, 2011 Revolution.

“The Family House initiative was not to reconcile between Muslims and Copts but to reform the religious discourse,” said ‘Azab. [‘Imād Khalīl and Farūq al-Jamal, al-Misrī al-Yawm, April 3, p. 6] Read original text in Arabic