“The Universal Declaration of Human Rights has emphatically stressed equality in rights and duties. Copts pay their taxes like any other citizen. I would not be exaggerating if I said one-third of the tax duties of the state are contributed by Copts. Coptic businessmen like Najīb Sawirus and Munīr Ghabbūr pay a lot in taxes,” said Ramzī in a symposium hosted by the Ibn Khaldūn Center for Research & Studies (IKCRS).
He said that the Islamic sharī’ah guarantees for non-Muslims to have recourse to their own religious laws. “There are some, however, are trying to twist facts just for the sake of flexing their muscles.”
“The Muslim Brotherhood has deceived Egyptians under the cloak of religion but they are just pursuing the same policies pursued by the dissolved National Democratic Party (NDP),” Ramzī added.
He noted that women have suffered more than Copts under that former regime.
“With perseverance, women are going to get back their rights and that is how women and Copts should participate in political parties, professional syndicates and trade unions,” said the Coptic activist.
Dr. Sa’d al-Dīn Ibrāhīm, a professor of socio-politics and IKCRS Director, said when the society was boiling over the sectarian question, some of the Copts and men of the Azhar used to meet and co-affirm that the problem was groundless.
“We all have noticed that throughout a period of 40 years. When we approached and raised the issue of sectarianism, they used to accuse us of being agents and traitors who only seek the disruption of the national fabric,” said Ibrāhīm. [Author Not Mentioned, al-Wafd, April 13, p. 5] Read original text in Arabic
