NP: How do you perceive the current situation?

W.M.: I think that things will settle down, Allah willing, and that calm will return to the street. The coming stage will be very difficult; as a Shūrá Council member I sense that the challenges of improving educational and health systems will need much effort. The disagreements we witness on the scene now are temporary, and we hope to be reunited and unified upon one common view; we all have to work hard to serve the interests of the country. As for our Christian brothers and sisters, the sectarian oppression they had endured under the ousted regime has ended; now, they have obtained their full rights, I am confident they will fuse again into one unity within the community as we have been for fourteen centuries. The governor of Asyut and I plan to extend our congratulations to our Christian brothers and sisters for Christmas tomorrow.

NP: How would you read the withdrawal of the Church from the Constituent Assembly?

W.M.:  I can well understand the decision of the one or the other; however, I think the atmosphere was politically loaded, and some took the decision to withdraw without careful consideration of the situation. I wished not all of them had withdrawn, but this is what happened; all decided to withdraw.

NP:  Egyptian Christians are politically engaged since the eruption of the Revolution?

W.M.:  Not only Christians, the entire population, women, farmers, laborers, the youth, even women from the villages hit the streets to revolt and to practice their political rights; all the segments of the Egyptian society are part in this transition. I reckon the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), of which I am member, will promote the rights of the Copts. I strongly believe that the Party is the party of all Egyptians, and will grant equal opportunities to both Christians and Muslims alike. We are one entity working together for the benefit of the country and its development. 

NP:  Some Copts see that the Constitutional Articles 10, 81, and 219 should be amended?

W.M.: The constitutional plebiscites are evidence that the people support the Constitution. During the national dialogue sessions initiated by President Mursī, he also promised to amend what the people see needs to be amended. The national dialogue between the political parties and the representatives of the Churches and the Administration will offer the opportunity to present their proposals for the welfare of the country. Dialogue deepens the pillars of citizenship and participation […].

NP:  Could the national dialogue succeed without the participation of some of the political parties?

W.M.: I am an optimist; I believe the national dialogue will succeed, Allah willing.

NP:  Where do you see the Copts on the political roadmap of Egypt?

W.M.:  The whole world have witnessed that Christians turned out to cast their ballots; it is unprecedented in Egypt’s history to see a Christian woman side by side with the rural woman to embody the success of the Revolution. It is the opportunity for Muslims and Christians to join elections of political parties as well as of the parliament.

NP:  How about the law on houses of worships?

W.M.: Islam does not discriminate in granting the permission to build mosques or churches. Both houses have an important role in the religious and social formation of the youth. The draft law will be discussed before it is passed.

NP: How can tolerance be re-established in mosques and Sunday schools, especially because they play a crucial role in the upbringing of youth?

W.M.: Through our perception of equality and citizenship; we are working on the improvement of educational curricula and media outlets. Within families, love and tolerance ought to be sowed, and to abolish the residues of hatred which the former regime had implanted. We ought to spread the values that are shared in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam […].

NP: Will we soon witness integrated economic projects between Christians and Muslims?

W.M.: These projects exist already, for example, the project of Dr. Khālid ꞌAbd al-Qādir in Asyut, which can be considered a pilot project of bilateral work of Christians and Muslims. I, anyway, cannot think a project could succeed without the collaboration of Muslims and Christians who make up the fabric of this nation.

NP: Would you support job opportunities that blatantly exclude Christian (job) applicants?

W.M.: Absolutely not! I repeat: everyone will be measured according to his qualifications; this has been disclosed in the statements of President Mursī […].

NP: Do you want to address a message to expatriate Copts?

W.M.: Egypt is their country, and the diaspora includes Muslims as well. I call on both not to isolate their selves, as this is the first time that Egyptians living abroad were allowed to cast their ballots on all matters that concern their homeland. The media often exaggerate in their reports.

NP: There is concern among Christians toward some militant currents. Is their concern legitimate, and what would you tell them to relieve them from their fear?

W.M.: The militant current exists, but they are not that expanded as the press claims. The more significant thing is to judge what is happening on the ground. Both Christians and Muslims grew up together in the same homeland. I do not discriminate between both. Aren’t we all human beings? If there is any difference then only on how we perform our prayers: one goes to the Church and the other goes to the mosque.

NP: Will the upcoming election law provide justice for Christians, women, and youth?

W.M.: I hope that the discussions running on that law will satisfy all segments of the Egyptian society without discrimination among Egyptians; it will guarantee the rights from which all have been deprived during the ruling of the former regime. The national dialogue is open for everyone to discuss the draft.

NP:  We witness the presence of some elements who did not live the interfaith experience of Egypt, and which makes Egypt so unique. These elements are increasing and our Christian brothers and sisters have great concern.

W.M.: Islam in Egypt, since the era of the Sahābī (close companion to Prophet Muhammad) ꞌAmr Ibn al-ꞌAs, has always preserved the rights of Christians, has given them equal rights as citizens who perform equal duties. Extending our congratulations to Christians for their holidays is a matter of course, and Islam prompts us to do so. As I said: there are Christian members in the FJP, and every opinion presented will be respected and tackled in dialogue. I am confident that we all together, Muslims and Christians will be in consolidation till the Day of Judgment, Allah willing (Wafā’ Mashhūr, Akhbār al-Yāwm, Jan. 5, p. 2).  Read original text in Arabic.