On Monday morning, Apr. 15, the Coptic Evangelical Church met a delegation of the Ministry of Endowments. This meeting comes days after the ministry decided to end all dealings with the Church causing a huge controversy among Christians. Dr. Safwat al-Bayādī, head of the Coptic Evangelical Church, explained that the relationship between Muslims and Christians extends back into history and that they are one people living together in one country; they are all on the same boat, and will either drown together or save it together. The statement of the ministry caused him, and Christians in general, great concern.

In turn, Shaykh Muhammad ‘Abd al-Rāziq, Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Endowments, said that the delegation came by authorization of the minister, who missed the meeting due to his presence in the Sultanate of Oman. He explained that the decision came at an inconvenient time, especially following the events of protests at Al-Azhar and the incidents of al-Khusūs and the Saint Mark Cathedral. He continued explaining that they are all in pain together and he sent his condolences to the families of the Copts who died. He clarified that the decision would anger him to if he read the words that the Republic is not to deal with the Evangelical community. Nevertheless, he said that the decision does not mean that all ties are cut and that there is no cooperation at all.

In the last few years there were imāms and advocates belonging to the State Security Agency and the corrupt regime that cooperated with the Evangelical Church. As a result, the ministry wanted to limit and control the role of these imāms, which had gone unchecked for so long. Nevertheless, they had to communicate with the leadership of the Evangelical Church before they issued the decision. The ministry wants to organise things in a better and more satisfactory way for all in accordance to a new protocol (John ‘Abd al-Malāk, al-Misrīyūn, Apr. 16, p. 3). Read original text in Arabic.