"As Coptic Christians, We Are No Longer Afraid" | ZENIT - The World Seen From Rome

Cairo, February 19, 2014 (Zenit.org) |
By Oliver Maksan, Aid to the Church in Need
The year 2013 was not a good year for Egypt's Christians. The wave of violence that engulfed dozens of churches and religious institutions after the ouster of the Muslim Brotherhood's President Mohammed Morsi was unprecedented in the recent history of the country, whose Christian tradition can be traced right back to the time of the Apostles. While former President Morsi sits behind bars, Field Marshal Abdul Fattah al-Sisi is preparing to stand for election as his successor. But what is the view of Egypt's Christians?

Mina Elkess is an activist of the Maspero Youth Union, the Coptic civil rights movement. The Union takes its name from the autumn 2011 army massacre of Coptic demonstrators on Cairo's Maspero Square.

"The majority of Copts unconditionally support Field Marshal Sisi. If he stands for election as president, they will vote for him. They regard him as a hero who liberated them from Morsi and the Islamists. As activists, we are a little more sceptical. Our experience of the army has not been good, and it is now possible that another general will become president. At present, the general atmosphere in Egypt is not very libertarian," says Elkess.

It is a fact that, following Morsi's dismissal, the prisons are populated not only by Islamists, but also by representatives of the emerging democracy movement of 2011.

The civil rights campaigner stresses that Eqypt is a deeply conservative Islamic society: "It started with President Sadat in the 70s and has since established deep roots. But its mentality, which has some fanatical elements, must change if the Christians are to move towards achieving equal rights. Progress depends to a large extent on the incoming president."

Sisi, the Commander-in-Chief of the Egyptian Armed Forces who announced Morsi's overthrow in July 2013, has yet to declare his candidacy. According to observers, however, it is simply a matter of time.

"As a person, Sisi is considered to be a conservative Muslim, so that we cannot be sure how he will conduct himself in office," cautions Elkess.

Whatever the future holds for the country's Christians, he insists, one thing will not change: "As Coptic Christians, we are no longer afraid of asserting our rights."

Read the full interview online hear (with acknowledgement to ZENIT and to Aid to the Church in Need):
"As Coptic Christians, We Are No Longer Afraid" | ZENIT - The World Seen From Rome