ICC Note:
As we have reported several times, Egyptian minority Christians are suffering because of the discriminatory policies and practices of Egyptian government. An Egyptian Muslim intellectual has aptly described the extent of the problem in the following words:
Egyptian Muslim Intellectual Criticizes Egypt 's Treatment of Copts
May 16, 2007 Egypt (MEMRI)-"If I were a Copt, I would flood Egypt , and the world, with the facts about the overall atmosphere that is pressuring the Copts in Egypt today.
"If I were a Copt, I would familiarize the world with the injustices caused to many Copts in Egypt since [the Free Officers Revolution in] 1952. They don't get the high-level political posts and executive positions that they deserve, not to mention their sparse [representation] in parliament.
"If I were a Copt, I would create a ruckus in Egypt , and in the world, over the fact that I pay taxes with which the state funds Al-Azhar University , while [Al-Azhar] does not permit Copts to attend any of its institutes.
"If I were a Copt, I would make a huge commotion in the world, because my taxes fund the construction of dozens of mosques, but, since 1952, the Egyptian state has not participated in the building of a single church, except for president Gamal Abd Al-Nasser's participation in funding the construction of the St. Marc Cathedral in Al-'Abasiyya, 40 years ago...
"If I were a Copt, I would publish articles, one after another, about how the [Egyptian] media ignores matters [concerning me] and my religious holidays - as if I and the Copts did not exist in Egypt .
"If I were a Copt, I would tell the entire world [how] the Coptic history of Egypt [is handled] in the Egyptian curriculum, and how the study material for the Arabic language no longer [includes] literary texts, qasidahs, poetry, stories, plays, and legends, but [only] Islamic texts which [belong] with the study material for religion [class] for Muslim pupils.
"If I were a Copt, I would flood the world with complaints about the suffering Copts go through [merely] in order to obtain a license to build a church - with their own funds, not with the public taxes that [they] participate in paying.
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"If I were a Copt, I would conduct a campaign within [ Egypt ], and outside it, to abolish the 'religion' entry on the Egyptian identity card. Why should someone who conducts a relationship with me on the general and public level want to know what my religion is?...
"If I were a Copt, I would make the world understand that the issue of the Copts in Egypt is one of the symptoms of a [certain] mentality, whose influence has spread through this region of the world, and that all humanity must force [those] with this mentality to reconsider this discriminatory path."
