No doubt that Mr. President Abdel Fattah Sisi feels the danger of religious extremism, and thus he talked a lot about the renewal of religious discourse in many occasions. Too few steps have been taken in that account, but his visits to the Cathedral to congratulate the Copts on their feasts was a good move to face calls to prohibit congratulating the Copts on their feasts spread for years.
It should be known that change of thought and mentality will take a long time, especially after many years of implantation of extremism and rejection of the other through education and the control of militants on the mosques, after the Salafis took power and with the absence of law enforcement against religious discrimination. This requires us to exert more and more effort s. We have to take action on the ground instead of much talking and good intentions. The law has to defend equal citizenship as well as the rights to worship.
The building churches law was issued in September 2016, but was never applied on the ground. The committee to legalize the already existing churches arouses more suspicion with police and military representatives that may refuse to legalize one church for security reasons!
The law has never mentioned the churches closed for security reasons many years ago though the regime has changed several times in these years. I have called before to reopen these churches in media campaign to grant Christians their rights to worship in their churches.
One of these churches is the church of Naghamish in Suhag where Copts were assaulted and their church was shut down. This church is an example of the weak law to protect Christian rights of worship and equal citizenship. I call on the president to reopen these churches and to send a message to the extremists that Coptic Christians have equal citizenship in their country. Fanatics assure in all customary reconciliation sessions held for the past two months that "it is not permissible to establish a church in the land of Islam". Many people indeed trade on religion to benefit even if they destroy the homeland. I believe the president has good intentions to reconstruct this country and renew the religious discourse, but the government has to have such good intentions as well. The grant of the right to worship should be the first fruit of these good intentions.
