Forced displacement returned to the scene under auspices of officials and MPs who took an oath to respect the Constitution that prohibit forced displacement. Unfortunately, most Egyptian intellectuals ignore that the majority of Christians live in Upper Egypt where 90 percent of the churches need legalization of their status, and that most of them are built on agricultural Land and don’t have even have ownership documents like most of the buildings there.
According to the law No. 119 to build churches, most of these churches will not be approved by the Commission appointed by the Parliament. Islamic houses of worship will never suffer the same giving the fact that more than 150 churches in Minya are closed for security reasons which gives the Copts in these villages that they are oppressed by their government.
We spotted a number of customary sessions from January 25, 2011 until the end of 2014, and they counted 45 sessions held after sectarian clashes, not to mention more than 100 attacks against Christian churches and properties after the dispersal of Rabaa Adawia and Nahda sit-ins.
The existence of social mechanisms may help in preventing conflicts in general, but in many cases the extremists control the situation and never give account for many attacks. On the other hand, the church headed by Pope Tawadros is criticized for not defending the rights of the Copts. The church may think that all current churches will be legalized by the committee. However, I should remind them that extremists refused the building of church in Awr village after the slain of 21 Copts in Libya. Law enforcement is crucial at the current moment.
I do not question the good intentions of President al-Sisi and the institution of the presidency but the Copts need the law to be enforced as they will not only live by the good intentions of the regime.
