I spent my life until 1978 defending the working class and the hardworking. From 1987 to 1987, I studied the culture of minorities in the Arab region and wandered among minorities in almost 24 countries, Kurds, Shiites, Amazighs, Nubians, Armenians, Maronites, etc. I realized the suffering of those peoples and returned back to Egypt. I was working then with Abdul Rahim Ali, the famous journalist, to expose the extremist groups all over Egypt. We have reported several massacres of Ezbet Nassarah and of Muharraq monastery, in which 320 people were killed on their Christian identity. It should be mentioned that we were risking our lives then.
In 1992, I met with Dr. Saad Eddin Ibrahim and participated in the establishment of the Ibn Khaldun Center. We also participated in the drafting of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Minorities. I was the first coordinator of the minorities unit in the Arab region. In 1994, we held the Minorities Conference in Egypt and wrote an Encyclopedia of minorities in the region and dedicated a special chapter on the Copts with a respected group of thinkers, including Dr. Mona Makram Ebeid, Dr. Mostafa El Feki, Samir Morcos, Dr. Aly El Din Halal, and others.
Al-Ahram state newspaper attacked the Minorities Conference and was followed by dozens of writers. Pope Shenouda told us then to stop calling the Copts minority and offered us his appreciated help.
The conference was held in April 1994 in Limassol, Cyprus, and we were not supported by the Copts, except Judge Salim Najib in the Court of Montreal, Nabil Abdulmalek, Anton Sidham, Fakhri Abdel Nour, and very little number of journalists. The conference ended but played a pivotal role in putting the Copts on the agenda of the Egyptian National Movement after it was prohibited to talk about that topic in public.
Years have passed, and I did not abandon this file thought the Copts have abandoned us in many cases as I understand they can t oppose the government.
I moved to Watani newspaper from 1995 until 2013, where we established the center of the press training that trained dozens of Muslim and Christian journalists on the ground of citizenship.
After the revolution of January 25, a new generation of Coptic activists emerged who were ready to sacrifice their blood and participated actively in overthrowing the Muslim Brotherhood. However, they have to work together and should have a way to speak loud away from social media. Furthermore, they have to understand the important of Church unity.
Now, the church has to realize the importance of education of new generations who understand how to shed their blood to protect their faith and not like other elite who trade on the cause.
