The Coptic people have been victims of persecution throughout most of their history. Despite the change of rulers, persecution has continued. Copts resisted and continue to resist in order to preserve their faith and their national identity. Early on in their history, Copts were victims of ethnic cleansing especially in the lower Delta after the different Coptic revolts. The 829-831 revolt ended in a bloodbath by Caliph Al-Maamoon. The remaining population of this area was expelled by force to Syria. Copts suffered from policies of heavy taxation, land confiscation and deportation of Coptic peasants to plundered areas. Copts got under heavy pressure during the middle ages especially under the rule of the Mamluks and Turks. This led to a slow demographic shift allover Egypt.
Conditions started to improve for the Copts when Muhammad Ali rose to power in 1805. Although, they were far from achieving equality, Copts were granted some rights that improved their living conditions significantly. Later on, under Said pasha, Al-Jizia was abolished and Copts were allowed to serve in the military for the first time since the Arab invasion. Conditions continued to improve until the Copts reached their golden age from 1922-1952. Copts participated in the Egyptian national movement for independence and occupied many influential positions.
Following the 1952 coup, the Copts’ human rights situation has been gradually deteriorating. The Copts were severely affected by Nasser\'s nationalization policies. Christian religious courts were closed, and the regime confiscated land and properties from the church. Conditions continued to get worse under Sadat and Mubarak with religious discrimination intensifying in society. In modern Egypt, Copts suffer persecution at a variety of levels:
1-Violence: Copts have been victims of violence in the last 40 years. In the last thirty years only, 1500 violent attacks on Copts have been reported. These attacks left thousands of Copts dead or injured. In the vast majority of these attacks, the perpetrators did not face justice. For example, the attack on Copts in Elkosheh village in January 2000 left 20 Copts dead. All of the assailants were set free in court. The violent attacks in El-Minya governorate in the 1990s forced thousands of Copts to leave their homes. Thousands fled to bigger cities in Egypt and others left the whole country and immigrated outside of Egypt; a form of unrecognized ethnic cleansing. Reports of disappearance of Coptic girls are on the rise. There have been 160 incidents in 2010 alone; many of those girls were actually minors.
2-Judicial discrimination: Copts are victims of discriminatory laws. The second article of the constitution has had a major impact in legal discrimination against Copts. This article states that the Islamic Sharia is the main source of legislation. This article is the basis of many discriminatory laws and discriminatory court rulings against Copts. The second article of the constitution contradicts the principal of freedom of religion by restricting conversions from Islam to any other religion. Laws based on this article strongly discriminate against Copts in custody of Children, and inheritance. A Christian wife who converts to Islam must divorce her Christian husband. Converts from Christianity to Islam are granted custody of their children over the other parent. The minor children of such converts are automatically classified as Muslims by the government irrespective of the religion of the other parent. This practice is in accordance with the government\'s interpretation of Islamic law, which dictates \"no jurisdiction of a non-Muslim over a Muslim.\" Other discriminatory laws include the law governing the building of new churches or renovating already existing churches. This law requires a presidential decree to build a new church, and the state governor’s permission in case of renovating one. There are multiple other laws that discriminate against Copts in multiple different aspects of life. Even in the absence of such laws, some judges, legislate from the bench to discriminate against Copts. A good example is the court’s refusal to give Copts who convert to Islam and then return back to Christianity identity cards that have their new religion.
3-Discrimination in recruitment and promotion: Copts are denied equal opportunities in recruitment and promotion. Very few are appointed to key positions in the Government. Enrolment of Copts in police academies and military schools is restricted, and very few are university professors. Not a single Copt serves in the supreme council of the armed forces, the supreme council of the police force, or the Egyptian intelligence. The percentage of Copts appointed in the judicial system is less than 1%. As of 2009, out of nearly 700 president, dean, or vice dean positions in the country\'s public university system, only one position was filled by a Copt. Copts suffer discrimination in the private sector also. There are many private businesses that do not hire Copts. There are no laws guaranteeing equal opportunities and prohibiting discrimination.
4-Hate speech and anti-Coptic propaganda: Copts are subject to hate speech and propaganda in both the government owned media and the private media. One of the important recent incidents involved the famous Islamic Scholar Mohammad Salim Al-Awa. In September 2010, Al-Awa claimed on Aljazeera Arabic TV channel that the Coptic Church is buying and storing weapons in churches and monasteries. He also accused the church of kidnapping Christian women who attempt to convert to Islam. These false allegations caused protests of Muslim extremists against Copts, including calls to boycott Coptic businesses and products. Other similar incidents occur very frequently in the Egyptian media in which the Copts are accused of conspiring against Muslims. In addition to the different media outlets, mosques are used by fundamentalists to incite hate against Copts. Many of the violent attacks against Copts occur after provocative speeches during the Friday Muslim prayers.
Unfortunately the optimism that was associated with the January 25th revolution gradually faded after violent attacks on Copts resumed. From February 11th until March 8th, at least 10 attacks against Copts were reported. The most significant attacks were the attack on the Sol church, and the attack on Coptic protesters in Manshiet Nasser killing 9 Copts. Copts face more challenges in today’s Egypt. They continue to struggle to achieve equality. However, the rise of the Islamic fundamentalist groups like the Muslim Brotherhood, with their known positions from the Copts, may make the path towards that more difficult.
