"No to the second article of Constitution”: You might think such call is a kind of hallucination, but I tell you: It can turn into reality! It’s like a blank cartridge that has no effect but the noise, you tell. I whisper: but it can scare the heck out of many! We even reject such dream, and dreams are forgotten by time... We want to have it as a hope that we can work to achieve. I know church has accepted it with some modifications, but we, the Christians of Egypt, reject such idea completely and refuse its existence in the new constitution. It’s not our problem whether the committee of drafting the constitution will take our opinion into consideration or not... We should declare our freedom of speech, as we want a country of real citizenship, not a fake one! Let’s make our history tell we had rejected such article. Let’s write our rejection also in the Egyptian history, not only in the Coptic one.
First announcement of Egyptian-Christian entity: No to the second article of Constitution!
Nabil al-Mekaddis
Article Of The Day
00:03
Wednesday ,14 March 2012
I hope those honorable writers, Christian and non-Christian who are known for fairness to clearly record this refusal to this article by the Copts and perhaps some Muslims, those who know the real meaning of citizenship.
Let us start from the moment to reveal the Christian entity. Let us start now to announce in the press about our personality. Let's start to really write about Christian identity and our demands ... We have a private entity that melts with those of similar national notions. This entity does not refuse to participate, on the condition of keeping its basics and not abandoning them under any pressure. Receiving pressure, we announce the immediate denunciation and record it in history.
Entities in general are impose on the society. So far, we dare not to declare it ... all what we made are some gestures and hints, but it can be a good start. Now we must go beyond these gestures to declare this identity before the whole community, showing the one which was there for thousands of years. It is time for us to participate effectively in making the future of our country... From now on, we will not only be guided by a Liberal Party or another. We now choose which entity goes with us.
Who is going to take the first step, to declare that entity? Which newspaper will overcome the fears and embrace the first headline declaring an entity composed of many Christian people demanding their rights before drafting the new constitution? Which satellite channel will present those people of that entity?
Finally, it’s better for us to declare our historical rejection for that second article, before we are judged by it. Such refusal will be a great legacy for our children. We should teach them that no mixture is accepted between politics and religion. Sooner or later, time will come, when Egypt will return secular as it has always been. Egypt will regain her strength when the concept of citizenship is deepened.
