Copts have been raised on the idea of accepting martyrdom as martyrs enjoy superior rank in their church. Therefore, the Coptic Church has offered thousands of martyrs throughout its history. Those martyrs were simply victims of tyranny or fanatics who don’t like their faith and want to get rid of it forever. Copts refused to abandon their faith and therefore they were brutally tortured and killed. Copts have always accepted such suffering remembering the teachings of Jesus Christ in the Holy Bible in which he said: “yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service”
Yes, the Copts are willing to sacrifice their lives for their faith, and the video published by ISIS of slaying 21 Copts in Libya proved that Copts have such courage to face death in order to preserve their faith. In fact, the Copts, like all human being, want to live in peace in their country that they love and appreciate; however, many fanatics refuse to allow them to live in peace and want to persecute them by all means. Most of the time, Copts accept such persecution and even rejoice to receive it hoping for God’s reward and remembering the apostles in (Act 5: 41) who rejoiced that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name. Yet, many of them believe they have to defend their rights and call for equal citizenship.
I believe citizenship is a key word to develop Egypt, especially in such hard times. The fanatics hate this word because they consider non-Muslims infidels and second degree citizens who don’t have much rights comparing to Muslims. They ignore the fact that Copts are the origin of Egypt and that Christianity arrived hundreds of years before Islam in Egypt and that Copts are not just new arrivals.
Egypt faces many difficulties and is in bad need for all Egyptians to work hard and unite. This is time for Egyptians to unite against extremism and fanaticism before they eat the rest of their country. Copts should seek equal citizenship and unity with other Egyptians, and they shouldn’t be lost between accepting martyrdom and seeking citizenship. The truth is they should accept martyrdom for their love to Jesus Christ, and should seek equal citizenship for their love for their country.
