Aggression against Copts is perpetual and has been recently heightened

Nabil A. Malek, Laval

23/02/2006 

It's true that the sectarian attack on Copts of Odayssat Washington Post, Feb. 23, p.10). ".. was one of a series ..," but, it's a series that started in the early 1970's. So, the attacks are not "recent".  

Egypt's consecutive governments have done nothing to diffuse the trigger of such sectarian eruptions despite the fact that after the attack on the Khanka village church (near Cairo) in 1972, an Egyptian parliamentary committee recommended abrogating all discriminatory restrictions on building churches, whose origins go back to the Ottoman rule!  

“For 35 years, the congregation and priests” at Odayssat have been using this building for worship, a right they entitled to under the Egyptian Constitution and, more importantly, international human rights law.  So, why after all these years the local authorities objected and instigated common people to commit such criminal aggression? Or, why the local authorities, for example, did not have a legal order issued to close the 'contested' building?  

What happened at Odayssat is, in fact, nothing but a repetition of one and same scenario, after which loss of lives, looting and destruction of property of innocent Copts take place, with no concrete action by the state to resolve the core problem!  

It seems that the struggle between the NDP ruling party and the Islamic movement in Egypt started to have its more ominous effect on the situation of the Coptic minority. The escalation of attacks on Copts since last year’s violent national elections starkly points to such alarming reality. 

Now, the issue became more complicated. It is more than a dispute on whether Copts are whopping in a licensed church or not!

PS: See Attacks on Copts Expose Egypt's Secular Paradox