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THE U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT REPORT ABOUT THE VIOLATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS OF THE CHRISTIANS (COPTS) IN EGYPT IN 1999

 I- SUMMARY

 In summary, the Constitution provides for freedom of belief and the practice of religious rites. However, the Government places clear restrictions on this right. Most Egyptians are Sunni Muslims. Approximately 10 percent of the population, numbering more than 6 million persons, belong to the Coptic Orthodox Church. There are other small Christian denominations, as well as a Jewish community that numbers approximately 200 persons. For the most part, members of the non-Muslim minority worship without harassment and maintain links with coreligionists abroad .

Under the Constitution, Islam is the official state religion and primary source of legislation. Accordingly, religious practices that conflict with Islamic law are prohibited. In most matters of family law, including marriage, divorce, alimony, and child custody, Christians are subject to canon law. In case of family law disputes involving a marriage between a Christian woman and a Muslim man, Islamic law applies. The children of such marriages must be raised as Muslims. Muslim women are prohibited from marrying Christian men.

While neither the Constitution nor the Civil and Penal Codes prohibit proselytizing, Christians who proselytize have been arrested on charges of violating Article 98f of the Penal Code, which prohibits citizens from ridiculing or insulting heavenly religions or inciting sectarian strife. There were no such reports during the year. However, one Christian who was engaged in proselytizing activities was detained briefly by state security forces. Some Christians complained that the Government is lax in protecting Christian lives and property.

There are no legal restrictions on the conversion of non-Muslims to Islam. However, Muslims may face legal problems if they convert to another faith. In the past, authorities have charged a few Muslim converts to Christianity under article 98f of the Penal Code. There were no reports of such arrests during the year, however, there were a few unconfirmed reports that several converts to Christianity were subjected to harassment by the security services, including temporary detention .

In such instances, converts, who fear government harassment if they officially register the change from Islam to Christianity, have altered their identification cards and other official documents themselves to reflect their new religious affiliation. There were no confirmed reports of individuals detained or charged under these laws during the year. In 1997 human rights activist, Mamdouh Naklah, filed suit seeking removal of the religious affiliation category from identification cards. The court referred the case to the state commissioner's office, which has not yet issued an opinion.

An 1856 Ottoman decree still in force requires non-Muslims to obtain what is now a presidential decree to build a place of worship. In addition, Interior Ministry regulations issued in 1934 specify a set of 10 conditions that the Government must consider prior to issuance of a presidential decree permitting construction of a church. These conditions include the location of the proposed site, the religious composition of the surrounding community, and the proximity of other churches. The Ottoman decree also requires the President to approve permits for the repair of church facilities. In response to strong criticism of the decree, President Mubarak in 1998 delegated to governors the authority to approve permits for the repair of church facilities. In December the President acted again and issued a new decree that made the repair of all places of worship subject to a 1976 civil construction code. This decree, which superseded the decree issued in 1998, is significant because it places churches and mosques on equal footing before the law, and is intended to facilitate church repairs. However, notwithstanding these initiatives, the approval process for church construction and repair remains time-consuming and insufficiently responsive to the wishes of the Christian community. Although President Mubarak has approved all requests for permits that have been presented to him (reportedly a total of more than 250 during his 18-year tenure), Christians maintain that the Interior Ministry delays -in some instances indefinitely - submission to the President of their requests. They also maintain that security forces have blocked them from utilizing permits that have been issued.

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During the 1990's, the Government increased the number of building permits issued to Christian communities to an average of more than 20 per year, compared with an average of 5 permits issued annually in the 1980's. During the year, the Government approved 39 permits for church-related construction, including 2 permits for the construction of a new church, 34 permits for churches previously constructed without authorization, and 3 permits for the construction of additional church facilities. The Government reported that governors issued more than 200 permits for church-related repair during the year. However, the Government was unable to provide a breakdown by governorate; unofficial reports from the governorates vary. In January 1996, human rights activist Mamdouh Naklah filed challenging the constitutionality of the Ottoman decree. In 1998 an administrative court referred Naklah's case to a state body of legal experts. This decision was considered a setback,

The body had not issued an opinion in the case by year's end. As a result of these restrictions, some communities use private buildings and apartments for religious services.

In 1952 the Government seized approximately 1, 500 acres of land from the Coptic Orthodox Church and transferred title to the Ministry of Awqaf, which is responsible for administering religious trusts. In 1996 Awqaf Minister Hamdy Zaqzouq established a committee to address the issue. Based on the committee's recommendations, more than 800 acres have been returned to the Church since 1996. The committee continues to study the return of the remaining disputed property.

The Government continued its efforts to extend legal controls to all mosques, which by law must be licensed. The Government appoints and pays the salaries of the imams who officiate in mosques, and proposes thems for and monitors sermons. In September the Awqaf minister announced that the Government now controls 46,000 mosques and 12,000 zawaya ("corner" mosques, or mosques located within a multipurpose building). In an effort to combat Islamic extremists, the Government has announced its intention to bring all unauthorized mosques under its control by 2000. There are an estimated 70,000 mosques.

In July a state security court in Alexandria convicted 14 persons of heresy against Islam. The lead defendant Mohamed Ibrahim Mahfouz, was sentenced to 5 years in prison for claiming that he speaks directly to God and is at times transformed into God or the Prophet Mohamed. Seven of his followers were sentenced to 3 years in prison. Six of his followers were sentenced to 1 year in prison. Five other defendants were acquitted.

On November 11, the state security prosecutor arrested 50 persons in Cairo suspected of heresy against Islam. On November 15, the state security prosecutor released 30 of the detainees and is investigating charges of heresy against Islam and insulting Islam against the remaining 20. The lead defendant, a woman named Manal Wahid Mana'a, is accused of attempting to establish a new Islamic sect. She claims that the Prophet Mohamed speaks to her.

In August the Public Prosecutor reopened and expanded an investigation into police torture of mostly Christian detainees that took place during a 1998 police investigation of a double murder in the largely Coptic village of Al-Kush in Sohag governorate. The trial of Shayboub William Arsal, the man accused of murdering two Al-Kush residents in August 1998, began during the year. A court conducted hearings on the case on December 4 and 6. The next hearing was scheduled for January 2000. Related charges of witness tampering raised by the public prosecution in 1998 against Bishop Wisa and Arch-Priest Antonius have not been dropped.

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The Constitution provides for equal public rights and duties without discrimination due to religion or creed. For the most part, these constitutional protections are upheld by the Government. However, discrimination against Christians exists. There are no Christians serving as governors, university presidents, and deans. There are few Christians in the upper ranks of the security services and armed forces. Although there was improvement in a few areas, government discriminatory practices include : Suspected statistical underrepresentation of the size of the Christian population; bias against Christianity and Coptic history in the educational curricula; limited or biased coverage of Christian subjects in the media; failure to admit Christians into public university training programs for Arabic language teachers (because the curriculum involves study of the Koran); discrimination against Christians in the public sector; and discrimination against Christians in staff appointments to public universities.

The approximately 6 million Coptic Christians have been the objects of occasional violent assaults by the Islamic Group and other terrorists. However, there were no reports of terrorist attacks against Christians during the year. In incidents unrelated to terrorism, a Christian priest in Mahalla and a Christian priest in Dairout were attacked by individual extremists in August and September, respectively. The assailant in the first incident was charged with attempted murder and the case was referred to a criminal court. No trial date was set by year's end. The Government provided the priests with medical care. The Public Prosecutor charged Ahmad Fergally Ahmad Nasir and Ibrhaim Fergally Ahmad Nasir with premeditated murder after the Nasir brothers shot and killed a monk on September 2 in Assiyut governorate following a land dispute. The monk was affiliated with a monastery that rents thousands of acres of agricultural land to local tenants; the Nasir brothers were tenants on the land. The Public Prosecutor appealed the September 21 verdict of a criminal court that ruled that the Nasir brothers were guilty of an "attack leading to death" and sentenced them to 7 years in prison. The Public Prosecutor is seeking a conviction for premeditated murder. The case is pending before an appeals court. A December 31 dispute between a Christian shop owner and a Muslim customer in the village of Al-Kush in Sohag governorate escalated into violent exchanges between Christians and Muslims.

According to press reports, in October a State Security Emergency court began the trial of four members of a terrorist group from the upper (southern) city of Dairout accused of murder and attempted murder of policemen and Christians in the early 1990's. The trial was postponed until December, then later postponed again until February 2000. There was no information available about the identities of the defendants and the specific charges against them by year's end .

Some Christians have alleged that the Government is lax in protecting Christian lives and property. Security forces arrest extremists who perpetrate violence against Christians, but some members of the Christian community do not believe that the Government is sufficiently vigorous in its efforts to prevent attacks. They also maintain that the Government does little to correct nonviolent forms of discrimination, including its own.

There were reports of forced conversions of Coptic girls to Islam. Reports of such cases are disputed and often include inflammatory allegations and categorical denials of kidnaping and rape. Observers, including human rights groups, find it extremely difficult to determine whether compulsion was used, as most cases involve a Coptic girl who converts to Islam when she marries a Muslim boy. According to the Government, in such cases the girl must meet with her family, with her priest, and with the head of her church before she is allowed to convert. However, there are credible reports of government harassment of Christian families that attempt to regain custody of their daughters, and of the failure of the authorities to uphold the law (with states that a marriage of girl under the age of 16 is prohibited, and between the ages of 16 and 21 is illegal, without the approval and presence of her gurdian) in cases of marriage between an underage Christian girl and a Muslim boy.

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 II- COMMENTS ON THE REPORT

The report underestimated the census of the Copts in Egypt. The Egyptian section in the U.S. State Department has indicated many times that there is no credible census in Egypt. However, the Coptic church and many religious books have strong evidence that the Copts number more than 12 million Egyptian (20%). The Egyptian government has refused to allow the Coptic church to conduct census of its followers. However, the Coptic church census has been based on baptismal certificates.

The report overlooked the persecution of the Copts in Egypt is based on the Egyptian Constitution. The second article of the Constitution states that Islam is the state religion and the Shariaa (Islamic principles) are the Source of Legislation. Article 46 states that all the Egyptians are equal and that freedom of religion is respected. However, in a judicial case on April 8, 1980, the Administrative Court decided that Article 46 should be interpreted in the context of the second article. In other words, the second article should supercede Article 46 and is null and void if it contradicts the Islamic principles.

1- According to the Koran "there is no authority of a non-Muslim over a Muslim" (Surahs,54). The Surah states that, "Ye who believe ! Take not the Jews and the Christians for your friends and protectors. They are but friends and protectors to each other. And he amongst you that turns to them (For friendship) is of them. Verify God guideth not A people unjust." (a) Therefore a Christian should not be in a leadership position over a Muslim. Therefore in Egypt there is no Christian who is a Police Commissioner, an appointed province governor or his staff, city manager, university president, college dean, a state-controlled company manager, ambassador (except recently in Nepal and the Ivory Coast), or direct of an educational zone. Christians are denied appointments to government agencies and government-controlled companies. They are employed in the government if they convert to Islam. For more than a decade, the government has stopped appointing Christians in the judicial system, army and police. (b) Testimony in the court is considered as authority. Therefore, no Christian can testify in the court against a Muslim. On May 19, 1970 the Supreme Court of Alexandria decided that the Christians were infidels and could not testify against a Muslim in the court. Consequently, if a Muslim murdered a whole family in front of its head, he cannot testify against the murderers.

2- A non-Muslim could not inherit from a Muslim. If a man adopted Islam his non-Muslim children could not inherit from him. Also, if the children are below the age of 18, they must be Muslim or be considered as apostate. This was the decision of the Supreme Court of Alexandria on May 28, 1972.

3- The Muslims are instructed not to befriend Jews or Christians according to the Surah 5:54 which state, "O ye who believe! Take not the Jews and Christians for your friends." Therefore the Christians in Egypt are surrounded by hatred all over the country. Children in schools are taught that the Copts are infidels who should not be trusted and are not desirable elements in a Muslim society. Also, Christian children are forced to memorize Koranic verses which are demeaning to their faith.

4- In the Koran, Allah orders Muslims to terrorize non-Muslims on His behalf. According to the Koran, "I will instil terror into the hearts of the unbeliever, smite ye above their necks and smite all their finger tips off them. It is not ye who slew them; it was God." (Surah 8:13-17).

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Consequently, the Muslim fundamentalists murder Christians with impunity with the collaboration of the Egyptian security forces. As long as it is God who is responsible for murdering Christians, all the Muslims who have murdered Christians have been diagnosed as mentally disturbed by the government and set free. Since 1971 no one who murdered Christians or took possessions or property owned by Christians has been brought to justice. In Egypt both Copts and policemen have been murdered by the Muslim fundamentalists. However, the Copts have been murdered for their faith. In addition, Christian girls are regularly kidnapped and raped by Muslim fundamentalists, with the collaboration of the Egyptian security officials. They are forced to be concubines or prostitutes. The Koran says that God may forgive a person who forces his slave girl into prostitution (Surah 24:33). A prominent Islamic leader, Sheikh Mohamed El-Sharawii, who was awarded the highest medal in Egypt by President Mubarak stated that a non-Muslim female should be honored if she is raped by a Muslim man.

5- There is no apostasy principle in Islam. According to Surah 3:85 "If anyone desires a religion other than Islam, never it will be accepted of him." On May 28, 1972 the Supreme Court of Alexandria in Egypt decided that Sherrin Saleh who converted to Christianity and married a Christian man was legally dead! Therefore, the Muslims who convert to Christianity are imprisoned and tortured on the ground that they create sedition and disorder. Islam is a nationality and anyone who denounces Islam is considered as a traitor to the Nation of Islam. The Muslims talk about the Islamic Nation and not Islamic nations.

6- According to Mohamed's hadith (saying) no church should be built or reconditioned in the Islamic Nation. Today the Copts are prevented from building churches or repairing old ones. No churches have been built in the newly developed towns or districts for the past twenty years, officially creating pure Islam communities void of Christians .

In addition, the Egyptian government continues to seize the Coptic Church trust lands, hospitals and schools and has returned only small portions of the trust lands even after the court decisions declared that the seizures were illegal .

The Copts are living in fear of being murdered or property destroyed, their daughters being kidnapped, and being humiliated in their workplace and public places. They are surrounded by hatred from their Muslim citizens. Their situation is similar to that of the Jews during the Nazi domination in Europe before sending them to the gas chambers or the Armenians before they were massacred in Turkey in 1915.

We request that churches and individuals pray for the prosecuted Christians. Also, we request that they contact their senators and congressmen to support the "Freedom from Religious" bill and to make any financial aids to these countries conditional on the respect of the human rights of its Christian citizens.

 References:

The Holy Qur'an by A. Yousuf Ali. Published by Amana Corp., 1983. Printed by the permission of the director of the management of the Scientific Research, Interpretation and Guidance, Ryad, Saudi Arabia.

 III- OBJECTIVE EVIDENCE OF DISCRIMINATION AGAINST THE COPTS IN EGYPT:

The Copts are deprived of leadership positions according to the following list

Position	Muslims	Christians
Province Governor	100%	0%
President of University	100%	0%
College Dean	100%	0%
Police Commissioner	100%	0%
Army General	100%	0%
Newspaper Editor	100%	0%
Ambassador	99.4%	0.6%
Judicial System	99%	1%

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