2000 cOPTIC SYMPOSIUM ON THE REVOLUTION OF 1952 AND COPTIC RIGHTS

edited December 1969 in Faith Issues
These are the results of the sympossium carried out in 2000 about the 1952 Revolution in Egypt. The year Egypts Copts faced great massacre. Here was the conclusion.

Demand Equal Rights for the Copts


THE COPTS DEMAND JUSTICE:



1. The Egyptian Government should implement a policy of separation of Church and State by the abolition of the second article in the Egyptian constitution that states "Egypt is a Muslim Country and the Quran is the main source of legislation." Article 40 states that "All citizens are equal", however the second article supersedes the 40th.



2.The Copts are 15 million but are represented in only 1% of elected and appointed Government positions; we demand fair political representation of Christians in Egypt by designating 25% of the electoral districts for strictly Coptic candidates, similar to the current system wherein 50% of the districts are closed to any candidates except farmers and laborers.



3. The Copts demand 2 of the following 4 top leadership positions to be held by Copts: Vice President, Defense Minister, Interior Minister, and Prime Minister.



4. The Egyptian Government should promote equal representation by advocating for 25% representation in the Popular Council and in all Professionals Bars and Associations



5. People who have committed crimes against the Copts, such as massacres against Copts, kidnappings, rapes, and forced conversion of Coptic girls (as young as 12 years old) must be brought to justice. There are reports of police protection given to the abductors.



6. Police officers who falsified reports after torturing Copts and converts to Christianity must be held accountable for their crimes. Mubarak’s 23-year reign has seen 30 massacres against the Copts, 100s of rapes and forced conversion to Islam, and no one has ever been convicted of any such crime.



7. The Egyptian Government should end its policy of discrimination in building and repairing churches – currently, applications for building and repair of churches MUST be approved by the National Security Police, and are rarely approved. This approval policy, along with the second article of the Egyptian Constitution, make the Copts not only strangers in the eye of Muslims, but also, second class citizens in their own home land



8. The Egyptian Government should compel the media to stop propagating hate towards Christians and should abolish the discriminatory practices of the educational system, admitting all qualified candidates into Al-Azhar University, regardless of their religion.



9. Mubarak’s Government MUST stop the torture and imprisonment of Muslim converts and allow anyone with an immigration visa to leave Egypt safely.



10. The Egyptian Government must grant equal air time to the Copts on the government controlled TV and Radio stations so that they may broadcast their beliefs to their people. The 15 million Copts living in Egypt pay for TV and Radio with their taxes, and they should have time allocated for broadcasting.

Comments

  • I seen something very similar to that on another website...

    I keep thinking about this: would it be wrong if Copts, in general, showed a small uprising to these persecutions?

    just wondering...

    [move]Blessed is Egypt, Land of the Copts and Altar to the Lord[/move]
  • If we uprise against the government then we are not any better than they are!!! Copts are having a great honor by carrying their persecution cross and following Christ our Lord. We need to demand for our rights but in a peacful way, to show that we are correct, not afraid, but in the mean time are peacful and not harmful, not to others nor to our society. We also have to show love towards our enemies. May be try to win them to our side??
    And God works in mysterious ways. Remember; it was only through the persecution of Copts and our church that our grandfathers passed the true apostolic faith to our generations. If our church have lived through the ages so comforted and easy life, may be we would have ended with divisions and herecies and lost the esentials of Chrisitnity like most western churches did?!!
    God Bless
  • Never thought about it that way...thanx
  • The coptic symposium isn't suggesting anything of that nature
  • Hey,
    We all know that even after this, most of these ammendmentds are ignored. I think that the copts need to ban together with christians in other countries such as Syria, so that they dont appear like a minority.

    Just a suggestion.

    -Pete
  • Good suggestion...but thats close to impossible with the restriction on them.
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