G20 Human Rights Action

Islam is the official state religion of Egypt and practices that conflict with the Islamic law, Sharia, are prohibited.  The practice of Christianity or Judaism is not felt to be in conflict with the Sharia law. The government has made efforts toward greater religious pluralism and Christians are a significant minority who have served in government. Coptic Christmas (January 7) has been a national holiday since 2002.

That said, intolerance at a cultural and political level remains according to two US-based sources.  There have been disputes between Pope Shenouda III of Alexandria and the government. Christians have faced trouble with the building and repair of Churches.    Government regulations dating from Ottoman times require non-Muslims to obtain presidential decrees before building or repair a place of worship.  Although in 1999 President Mubarak issued a decree making repairs of all places of worship subject to a 1976 civil construction code, in practice Christians report difficulty obtaining permits. Once the permits have been obtained, Christians report being prevented from performing repairs or building by local authorities.

Construction and repair permits are not the only issues surrounding the Coptic community.  The most recent attack incident took place in Nag Hamadi on January 6^th 2010, the Coptic Christmas.  Seven parishioners were killed by a drive-by car as they were exiting evening mass.  The Nagaa Hamadi Church Massacre, as it became known, left 26 seriously injured in the small southern town.  During the funerals, greater mayhem erupted.  In surrounding towns and villages some 3,000 Muslims broke into Coptic properties, agricultural plots, and businesses, looting and setting fires to shops.  Across the country churches were burned.  It took police three days to show up and six weeks to arrest a single culprit.  These incidences have been wrongly portrayed as an “individual incident” of dispute among villagers.  This phrase has been so habitually used over the past 40 years that it is casually used as a practical joke among Egyptians. 

Human Rights Watch indicates issues that are of concern. For example they discuss how the law does not recognize conversion from Islam to other religions. They also mention strict laws against insulting Islam, Christianity or Judaism and detention for unorthodox sects of Islam. In 1960, Baha’i institutions and community activities were banned by Presidential decree of President Gamal Abdel Nasser. All Baha’i community properties, including Baha’i centers, libraries, and cemeteries, were subsequently confiscated. Baha’is are also not allowed to hold identity cards, and are thus, among other things, not able to own property, attend university, have a business, obtain birth, marriage and death certificates. This ban had not been rescinded as of 2003. In 2001 18 Egyptian Bahá’ís arrested on "suspicion of insulting religion" and were detained for several months without being formally charged.

On 6 April 2006, the Administrative Court ruled in favour of recognising the right of Egyptian Baha’is to have their religion acknowledged on official documents." However, on 15 May 2006, after a government appeal, the ruling was suspended by the Supreme Administrative Court. On December 16, 2006, only after one hearing, the Supreme Administrative Council of Egypt ruled against the Baha’is and stating that the government may not recognize the Baha’i Faith in official identification numbers. The ruling left Baha’is unable to obtain the necessary government documents to have rights in their country unless they lie about their religion, which conflicts with Baha’i religious principle. Baha’is cannot obtain identification cards, birth certificates, death certificates, marriage or divorce certificates, or passports. Without those documents, they cannot be employed, educated, treated in hospitals, or vote, among other things. In 2008, a Cairo court ruled that Baha’is may obtain birth certificates and identification documents, so long as they omit their religion on court documents.

Recently, there have been fresh difficulties and classes between police and Coptic Christians. These classes have resulted in people dying and jailed without any due just cause.

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As responsible citizens, it is our duty to voice the concerns of people who themselves cannot rise to defend their own rights. 

We ask that you take action and send the email below to the President

and Prime Minister of Egypt

His Excellency,

President Mohammad Hosni Mubarak
Abedine Palace Cairo, Egypt

Egypt is the most populous country in the Arab world and its capital, Cairo, the largest metropolis in Africa. Considered by many to be the political and cultural centre of the Arab world, Egypt is a physical link between the Middle East and Africa.  As a member of the Arab League (League of Arab States) founded in 1945, Arab States have looked up to Egypt for leadership.  This is evident by the fact that traditionally, the Secretary General of the League has traditionally been an Egyptian. 

As I follow news stories of persecution, it is astonishing to hear the name of Egypt come up in the news stories.  As Islam being the official state religion, the practices of Christianity or Judaism are not felt to be in conflict with the Sharia Law.  However, the Coptic Christians have faced numerous incidences of persecution by the general public and the government administration.  Although in 1999, you have subjected the building and repairs of Churches subject to the 1976 civil construction code, in practice Christians report that they face difficulty in obtaining these permits.  Once permits have been obtained, they report of being prevented from performing repairs or building by local authorities.  This is not the only form of prejudice faced by the Coptic community.  In 2010 and still to this date the difficulties that the Coptic Community in Egypt has faced are immense. There have been riots and killings of Copts in Egypt.

We ask the president of the Egyptian Republic to look into these matters and provide protection to Coptic Religious Minority also to take a stance that is in line with the standards set by the United Nations Human Rights Charter.

Send an email to the President and Prime Minister of Egypt and a copy will be send to the Canadian Prime Minister. Copy and paste the text on the bottom in the Email Form or, write your own email.

This email will be sent to the President and Prime Minister of Egypt.