[yaweeka]

عادل جندي

Arabic


Towards the Restoration of Full Citizenship Rights to Copts in Egypt

Adel Guindy

A great deal has been said over the past several years concerning the Copts, and the harsh situation they are facing in Egypt.
But one must be careful on how to diagnose the issue.
Their problem cannot be categorized as one of ‘terrorism’: Even if Copts paid a heavy price and had a disproportionate share of victims, they were not the only ones to face the acts of extremist groups.
Besides, and this is more important, some of the atrocities that befell them (such as in El-Kosheh) were actually perpetrated by ‘normal’ people, sometimes neighbours, who had acted despicably because of incitement and other reasons linked to a prevailing culture of hate.
Nor could the problem be seen, in Human Rights terms, as one of a population group seeking the right of self-determination.
The Copts have always maintained that they stand for a united Egypt where all citizens live side by side in peace, harmony and equality.
They are, as is often said, part of Egypt’s ‘national fabric’, but they do expect to be treated on an equal par with their fellow-citizens.
Theirs is a case of a religious minority looking for full recognition and integration, enjoying all rights and duties, in their country, while preserving their cultural heritage.
(This, incidentally, is an ancestral heritage to all modern-day Egyptians, and hence is not simply the prerogative of Copts).
In other words, the prognosis of the Copts’ situation should, in fact, be summed-up under one heading: being deprived of full citizenship rights in their homeland.
In ‘medical’ terms this could be restated as Rights of Citizenship Deficiency Syndrome (RCDS)! Some would say that Egypt is facing a myriad of problems: the ‘Coptic issue’ being only one of them, but not regarded (by the government or the society at large) among the most important at that; as Egypt eventually embraces modernity and develops economically and politically, the problem of Copts would be resolved.
There may be some truth in such claims, but one must quickly emphasize three points.
First, is to reject the fallacy that the Coptic issue could automatically (or magically!) be cured, at some undefined point in the future, without specifically addressing its roots now! Second, is that progress could, and should, occur on multiple fronts, with a continuous feedback process positively supporting the other fronts.
(For example, progress on human rights standards in general, on women’s empowerment and on the Coptic issue, would certainly be mutually supportive).
Third, is that tangible progress in resolving the Coptic issue would, in itself, be an indication that Egypt is successfully embracing modernity.
The reverse is also true: Egypt cannot pretend to be progressing nor embracing modernity, without fundamentally curing itself from that ‘RCDS’! Based on the above-stated ‘prognosis’, we can proceed to propose a ‘pre******ion’.
To be specific as much as possible, we offer here a number of remedial actionable points to help cure the problem.
Promoting them as objectives, will inherently promote the general good of Egypt, as they will help make it a modern (i.
e.
pluralistic, secular, democratic) and prosperous nation, well worthy of its seven millennia history.
1) Implement Political and Constitutional Reform: a) Modify Egypt’s Constitution to emphasize the secular nature of the State, the absolute equality of rights and duties and political participation of all citizens irrespective of belief, or any other distinctive traits.
The constitutional change making Islamic Jurisprudence (Shari’a) the principal source of legislation, which was introduced in 1981 against national opposition from Copt and Muslim liberal intellectuals alike, has opened the door to relentless political violence endangering the stability of the country, harming its national unity, dangerously mixing religion and politics and rendering the Copts to a position akin to the historical Dhimmi status.
In fact Egypt, Yemen and Qatar (!!) are the only three Arab countries that make such a stipulation.
(Saudi Arabia has no constitution other than the Quran).
Consequently, this makes Egypt the ONLY country in the world which imposes the religious code of the majority on its considerable religious minority.
Imposing Shari’a-inspired laws is at the same time discriminatory and goes counter to the established universal human rights values.
b) Explicitly state in the constitution that Universal Human Rights Declarations take precedence over any other constitutional or legal texts.
Enshrine values of guaranteed liberties, to ensure that democracy would mean, in practical terms, the participation of all social groups (especially those marginalized) as key bases for the socio-political reforms that Egypt needs; and not simply a ‘ballot-box’ exercise in demagoguery eventually leading merely to the legalization of a (theocratic) dictatorship.
c) Abolish all laws, regulations or procedures that restrict the right to freedom of conscience, or those applied only to non-Muslims limiting their right to freely practise their faith.
The "Hamayoni decree" (which dates back to 1856, during the Ottoman era), and all related humiliating conditions, on the building of places of worship, is a prime example.
d) Replace the current policies of treating ‘matters related to Copts’ as a ‘security issue’, with a transparent organism under the direct authority and responsibility of the President, who should be a president of ‘all Egyptians’ and the guardian of the national unity.
Such national unity must not mean the ‘tyranny of the (religious) majority’.
e) Lay down legal rules and measures to eliminate all forms of discrimination based on religion, in matters related to legal or administrative procedures, education, culture, employment and promotion.
f) The State should strictly respect its secular nature, and consequently pull out from, and avoid meddling in, all activities of religious nature or related to promoting a particular religion.
The nature and role of institutions such as the syndicates and professional societies must be kept strictly in the civil domain.
2) Change the Climate of Intolerance: a) Ensure that all school curricula are free of denigrating references to non-Muslims and to their religions; and encourage the acceptance and respect of the ‘different other’.
Mandatory courses in human rights and should be taught in all public schools.