There must be one national education system open to all citizens.
Specialized schools, preparing personnel for religious institutions must be kept only for that specific purpose, and related curricula need to be supervised to ensure that they abide by the spirit and letter of Human Rights standards.
f) Respect all religious and charitable endowments in equal and lawful manner, and return all seized assets and estates to the original proprietors.
g) Respect the fact that expatriate Egyptians, with dual citizenship, are loyal Egyptians and have under International Law the right to enjoy their political rights and freedoms as citizens of both their birthplace country and their adopted one(2).
5) Halt the Harassment of the Copts: a) Apprehend and punish, according to the law, those who attack or persecute Copts, and adequately compensate the victims.
The local authorities, who are usually capable of taking decisive measures when government officials or tourists are targeted, should not become lax (if not complacent) when it comes to Copts.
b) Eliminate reported bias by the police and other local authorities in cases of forced conversions to Islam.
Documented evidence indicates the systematic use by certain fanatic individuals and groups of various means of coercion and undue pressure, especially on weaker members of society such as young girls and the poor.
In that respect, modify the current law allowing the conversion (to Islam) of minors: Youngsters who require parental approval to marry if they are below twenty-one, can now convert as of the age of sixteen; an anomaly used by fanatics in their proselytizing zealotry.
c) Ensure that the conversion of any individual should, under NO circumstances, lead to coercing any other family member against their free will, nor forcing minors to follow the new faith of a converted parent.
d) End the practices seen in numerous Egyptian villages (often with the knowledge of local authorities) whereby "Jizyah" is imposed on Copts by fanatic groups, mixed with bandits.
If they fail to pay, or if they complain, their lives and properties become jeopardized.
In despair, many Copts have had to abandon their homes and flee to live in the slums of larger cities.
e) Objectively investigate incidents of abuse, humiliation, persecution and violations of the rights of Copts as humans, and punish those responsible for such incidents.
Outlook The above-stated objectives are non-sectarian and relate only to the most basic human and citizenship rights and, hence, should be acceptable to most reasonably-minded people.
They are believed to be quite actionable, yet will require tremendous efforts by a great number of good-willed people in order to become realities on the ground; for the hurdles are by no means minor.
Some of these are: 1- The higher authorities in Egypt have yet to admit in public the fact that the Copts are facing any particular problems.
When confronted, they keep repeating, instead, that the Copts are treated as they should (?!) In fact, it has been reported that the president personally holds such views and sees no need for any broad-based actions(3) or policy changes!(4) 2- The holding grip of Islamic and Islamist extremism on society and on the governmental apparatuses is, if anything, on the rise in Egypt.
Counter-actions by the ruling clique remain largely a matter of power struggle, rather than being based on a different progressive vision.
3- With rare exceptions, the media in Egypt are usually quick to brand any caller to resolve the Coptic issue as ‘sectarian’ at best, if not ‘working with the enemies to harm the national unity’, or outright ‘traitor’.
4- As the various political parties come-up with projects on political reform in the country, it is astounding (and quite saddening) to notice that little, if any, mention is devoted to the critical issues of building a secular state and resolving the Coptic issue.
5- Copts are pacifists and would not contemplate using violence in any form to attain their objectives.
Instead of being appreciated for such noble attitudes they, in a world where only violence seems to be effective, tend to be ignored as a negligible minority, of little weight.
6- Many Copts have, after centuries of relentless oppression, resigned themselves to the dhimmi status.
Some have even become dhimmis by choice, and admirably excel at the role of denying or even justifying flagrant discriminatory policies! The government usually rewards those by appointment to the posts it wants to ‘grant’ to Copts.
7- Attempts by some Copts to engage in dialogue with Egypt’s officials have so far been largely unsuccessful.
Initiatives have been simply ignored, or used to pacify those behind it with little real progress.
But despite such hurdles, and others, one should still retain certain optimism and strive for actions to be initiated today, even if the fruits may take a generation (or more!) before they come about.
The following points should be taken into account: 1- It is obviously the duty of ALL Egyptians, in full partnership of various sectors and groups of society, as well as other interested advocates of human rights the world over, to work towards achieving the above-stated objectives.
2- It is also obvious that Copts must assume their responsibility in effecting the needed change through full participation in building a better Egypt and rid themselves of their (true or perceived) passiveness.
Rights, no matter how fair and obvious, are usually never granted; but extracted.
3- A just and prompt solution to the Copts’ concerns and grievances in Egypt, within the country, by the relevant authorities is naturally preferable.
But one must also emphasize that in today’s world the issues of human rights, minorities’ and peoples’ rights are no longer a mere local or internal affair.
They are global concerns and occupy a prime position in international affairs.
Moreover; according to national and international laws, it is fully the right of Copts to seek foreign support, known as ‘influential mediation’ (which is not foreign intervention’ in the traditional sense) by the international community(5).
4- Dialogue is welcome, indeed necessary, with government officials and political leaders in Egypt as well as members of NGO’s, intellectuals, public figures and all those who care to appreciate the very basic right, the right of equality, for which the Copts are calling.
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