Are the concerns of Copts following the gains the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood made in the parliamentary elections justified? Gihan Shahine finds some answers That the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) has doubled the number of its seats in parliament, forming the largest opposition bloc, concerns apparently not just members of the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP). Many Copts, not to mention secularists and liberals, have also expressed fear that the group's rise to power will ultimately turn Egypt into a conservative Islamic state where Copts will be treated as second-class citizens and women would be discriminated against. Only one out of 50 Coptic candidates who ran in the parliamentary polls won a seat -- probably for no reason other than being a minister -- increasing speculation that a growing sectarian environment is sweeping the country where voters cast their ballots according to religious rather than political affiliations. The speculation found expression in a recent controversial US-based conference which called for greater US pressure on Egypt, and restrictions on Washington's aid to Cairo, in light of alleged persecution of the nation's Coptic Orthodox Christians. Prominent Coptic thinker and urban planner Milad Hanna was one of the first to express Coptic fears out loud when he told the local press, "If the Muslim Brothers come to power, Egypt will be an Islamic state like Iran and Sudan." Hanna was quoted saying, "The day the Muslim Brothers win more than 50 per cent, the rich Copts will leave the country and the poorer Copts will stay. Perhaps some of them will be converted... I hope I die before this happens." He reiterated his assertion that "Copts are Egyptian to the core and their ties with Muslims will remain as strong as ever." Prominent Coptic thinker Rafiq Habib said the Coptic elite and businessmen, as well as secularists and liberals, are the ones most worried that the rise of the Brotherhood to power would put their interests at stake. "The vagueness of the Brotherhood's agenda and the fierce campaign the state and secular media are waging to distort their image has further boosted widespread misconceptions about the group," Habib explained. "Many Copts, for instance, confuse between [the discourse of] the Brotherhood and [that of] militant Islamists, although the two are totally different," Habib added. "There are many extreme edicts that Copts mistakenly think were issued by the Brotherhood." Many analysts speculate that the NDP has been blowing up such fears to garner the support of Coptic voters and to persuade the United States that the rise of the Brotherhood "would lead to the persecution of the country's Coptic community the US claims to defend," Habib added. Leading MB member Abdel-Moneim Abul- Futuh argues, "Those whose interests run counter to [the Brotherhood] use [the banned group] to scare Copts," a plan that Abul-Futuh insists "has largely failed to fool the public who have direct contact with members of the Brotherhood." Abul- Futuh mentioned Brotherhood candidate Saad El-Hosseini who reportedly received the support of Coptic voters in the constituency of Mehalla. "We always had a clear stance towards our Coptic brothers which puts them on an equal par with Muslims in all rights and duties of citizenship," Abul-Futuh said. For many Copts, however, the Brotherhood has been using what is described as "elastic" and "vague" terminology that may imply sinister intentions. "Up until now the Brotherhood has not declared any real or clear political agenda," said key Kifaya Party member George Isaak . Not that Isaak is worried. "I can't be happier about the gains the Brotherhood made in the [parliamentary] polls because its performance in the parliament will clear up much of the vagueness surrounding its discourse and show its real capabilities and influence now that it need no longer act as the martyr of the nation." The group's slogan -- "Islam is the solution" -- has been a major bone of contention. Many Copts were incensed, believing the slogan implied they were being treated as second-class citizens who would be forced to succumb to Islamic Shari'a law in a predominantly Islamic nation. The Brotherhood, for its part, repeated assertions that its slogan meant that Islamic civilisation is the reference of a "non-discriminatory" agenda, which gives precedence to citizenship. Copts insist the use of the word "Islam" makes them feel excluded and, as Hanna argued, "would immediately mean giving precedence to religion over citizenship. "Egypt should be a secular country where all citizens are treated equally regardless of their religious affiliations," Hanna insisted. Sameh Fawzi, managing editor of the weekly Watani newspaper, argued, "Citizenship as a term was largely absent in the Brotherhood's official statements, which instead referred to Copts as Ahl Zimma (non-Muslims enjoying the protection of Muslims). "This Islamisation of the state would reduce both Copts and Muslims to single blocs succumbing to a unified Islamic project and such radical edicts like those published in the group's official magazine in 1980 which nearly banned Copts from establishing churches and joining the army," Fawzi said. Although the edicts were reportedly issued more than two decades ago, Fawzi remains worried that the same person who issued them, Abdullah El-Khatib, "still holds a prominent position in the group". Abul-Futuh, however, countered that the group had "made it clear in an official statement issued in 1994 that citizens are the source of power and are equal in all rights and duties regardless of religion and gender. "No law, no matter how divine, can be enforced without the public's consent," Abul-Futuh told the Weekly. "We respect the Christian creed and would never impose any law that would prohibit Copts from practicing their religious rituals." He mentioned the fact that three Copts had been working in the political office of the group's founder Hassan El-Banna as further proof that the Brotherhood was never anti-Coptic. That said, however, Habib insisted the Brotherhood "now has a bigger responsibility to make its well-intended principles known to the public and declare a clearer, more specific agenda using terms which do not confuse. "Copts, for their part, should engage in a dialogue with the Brotherhood to get a clearer picture of their beliefs and agenda away from antagonist media propaganda," Habib said.
