The events that started Saturday night, when Copts protesting in Maspero came under attack, were ominous. So was the earlier torching of two churches in Imbaba. Such events give lie to our whole narrative of reassurance, our claim that we're above such frictions, that we can stick together no matter what. At present, we are vulnerable, torn, and self-destructive. Some say that what happened was due to rumour. Some say there was a smoking gun. Either way, we're in deep trouble. The only conclusion is this: We need a civic state. Sectarian tensions have gotten out of hand because we were too complacent and late in creating a civic state. Can it bring peace to troubled souls? Can it bring wisdom to unwieldy masses? The answer is yes. A civic state is one that protects the rights of all citizens, especially their religious freedom of worship. No religion likes to see its followers abandon it. In every religion, a range of punishment awaits those who walk away. So stop asking the imams, popes, and priests to show mercy. Leave the matter to the state, because the state is the one with a duty to protect citizens and their freedom of worship. Egypt has slightly bigger population than that of France or Germany, two countries in which interfaith problems often erupt. If an Arab man assaults a French girl, or a Turkish girl falls in love with a German boy, we don't see mosques demolished or churches burned. Why? Because there is a law that applies to all, and a state to enforce it. Despite the enormity of what happened, there are some who still claim that the proponents of a secular state are up to no good. Well, the proof is in the pudding. As days pass, there is more evidence of sectarian trouble, not less. We used to complain about "isolated incidents". Now people warn of a "civil war". No one is pushing the country towards anything, but some things have to be done. We live in a time when governments must respect the rights of their citizens and treat them equally. These are not foreign agendas, as dictators claim. These are legitimate rights that all people are willing to die for. Our whole revolution has been about the civic state, and yet there seems to be many who want to backtrack. We have no shortage of sectarian foment in this country. First, it was Al-Koshh; then came Naga Hammadi, Al-Omrania, the Two Saints Church, Atfeeh, Imbaba and Maspero. Every single time we think the worst is over, and time proves us wrong. And every time, calls for a civic state are repeated. In 1972, following a deeply troubling sectarian clash, Gamal Al-Oteifi led a committee that produced a report calling for educational curricula to be cleansed of religious prejudice and for a unified law to be passed covering all places of worship. Nothing happened. Every time an incident occurs, we hear the same words repeated, like a mantra, once again: citizenry, Al-Oteifi, and education. During the revolution, everyone seemed committed to a civic state. But now the Muslim Brotherhood is backsliding. The Brotherhood supreme guide has said that democracy and a civic state cannot speak louder than Sharia. The Salafis, for their part, make no secret of their contempt for the civic state. At present, the civic state is like a stranger standing at our door. We're not letting him in and we're not sending him away. We cannot send him away because this would be cultural suicide, and we're not allowing him in because we don't have the guts. Fearful of confrontations, averse to quarrels, we're having trouble making up our minds. But the price of waiting is high, and often bloody. This is why we have to stop beating about the bush. We need a civic state, and we need it now.
