CAIRO: Morris Sadek, one of the most hated men in Egypt. A controversial figure for his fiery statements against Islam and Muslims and for his demands of international protection on Egypt's Coptic minority. His name was recently mentioned in the declaration of the symbolic Coptic state in the United States. He conducted a number of talks and meetings with Congressional representatives, asking for US intervention in Egypt. As a result of his work, his Egyptian citizenship has been withdrawn. He denounces the Egyptian and Arab uprisings and supports the Bashar al-Asaad regime in Syria. Sadek lives with his family in the US as a religious refugee. Bikyamasr.com interviewed Sadek via email. First, you protested outside the White House to force international protection over Egypt? International protection means forming a legal plan that goes along with the United Nations' international declaration for minorities and presenting it to the Egyptian government to be applied. Egypt uses foreign referees for its football matches and thus accepts. Egypt sent troops to Kosovo to protect the Muslim minority there. Therefore we are persing a decision by Congress to protect Copts after they have been slaughtered, blown to pieces outside of their churches, their daughter's kidnapped and forced to convert to Islam, their houses of worship set on fire, and complicating the procedures to build new ones, adding to that a complicit legal system that slacks in investigating crimes committed against Copts as well as excluding them from government jobs and not putting a quota for Copts in the parliament and insisting that Islam is the religion of the State and ignoring *25 million people who believe in Christianity and having the Arabic language, the language of the invaders, as the official language and *ignoring the Coptic language. Muslims insist on keeping Sharia, or Islamic law, as a source of legislation and Copts refuse things such as cutting a thief's hand and whippings. It [Sharia] also diminishes women and considers them cursed and unclean. Therefore, we want an American envoy to make sure that the following happens in Egypt: Enhancing religious freedoms for minorities such as Copts, Baha'is and Shiites. Also, to monitor religious prejudices, provide social and economic security and to work with the government to prevent laws that lean towards religious prejudices. News reports were talking about the declaration of a Coptic state in the US, please shed light on that and did you ask people to immigrate and join you? The idea of a Coptic State came after the March referendum that approved keeping Sharia as the main source of legislation, ignoring the Coptic people who reject Islam and Sharia and the idea behind establishing a Coptic state in Egypt is to have Coptic courts; they were cancelled by former president Gamal Abdul Nasser in 1956; Coptic religious schools and universities like al-Azhar; involving Copts in all governmental institutions with a percentage not less than 25 percent, including the police academy and the army and perhaps establishing a parallel Coptic Government working hand in hand with the central government to protect Copts rights. Egyptian Copts have welcomed the idea of a Coptic state in Egypt, and as for the ignorant Copts, agents of the Arabic invasion who disagree with us, I can say we despise you and Muslims who refuse it are afraid that Copts will be masters in their own country, therefore Muslims' opinions have no weight internationally. We are not asking for immigration or division, we only ask for the sharing of power and the founders of the Coptic nation are working on taking the next constitutional and legal steps necessary. We have already chosen the flag and the national anthem. Your Egyptian nationality has been recently withdrawn, how did you feel about that and will you fight the decision? I felt I was hit by lighting when I heard the news. The Egyptian nationality is my flesh and bones and the bones and the graves of my ancestors are in Egypt. Nationality is not just a piece of paper and I defend my Coptic community's rights in Egypt and my weapons are words. I have repeatedly attacked former president Hosni Mubarak and prayed to God to revenge us yet he didn't withdraw my citizenship. The current ruling power, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, had caused a scandal upon itself after many American newspapers reported the news that I lost my citizenship because of my opinions. The British never did it, but the Arab invaders did. However, I am fighting the decision and presented an appeal in front of the high administrative court. What do you say to those accusing you of trading the Coptic cause for personal gain and fame? I am a law man. I have a license to practice law from Egypt and a consulting license from the US and wrote many legal books that high courts in Egypt read and consult. These books will give me enduring fame, but I don't need fame because it doesn't help and as for financial issues, I have started a human rights organization in Egypt and have refused American funds before and all I ask for is freedom for my people. You have declared your support to the Syrian regime and President Bashar al-Asad. Why? Al-Assad is facing the Muslim Brotherhood and other terrorist groups killing in the name of Allah, therefore he is fighting them and in Egypt we faced the same threats before and fought against it. Asaad didn't kill Christians or Muslims and never burned a church or bomb a car parked in front of one. There are many Christian ministers and ambassadors in Syria and Muslims and Christians are given equal employment and Christians could open a church without permission and if Asaad's regime is gone, so will the Syrian Christians, like what happened to the Copts in Egypt. This is ultimately what Saudi Arabia and Qatar wants. They were behind the uprisings in Egypt, Tunisia and Libya so the Muslim Brotherhood gain power all over the Middle East. So this is how you view the Egyptian revolution? I don't see a revolution, I see chaos, economy collapsing and the fall of tourism and loud voices that brought Egypt back to the middle-ages. I see Saudi flags flapping in my country and idiots calling for war and others cutting off an ear of a Coptic man and other violent incidents happening in front of the Egyptian army. I see Hamas invading my country, digging tunnels and the revolutionists are not closing these tunnels and ridding our land from this Hamasian invasion. It's very sad. You are reputedly accused of defaming Muslims and Islam and in some cases you are called an extremist. How do you respond to this? I don't defame any religion and I love all Muslims and I have Muslim friends and I have never carried a gun or bomb or incited young people to blow themselves up and kill innocent people to please their alleged God and win virgins and so on from these superstitions. I am a thinker and I use my head and my pen and I read and educate myself. The life of freedom we lead in the US made me study and read, so if studying and voicing one's opinion is extremism, then I am one. My enemy is the God of Islam that overstepped on my legislations and my faith and said that those who believe that Jesus is the son of God are infidels and rejects the crucifixion. Islam defames women and those who believe in other religions and Jesus, glory to him, forgave people on the cross, including women, and said that who doesn't have a sin, throw the first stone. * The Christian community in Egypt, by most estimates is between 7 and 10 million people. BM
