NEW YORK: On Sunday mornings, Bergen Avenue in Jersey City is teeming with Egyptian men wearing dark suits, women with their shoulders covered and children in their Sunday best. Standing in little tight little groups, they are greeting each other in English and Arabic alternating between shaking hands and hugging like they hadn't seen each other in years. These Egyptians are Coptic Christians, on their way in to St. George and St. Shenouda Coptic Orthodox Church for Sunday Mass. Most of these Copts fled Egypt fearing for their lives and the lives and futures of their children. With the election of President Mohamed Morsi, a member of the Muslim Brotherhood and the very Islamic constitution now in effect in Egypt, 5 percent of Egyptians are at risk of being dangerously sidelined. This was heightened over a month ago when Morsi sentenced seven Copts to death in absentia. They can never return to Egypt safely and many Copts living in America fear the same might be true for them. Egypt is a country divided by religion and with an Islamic leader in power it could take a turn for the worst for Copts. This religious divide is so powerful that it made its way to Jersey City. “The discrimination the Copts face is leading to the exodus of Christianity from Egypt, where it has survived for more than 2000 years," said Mark Iscandar, a New York University student of Egyptian decent and Coptic Christian living in Jersey City. According to the PEW Center's report on global Christianity published in December 2011, no other country in the Middle-East North-African region has a higher number of Christians then Egypt. Their census report stated that 4.3 million of the 80 million people in Egypt are Christian and about 9 out of 10 of those Christians are Coptic. However, the census also showed that this number declined over several years. One of the reasons for this decline is the dangerous climate of Egypt for Christians. “Muslims think that we don't believe in God, it is like their crusade," said Sam, 43. Sam is a major property owner in Sharm el-Sheik, Egypt who moved to New York several years ago to provide for his family. He's a Coptic Christian with a newborn baby only a few months old who was born an American. According to a statement by Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy in a Reuters article in September 2012, the community is home to as many as 25,000 members of the Coptic church. Mayor Healy was unavailable for comment on the Copts in his community. Even though they may have escaped the crippling religious climate of Egypt, the Copts living in the US deal with a similar religious split among immigrants in Jersey City. Marina Megalla, 19, is studying Biology at New Jersey Institute of Technology and is an active member and Sunday school teacher at St. George & St. Shenouda Church. Former Coptic pope HH St. Shenouda III baptized her. She said she sees a strong divide between the Egyptian youth in New Jersey. “We only associate if we are in class together, however we do not partake in major activities together," said Megalla. “The tension is not as bad as it is in Egypt, however it should be better since we are Egyptian brother and sisters." But this religious divide makes it difficult for Egyptians to display their national pride. “Everyone that came in as immigrants, they pinned the Christians in the churches and Muslims in the mosques and for that reason there is no Egyptian ‘club'," said Ramy Toma, a New York University student and Christian Egyptian. Toma, unlike Megalla, has many Muslim friends at school but most of them are not Egyptian. This uneasiness between the two religions seems to not span across nationalities. “I don't really agree with it, I have nothing against anyone, but when it comes to us, were very concerned with religion and so there's a divide," said Toma. Many Coptic Egyptians came to the US seeking asylum and were granted refugee-status visas. “Copts, the native peoples of Egypt, face numerous racist and discriminatory acts," said Iscandar. “They are not allowed to build churches or even make renovations to current churches without receiving government permits which take years to process and are often refused." But in Little Egypt in Astoria, Queens some Muslim-Egyptians disagree with this refugee status. “They only give the idea that they are discriminated in Egypt, just because they want to live here," said Moustafa El Sayed, chef and owner of Mombar restaurant on Steinway Street Astoria. Steinway Street, often referred to as the Little Egypt of New York City, has been filling up with Egyptians restaurants, hookah lounges and grocery stores since 1987 when Ali El Sayed, Moustafa's brother, opened the first restaurant serving Egyptian cuisine and hookah called Kebab Café. But in Jersey City the need the immigrants had for asylum in the US was real. “Since Mubarak took power in 1981, over 500,000 Coptic girls were kidnapped and forced to convert and marry their kidnappers," said Iscandar. This number has been supported by Coptic organizations like the American Coptic Union, but there is has been no official documentation of the exact number of Coptic women that suffered this fate. But many Coptic women have spoken out against this brutality. On July 22, 2011, the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe had a hearing about minority Coptic girls at risk in Egypt citing many examples or girls lured away by captors, attacked on the street and kidnapped for being “enemies of Islam" and forced to convert. But the revolution that overthrew Hosni Mubarak in February 2011 brought little hope for the Copts. “Since we are a minority, we are always treated differently. It is a lot harder for a Coptic to get accepted to schools, to apply for a job, and to live a normal day to day life," said Megalla, as she described the discrimination she feels when she returns to Alexandria, Egypt. Those day-today things will get even more difficult with Morsi's 63-page constitution. It has one bottom line: yes to implementing Sharia law. According to Foreign Policy in an article published December 13, 2012, article 219 in the constitution's draft is “jumble of phrases that seems to tie Egypt's constitution to traditional Islamic jurisprudence." “It's only for the Muslim brotherhood. It makes the president seem like a god in their eyes; it's a problem of no education," said Sam. This will make the division between Islam and Coptic Christianity acceptable. Morsi's opposition stated that the document would give religious authorities and Morsi, almost complete control over legislation, human rights and influence daily life like dress code, diet and freedom of expression. The new constitution is said to guarantee freedom of religion to a certain degree but all legislation with will be tied to Sharia law, which is to be interpreted by Al-Azhar, an Islamic university. “It contains very vague statements such as ‘protecting the family,' which is code for religious patriarchy," said Iscandar. While this might worsen the living situation for Copts, those in Jersey City have developed a strong, supportive community. “The Coptic community in Jersey City is very closely knitted together, we try our best to give back to our community and lend a helping hand to one another," said Megalla. According to Megalla, one of their major volunteer projects is the HH Pope Shenouda III Charity And Coptic Community Services, which offers family-orientated programs. They also hold many events and activities, such as retreats for the youth and sport clubs that preach tolerance and acceptance to get younger Copts involved in their faith and hopefully bridge the religious divide for future generations. “The Coptic Church plays a major role in my life," said Megalla. BN
