In less than one week three sectarian incidents took place in different Egyptian governorates. One of them is related to the sudden absence of a Christian woman in the governorate of Beheira, who was allegedly abducted by Muslims, but as she confessed later on, she said that she had left home for personal not for religious reasons. The second case involved a desperate attempt by a Christian family in the governorate of Fayoum to bring back their daughter after she converted into Islam and married a Muslim; while the third incident was a normal clash between two neighbors in Qena, which somehow morphed into a sectarian dispute because the parties involved happened to be religiously different. During these disconnected sectarian problems a number of people were injured and much property, mostly owned by Christians, was smashed. As an analyst, I am pessimistic about the near future of Muslim-Christian relations in Egypt. Instead of being a source of harmony and active development, religion has become a major cause of violence and unrest. Egyptians, who suffer from multiple daily life problems, have unconsciously turned into religion to vent their frustration, unable as they are, to combat their more deeply rooted enemies of poverty, authoritarianism and social disintegration. It is shocking that Egyptians still think of women as the guardians of dignity and honor in the family. If a Christian woman decides to convert to Islam because she falls in love with a Muslim, her family declares a state of war until the daughter returns. Their reaction has little to do with religion, but, as experience tells us, they are more concerned with avoiding a scandal in a society drowning in artificial religiously. On the other side of the pole, some Muslims believe that if they help convert more Christians to Islam, a large award awaits them in heaven. It is ludicrous that social integration is enslaved by such fanatic perceptions and backward social attitudes. Individuals have to be independent. This independence means they have the right to choose their religion and their partner in marriage. The problem is that Muslims feel that the concept of religious freedom means only one-way conversion from Christianity to Islam. A Muslim woman is not allowed to marry a Christian and it is legally and socially forbidden for Muslims to change their religion to any other faith. At worst, according to some Muslim scholars, the crime of apostasy from Islam is punishable by death. In Most cases, practically speaking, Muslims who dare to do so are left free, but are unable to proclaim their new faith or change their official documents in line with their new religious affiliation. In the 21st century, people have to free themselves from all constraints related to archaic ways of thinking or social dogma. Choosing religion is not a matter of bargaining or negotiation. Religious belief is not a decision to be made by the extended family. Both Muslims and Christians have to acknowledge that religious freedom is not a football match, where one side wins and the other loses. Freedom of conscious, freedom of association and freedom of thought are all God-given rights. To ease this sectarian tension, both religious communities must feel that the government is impartial and that the law is applied without bias. If Christians see that their Muslim countrymen are exercising their religious freedom without formal or informal harassment, they would automatically acknowledge that a conversion of a Christian to Islam doesn t require a collective overreaction. Here again, Muslims would recognize that the conversion of a Christian to Islam doesn t mean anything beyond a personal choice in a religiously free society, hence no sectarian clashes. In a free society people don t ask each other about their religious denominations. But we are not, a free society, but one which dictates what people should believe in and how they practice their faiths. Religious freedom is a far-fetched dream and sectarian clashes because of conversion have become a hallmark of our society. Today, religious institutions and clergymen on both sides have to be courageous enough and give up their long-held rhetoric of religious superiority and the denial of religious freedom. Each day we announce the influence of international changes on our economy, why then do we deny the global tendency towards religious freedom? Are we integrated in global economy while insulated from global culture? Sameh Fawzy is an Egyptian journalist, PhD researcher, and specialist on governance and citizenship.
