CAIRO: Last Monday the People s Assembly approved 34 constitutional amendments to be subjected to a public referendum Monday. Of those none address the concerns of Egypt's Coptic minority, say prominent public figures. Article 2 states that the Sharia is the principle source of legislation, a fact decried by many Egyptians, both Coptic and Muslim. To prepare for the referendum, the Coptic Watani newspaper solicited 172 signatures from a number of Coptic and Muslim intellectuals, including physicians, artists, and other highly regarded social figures on March 11. They expressed solidarity against all religious implications in Egypt's legal system. Yehya El Gamal, an expert on constitutional law, Gamal Al Banna, a Muslim scholar, Ahmed Okasha, head of Egypt s Institute of Psychiatry, and film director Dawood Abdel Sayed were among the advocates who pushed for amending Article 2. One Coptic judge, who preferred to remain anonymous, believes that the referendum is a step forward because we re getting rid of the country s schizophrenia. I stand by the fact that our constitution is fused with a lot of loaded material and that it should change. But for now, we have to move in small steps. But he expressed displeasure with the constitution as it stands. I m not happy with Article 2 and I m sure any Copt you talk to would be just as unhappy, he said. He claimed that Article 2 tells all Egyptians, including non-Muslims, to recognize Sharia as the principle source of legislation. Sherif Doss, a fellow of the American College of Physicians, agrees. Article 2 gives leeway to Egypt s fanatic individuals to interpret Sharia in a way that that would undermine Egyptian Christians, he told The Daily Star Egypt. Many Copts complain of discrimination especially when it comes to building churches. In Beni Sueif governorate, Doss and his family members made several attempts to build a small church near Nazlat Hanna Al Fasha, where half the town s population is Coptic. Yet for the past 46 years, we ve been denied permission to use our grounds to build the church because of security reasons. We re still not aware of what these security reasons are, said Doss. Although there are no legal obstacles to building places of worship for Copts, bureaucratic hurdles often impede the implementation of the law. By comparison, building a mosque requires much less legal hassle. Doss believes that Egyptian authorities' failure to provide accurate statistics about the number of Copts in the country, distorts the size of the population to deprive Christians of their fundamental freedom of religious expression. There are 3,000 churches in Egypt versus 100,000 mosques. Are we reallyonly three percent of the population? Despite controversy, says Doss, the Coptic Church of Alexandria led by Pope Shenouda III, has continually avoided any political controversy over Article 2. Days before Egypt held its first presidential elections in September 2005, the Pope along with his clergy of bishops and patriarchs, released a statement encouraging Copts to vote for President Mubarak. He [Pope Shenouda] urges Copts not to worry about the semantics of the Egyptian constitution. Instead, he wants specialists take care of that problem, said the Coptic judge. Historically and theoretically, the Coptic Orthodox Pope has been the representative for Egyptian Copts, but his opinion does not necessarily reflect the opinion of every Copt, said Sameh Farid, Dean of Cairo University s Medical School, to The Daily Star Egypt. At Cairo University I see no problems of social integration between Copts and Muslims. We are a microcosm of Egypt as we mirror Egyptian society, he said. But Cairo s political make up shows otherwise. According to Doss, Copts have struggled to obtain high ranking positions in the public sphere, and the marginal number of Coptic delegates in the People s Assembly offers little representation for them. However, not all Coptic intellectuals believe that Article 2 needs to be amended. Eminent Coptic scholar and writer Milad Hanna told The Daily Star Egypt that the second article is the essential reflection of Egypt s unified identity. You can t deny the fact that we are living in a Muslim state. Copts and Muslims are weaved into one fabric. We have been living together in harmony for centuries, Hanna added. Let us not create sectarian conflict. Louis Grace, former editor of Sabah El Kheir magazine and prominent Coptic cultural figure told The Daily Star Egypt: You cannot deny the progress throughout Mubarak s reign in the improvement of Coptic rights as citizens of Egypt. The very fact that there is debate over more rights for the Copts is testimony that the Coptic voice is being heard. Hoda Awad, member of the Egyptian Council on Foreign Affairs stated to The Daily Star Egypt that the Coptic cause is not bound by the limitations of Article 2 or any other part of the constitution. she said. Improving the status of the Coptic political identity in Egypt will depend on how these laws are implemented and practiced. It s not necessarily the wording of the articles, it s the mentality that needs to be changed, she added. Awad sites the important role of educational institutions, media and civil society organizations whose responsibility it is to teach equality between all religious faiths. The constitution isn t the decisive factor that will pave the destiny of Copts in Egypt, she said.
