CAIRO: At its first Egypt conference, the Union of European Coptic Organizations for Human Rights (UECOHR) called for establishing a civil state for all Egyptians. The organization on Friday brought together a panel of Egyptian figures from religious, political and social backgrounds, who warned of the dangers of a theocratic state. "The revolution is at a crossroads. It can succeed like what happened in the United States and Eastern Europe, but it can relapse to what's worse than Mubarak's regime and follow the Iranian example or the Bolshevik revolution," said Medhat Kelada, UECOHR chairman. The union, which comprises 15 Coptic organizations from 15 European countries, co-organized the conference with Ibn Khaldun Center for Development Studies, United Journalists Center, Al-Azma news portal and the Democratic Front Party. Amr Khaled, renowned Islamic preacher, applauded the organizers for holding their conference in Egypt. "However sharp or different your opinions are, expressing them inside Egypt leads to unity," Khaled said. "We want to stop accusing any Egyptian living outside Egypt of treason," said Hani Aziz, a Coptic businessman close to Pope Shenouda III. Sheikh Mahmoud Ashour, former deputy of Al-Azhar and member of the Islamic Research Center (IRC), expressed Islam's rejection of a religious state. "There is no holiness to a leader in Islam. …The civil state is an Islamic state because it is founded on divine values," he said. Echoing the same discourse, Khaled explained that a religious state means a divine mandate whereas even Prophet Mohamed (PBUH) never monopolized the interpretation of the Quran or said there is only one interpretation Muslims should go by. "Only the text (Quran) is divine but interpretation is a personal endeavor," Khaled added. Using religion for political purposes to compete in elections, Khaled continued, is absolutely refused since it does not give equal opportunities to competitors. On a parallel scale, Father Mettias Nasr of St. Mark Church said Christianity in the East does not believe in theocratic states and leaders are obeyed regardless of their faith. "It is the elite's mission to lead Egypt towards a civil, just and modern Egypt," said Mounir Fakhry Abdel Nour, minister of tourism. He challenged Islamic groups to explain their vision of nation, democracy and power circulation which will prove they are not in favor of a civil state. "Egypt is now without a pharaoh. The second democratic republic is being born to correct the path of the 1952 revolution," said Osama El-Ghazaly Harb, president of the Democratic Front Party. Participants called on Christians to be active in national and political projects in order to stem marginalization. "What happened until now is a regime change, not a mentality change. The new Egypt should be founded on rule of law and not on customary sessions to solve sectarian issues," Shetewy Abdallah, Coptic leader in Sweden, told DNE. The conference called for implementing the recommendations of Gamal Al-Oteify's fact-finding committee formed in 1972 to investigate Al-Khanka sectarian incident. Recommendations, which were never implemented, include reaffirming real citizenship so that people's rights are protected without discrimination, banning incitement of hate, quelling rumors through transparency and accurate information, removing all sectarian content from curricula, teaching children about the three monolithic religions to bridge gaps among them, and facilitating the repair of mosques and churches without bureaucracy. "Only when true religious freedom is achieved in Egypt will sensitivities be eradicated. Muslims and Christians have to realize that moving from one religion to another is not a numbers issue," UECOHR's chairman told DNE. Kelada said that under ousted president Hosni Mubarak's regime, religious freedom was a one-way street, only for those who wanted to embrace Islam. In his opinion, Christians are only reacting to Muslims' action, blaming the majority for not providing a freer religious atmosphere. Some union members recently met with the military council and the interior minister to discuss the question of a civil state and their fears of chaos that would raise the issue of the theocratic state. In the meantime, the union is continuing its societal dialogue about the civil state in cooperation with human rights organizations, Kelada said. On another level, some Coptic businessmen will be investing in eco-projects on how to produce electricity from garbage. Fatma Naout, poet and writer, doubted that Muslim extremists were behind the latest sectarian clashes in Imbaba. "I went there myself and it's obvious that people who burnt the Churches are very well trained. This damage cannot be done by ordinary people,” Naout said. She accused Gulf countries of inciting violence to foil Egypt's revolution because they fear its success will make them next in line. Last week, violent clashes broke out after Muslims surrounded a church in Cairo demanding the handover of a woman they said Christians had detained after she converted to Islam and left her Christian husband to marry a Muslim. Fifteen people were killed and more than 200 injured.
Mettias Nasr and Mahmoud Ashour.
Amr AKhaled, Osama El-Ghazaly Harb and Ramy Lakah.
