CAIRO - “A revolution will erupt inside the Coptic Orthodox Church. The Copts will denounce its policies,” predicted Mamoun Fandi, the President of Fandi Associates, a Washington DC-based research group and think-tank, during the 18-day revolution in Al Tahrir Square. When Hosni Mubabrak was in power, Coptic Orthodox Christians used to resort to their Church to solve their problems, rather than depending on the State and isolating themselves from society. “Christians will favour the 'citizenship' concept and actively participate in this [new] revolution,” added Fandi, a prominent thinker. The Coptic Orthodox Church's officials had solid relations with the regime of Mubarak, ousted on February 11. When the revolution erupted, they ordered the Copts not to participate in it. “The January 25 revolution has devastated time-honoured policies. From now on, the Copts reject the Church's interference and influence in the political affairs,” Mamdouh Ramzi, a lawyer and a Coptic activist, says. “We respect the Church's spiritual role, leading the prayers and performing the religious rituals.” Pope Shenouda III, the head of the Coptic Orthodox Church, supported Mubarak in an interview delivered on State TV in early February. “This is the first time in history for the Copts to oppose their Pope's demands. They have put citizenship above sectarian loyalty, participating enthusiastically in the revolution,” Atef Beshoi, a Copt scriptwriter, says. “The Pope has gone beyond his religious authority. We ask him not to speak on behalf of the Copts in political incidents,” stresses Naguib Sawiris, the Coptic business tycoon. “In a civil Egyptian state, the Copts will participate in politics as 'citizens'. They will rush to their churches so as only to pray,” Tareq Heggi, another prominent thinker, told the Arabic-language Radio and TV magazine. “Officials under el-Sadat and Mubarak deceived the Copts into thinking that the Islamists wouldn't come to power,” he added. Coptic Orthodox Christians recently protested outside the Radio and TV Union Building in Maspero, central Cairo, condemning the burning of two churches in the village of Sol near Atfeeh, between Helwan and Beni Sueif, and Imbaba, Greater Cairo. “Leave Maspero. The protest has gone far enough,” Bishop Yuhannes, Pope Shenouda's secretary, told them. Astonishingly, the young Copts refused to go. This shows that they have rebelled against their Church. This is a turning point in their history.
