Michael Rizk, Egyptian-born co-founder of the Texas chapter of Copt Solidarity, an organization that advocates for the rights of Egyptian Copts, hears daily reports of persecution and mistreatment from his Egyptian relatives. Church burnings are a regular occurrence in villages across the country. Angry mobs — often incited by local sheikhs or imams — continue to torch Christian homes and businesses. Forced conversions to Islam and kidnappings of young girls have become hazards of daily life for Christians in Egypt, Mr. Rizk said.
“If I had a sister there is no way I would let her walk down the street,” Mr. Rizk said. Uncovered women are easy to pinpoint as Christian. “In Islam, you are the equivalent of cow dung if you are a Christian,” he said. “You are immediately treated as a second- or third-class citizen.”
Ihab Marcus, communications director for St. Mark Coptic Orthodox Church in Washington, D.C., said many Egyptians turn to the American Coptic Church for support and encouragement — but “sometimes they can’t talk openly for fear of further persecution.” Mr. Marcus said he could not speak with complete openness about the situation in Egypt, for fear that Christians there will suffer reprisals.
Mr. Morsi, a former member of the Muslim Brotherhood, has strong connections to fundamental Islam. In the past he opposed diplomatic relations with Israel, decried American influence in schools, and had a tense relationship with more liberal Brotherhood youth. But today, as president, Mr. Morsi speaks supportively of Western allies, promises to uphold the rights of women and Christians, and tells protesters and youth he will be their representative. Mr. Morsi’s new sentiments could be genuine — or deceptive tactics to elicit Western support for his office.
“The Muslim Brotherhood has pushed forward an agenda over the past 80 years,” said Mr. Rizk. “It is a system that runs extremely smooth, and is extremely powerful. … They make you hear whatever they want you to hear.”
Mr. Rizk said it is unlikely Mr. Morsi will speak publicly in support of Sharia law or the veiling of women. Rather, he will “let the street do it for him.”
The current political state in Egypt reflects a growing “Islamic awakening” that has swept the region. Seventy-five percent of the electorate voted for Islamist parties in Parliament (half of that vote went to the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party). Cairo’s Tahrir Square protesters have exhibited a decidedly anti-Israel, anti-Western sentiment.
Mr. Rizk said Western media have romanticized the Tahrir Square protests of 2011 “with the flag waving” and youths crying out for democracy. This year’s protests have been completely different, he said.
“It’s two different revolutions,” he said. “The people then were just trying to stop corruption, military trials, and human rights abuses. Originally, that’s what the revolution was about. But the Muslim Brotherhood saw an opportunity. This was their time. They stepped in, kicked the revolutionaries and activists out of Tahrir Square, raped women in public. … All of a sudden, the square was occupied by Islamic fundamentalists.”
No matter whether Egyptians desire state-enforced Sharia law, former U.S. Ambassador to Egypt Michael Kurtzer said this would be one “unintended consequence” of their political choices.
Coptic Church representatives in Egypt have warned they may quit the constitutional assembly over concerns with the constitution’s second article: It now states that government should legislate through “principles” of Sharia law, but hardline Salafists in the assembly want to impose literal Sharia governance.
“That’s very dangerous,” Mr. Rizk said. “It gives the Islamists free rein to destroy and burn churches, force conversions, kidnap Christians, and put veils on all women. All these are part of Sharia law.”
This trend is most disturbing to Coptic Christians like Mr. Farag and his family.
“They don’t want to be with Israel, they want to erase it from the face of the Earth,” Mr. Farag said. “They want to boycott America. They don’t want civilians or ladies to go uncovered. It’s just scary how they want to put us a few hundred years back.”
David Aikman, who covered Israel and the Middle East as a former correspondent for Time magazine, said the election of a Coptic vice president would not help the Egyptian church.
“There is an important part of the [Egyptian] population that is secular, liberal, and would like to see something closer to democratic politics emerge,” Mr. Aikman said. “But this is a minority, and the overall tendency in Egyptian politics seems to be that the population is getting more favorable towards Sharia governance.”
Mr. Rizk agreed. He said such promises of a Christian or female vice president are a “joke.”
“You’re dealing with snakes,” he said. “I don’t know how to put it clearer than that.”
Times of Israel reporter Elhanan Miller says unity is a “very big buzzword” in Egypt right now, and could counter or at least diminish Islamist dominance there. Moreover, Mr. Morsi’s government will continue to rely on U.S. financial and military aid. Any unilateral action against Christians or Jews would present dangerous repercussions for Egypt, which is suffering from serious economic instability.
But Mr. Aikman fears Mr. Morsi will inevitably bow to pressure from the Muslim Brotherhood. “It is very unlikely he can act independently of the Muslim Brotherhood. He may have some tactical latitude in international policy. He may not immediately curtail the Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty, but the whole thrust of the Muslim Brotherhood is opposed to Jews, and opposed to Israel. If he stays more than tactically from that line, he’ll be removed … and replaced.”
President Obama and his State Department have expressed cautious support for Mr. Morsi. Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, urged Americans not to “pre-judge the Muslim Brotherhood.” But Mr. Aikman warned that it would be extremely dangerous to underestimate the organization. “It is a complete delusion of the Obama administration that these people have somehow become moderate and gentle and democratic. It is one of the grossest deceptions I’ve recently seen in the current administration.”
Mr. Rizk believes the Obama administration is largely to blame for Egypt’s current state of affairs. “The U.S. gave the green light for a lot of this to happen. If this were George W. Bush, it would not have happened. You can’t ever take what the Muslim Brotherhood says at face value, like the U.S. government has. I think the government is totally blind to what is happening over there.”
Meanwhile, Mr. Farag and his family watch, and pray. “We as Egyptians need to be heard and we as Christians need to be supported,” he said. “We who live in peace don’t want the chaos to continue.”
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http://times247.com/articles/47egyptian-copts-fear-persecution-under-muslim-brotherhood3