State Dept. Highlights Coptic Violence By POMED
By POMED
August 11, 2016
The State Department released its latest Report on International Religious Freedom on Wednesday, which outlines the challenges facing Coptic Christians in Egypt. According to American Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom David Saperstein, the Coptic community “still face significant challenges,” particularly in rural areas. However, Saperstein complimented President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi for his “very public position that Copts need to be protected.” Specifically, the report mentioned al-Sisi attending [Ar] two Christmas masses since taking office, and efforts to rebuild razed churches.
The last several months have seen a renewed wave of religious violence against Copts, especially in Upper Egypt’s Minya governorate. According to the Egyptian Initiative on Personal Rights, Minya has had 77 instances of religious violence since 2011. Late last month, al-Sisi and Coptic Pope Tawadros II called for “national unity” in response to the attacks. Observers have criticized the reliance on customary reconciliation sessions to address these incidents, which have “played a role in the renewal and repetition of sectarian attacks.” Next week, a law that would replace Egypt’s antiquated regulations on church-building is set to be introduced [Ar] to parliament.
The State Department assessment also criticizes blasphemy and apostasy laws in countries like Egypt. “Such laws conflict with and undermine universally recognized human rights… courts in many countries continued to hand down harsh sentences for blasphemy and apostasy, which were used to severely curtail the religious freedom of their residents,” the report finds. Egypt has had a spike in blasphemy convictions during al-Sisi’s administration.
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http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2016/08/260962.htm