A general view is seen as Egyptians gather by a Coptic church that was bombed in Tanta, Egypt, April 9, 2017. Mohamed Abd El Ghany / Reuters
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06/24/2017
In
many ways, the future of Egypt will be shaped by how the government and the
majority of Egyptians treat the country’s minority Christian community. Will
Egypt be an open, tolerant, and creative society? Or will it be closed and
intolerant, looking backward? This is choice that Egyptians must make.
A
few months back I accepted an invitation to speak at a mid-June conference
organized by Coptic Solidarity, a U.S. organization. I did so because I was
eager to address the challenges facing Egypt, in general, and its Coptic
community, in particular. A few days before the event, however, I received the
final list of the conference speakers and the topics to be discussed. After
reviewing the list, I felt obliged to cancel. What follows is what I had hoped
to discuss at the event and why I found it necessary to inform the organizers I
would not participate.
While
I am not by profession an “Egypt scholar,” I have visited the country dozens of
times, conducted extensive polling of Egyptian public opinion, and, on several
occasions, lectured at the Al-Ahram Center for Political & Strategic
Studies. Like any person of Arab descent, I love Egypt and its people, and
appreciate the enormous contributions Egyptians have made to Arab culture and
world civilization. I will never forget the expression Jesse Jackson often used
to describe Egypt. He called it “an essential hinge on which hangs the future
stability of three continents—Europe, Asia, and Africa.”
What
concerns me today is that the hinge is rusted and in danger of fracturing. Six
years of turmoil following the upheavals of the “Arab Spring” have taken a toll
on Egyptian society. The ossification and corruption of the Mubarak government
gave way to an elected Muslim Brotherhood government, the policies of which
created an existential crisis for many Egyptians. As they saw their vision of
an open, pluralistic, creative Egypt giving way to a closed, less tolerant
system, they rebelled. The result was a military takeover that gave way to an
elected government that has become increasingly repressive, only serving to
deepen societal divisions.
All
of this has been clear from our polling. Six years ago, Egyptians told us that
their top concerns were jobs, education, health care, and an end to corruption
and nepotism. During the brief tenure of the Muslim Brotherhood’s rule, a
decisive majority told us that they disapproved of that party’s efforts to
transform Egypt. They wanted change, but decisively favored national dialogue
and reconciliation as the way forward. Today, three-quarters of Egyptians say
their country is moving in the wrong direction and have little confidence that
the future will be better. More ominous, our polling also shows demonstrably
less tolerance and acceptance for people of other faiths.
All
of this unrest, uncertainty, and discontent has had repercussions for Egyptian
society. Some supporters of the deposed Brotherhood have struck out at
Christians — accusing them of complicity in the military action.
One
can hardly fault the Coptic leadership. They were and are in a bind. The
intolerant policies of the Brotherhood most certainly put them at risk. And
while the significant gestures of the new government have indicated respect for
Christians and offered them signs of protection, mass repression and failure to
improve the quality of life have only served to fuel greater discontent,
exacerbating sectarian tensions.
Feeding
off this discontent, violent extremist groups have committed repeated heinous
acts of terror against Christians in an effort to further aggravate the already
deplorable situation. And so, we find the country today locked in a vicious
cycle of repression and violence.
Friends
of Egypt are also caught in a bind. Those who understand Egypt’s important role
have attempted to buttress the state by providing substantial investment to
develop its struggling economy. But they cannot, by themselves, force the
government to make the right decisions and change direction.
This
was the dilemma I had hoped to discuss at the Coptic Solidarity event and then,
just a few days before the conference, I received the final program and list of
speakers. I was troubled to find that the session at which I was to appear had
changed. I was prepared to address issues facing the Coptic community in Egypt
and how we might act to support policies that both protect them now, while
helping to move Egypt toward becoming a more open and tolerant society that
respects the rights of all its citizens. Instead I discovered that the title
for my session had been changed to — “The Indigenous Culture of Violence and
Impunity” — implying that there was something endemic in Egyptian or Muslim
culture that was at fault.
While
I knew and respected some of the event’s invited speakers, I was deeply
concerned with others, some of whom represent groups that are on the Southern
Poverty Law Center list of hate groups in America. These are individuals and
organizations that have made a career out of spreading hurtful anti-Arab and
anti-Muslim propaganda. They do not work to promote positive change in Egypt
and to help build a more open society that will protect the rights of all.
Instead, they are more focused on waging a war on Muslims and Islam, in
general.
Association
with individuals and groups that fan the flames of hatred and division does not
help protect vulnerable Christians in the Middle East. It may even put them at
risk. I, therefore, felt compelled to withdraw from the event.
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