Persecution of Copts

The persecution of Copts and discrimination against Coptic Orthodox Christians are historic and widespread issues in Egypt. Their treatment is indicative of the poor status of Christians in the Middle East more widely, despite the fact that the religion is native to the Middle East, and that Christianity in Egypt dates back to the Roman era.[1] Copts (Coptic: ⲟⲩⲣⲉⲙ'ⲛⲭⲏⲙⲓ 'ⲛ'Ⲭⲣⲏⲥⲧⲓ'ⲁⲛⲟⲥ ou Remenkīmi en.E khristianos, literally: "Egyptian Christian") are the indigenous Christians in Egypt, usually Oriental Orthodox, who currently make up 10% [2][3][4] of the population—the largest religious minority of that country. Copts have cited instances of persecution throughout their history and Human Rights Watch has noted "growing religious intolerance" and sectarian violence against Coptic Christians in recent years, as well as a failure by the Egyptian government to effectively investigate properly and prosecute those responsible. However, as political violence is common many churches believe that the attacks against the church are not religious statements, instead political statements. [5][6] Since 2011, hundreds of Egyptian Copts have been killed in sectarian clashes, and many homes, churches and businesses have been destroyed. In just one province (Minya), 77 cases of sectarian attacks on Copts between 2011 and 2016 have been documented by the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights.[7] The abduction and disappearance of Coptic Christian women and girls also remains a serious ongoing problem.[8][9][10]

  1. ^ Egypt: Roman Rule and the Rise of Christianity, retrieved 19 December 2022
  2. ^ Hacket, Conrad (2011-02-16). "How many Christians are there in Egypt?". Pew Research Center. Retrieved 2023-10-25.
  3. ^ Walz, Terence (1978). "Asyūṭ in the 1260's (1844-53)". Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt. 15: 113–126. doi:10.2307/40000135. ISSN 0065-9991. JSTOR 40000135.
  4. ^ "Relations Between Copts, Government and Islamic Groups in Egypt". Al Bawaba. Retrieved 2023-07-26.
  5. ^ Egypt and Libya: A Year of Serious Abuses Archived 2011-07-04 at the Wayback Machine, hrw.org, January 24, 2010
  6. ^ Zaki, Moheb (May 18, 2010). "Egypt's Persecuted Christians". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on June 3, 2010. Retrieved June 4, 2010.
  7. ^ Eltahawy, Mona (22 December 2016). "Egypt's Cruelty to Christians". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 24 December 2016. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  8. ^ United States. Congress. Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (July 18, 2012). Escalating Violence Against Coptic Women and Girls: Will the New Egypt be More Dangerous than the Old? : Hearing before the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, One Hundred Twelfth Congress, Second Session, July 18, 2012. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
  9. ^ "Masress : Sectarian tensions rise in wake of crime boss death". Masress. Archived from the original on 25 January 2016. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  10. ^ Premier (2018-05-09). "Newlywed becomes 8th Egyptian Christian woman to be kidnapped since April". Premier. Retrieved 2019-10-14.

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