Episcopal Press and News

Egypt's Coptic Christians Under Intense Persecution

Episcopal News Service. April 1, 1993 [93060H]

The surge of Islamic fundamentalism has caught in its wake the largest and one of the most ancient religious minorities in the Middle East -- Egypt's 10 million Coptic Christians. Churches are being vandalized and burned, Copts are attacked and killed by roving bands, according to news reports. Persecution of Christian Arabs has seriously diminished their social and economic participation in not only Egypt but also Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Syria, as well as among Palestinians in territories occupied by Israel. The assault against the Copts is part of a much wider strategy to bring down secular governments such as Egypt and replace them with Islamic republics like Iran. Copts are direct descendants of the original inhabitants of Egypt and the church was formed in 41 AD and was among the so-called Oriental churches that split with Rome in 451 over a theological dispute. After the Arab invasions of the seventh century, many Copts converted to Islam. Coptic leaders claim that successive Egyptian governments have sanctioned persecution and threatened their existence. Many Copts are fleeing. "They don't call it the church of martyrdom for nothing," said a judge who fled to Montreal. Some Copts criticize church leaders for buckling under and avoiding confrontation but church leaders reply that the church has gone through other periods of oppression and it must "hunker down in bad times and wait until the oppression lifts."