Jackline Nessim and Wael Sedrak, like many of Egypt\u2019s Christians, long for a present that is unlikely to arrive before Coptic Christmas on Jan. 7. In fact, it may be a very long time in coming.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want an end to the Muslim Brotherhood,\u201d\u009d said Mr. Sedrak, 34, an interior decorator, referring to the Islamist group that controls Egypt\u2019s presidency, dominates its legislature and wrote the newly approved constitution. \u201cEvery day they get more and more fanatic and make our lives miserable.\u201d\u009d<\/p>\n
At St. Mark\u2019s Coptic Orthodox Church in the affluent suburb of Maadi, many Christian parishioners \u201d\u201c long a minority in this Muslim country \u201d\u201c worry that the rise to power of the fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood will marginalize them as never before. Thousands of Egyptian Christians are said to have left the country \u201d\u201c an exodus of one of the world\u2019s oldest Christian communities \u201d\u201c and families here at this charming marble church fret over whether they should go, too.<\/p>\n