Samuel Tadros, a fellow at the Hudson Institute, says Copts are blocked from nearly all important government positions: \u201cCopts are excluded from Egypt\u2019s intelligence service and state security, their percentage in the armed services and police force is capped at 1%, and they are similarly discriminated against in the foreign service, judiciary, education sector and government-owned public sector.\u201d It\u2019s no surprise, then, that the government hasn\u2019t effectively responded to Copts\u2019 pleas for better representation and prosecution of those who persecute their community.<\/p>\n
Ms. Riad says neighbors are often doing the persecuting. Coptic homes are burned down. Some children change their names from conspicuously Christian ones such as George so they can play on private or national soccer teams. Coptic women face near-daily public harassment. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t take ISIS to kill, and it could just be your neighbor because you\u2019re Christian,\u201d Ms. Riad says.<\/p>\n
A 2016 law, implemented by Abdel Fattah Al Sisi\u2019s government, allows for the legalization of existing churches and the creation of new ones. The implementation of the law is another story. Mr. Tadros notes that the government has approved less than 17% of 3,730 requests submitted by the three major Christian groups\u2014Coptic Orthodox, Catholic and evangelical Protestant. The law has instead fueled sectarian violence within Egypt.<\/p>\n
Egyptians have rioted and protested against approved churches. In 2016, after Copts in the village of Manshiet El-Naghamish applied to build a church, locals organized and attacked the Christians. Egyptians looted and burned Coptic properties and assaulted Copts. This was only one attack in a string of many, which are often incited before a church is even built.<\/p>\n
Read it all<\/a>.<\/p>\n #WSJ<\/a>: Is #Sisi<\/a> Good for Egypt\u2019s #Christians<\/a>?#ReligiousFreedom<\/a> \u2014 Religious Freedom News (@Religious_FN) January 11, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n
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