Persecution of Copts
The persecution of Copts and discrimination against Coptic Orthodox Christians are historic incidents of mass Forced conversion[1] and other issues throughout different eras of Egypt.
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.
By the mid-third century, a sizable number of Egyptians were persecuted by the Romans on account of having adopted the new Christian faith, beginning with the Edict of Decius.
The Muslim rulers enforced the Pact of Umar and the Copts, as non-Muslim subjects, had the status of dhimmi which gave them the freedom to practice their religion freely in public and the exemption from military conscription in exchange for an annual tax, the jizya, on adult wealthy men.
[17][18][19][20][21][22][page needed] Rampant discrimination and persecution under the Pact of Umar forced the majority of Coptic Christians to convert to Islam.
"[25][26] An exception to the relative tolerance of Muslim rulers at the time was the Fatimid Caliph Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, who decreed that the Christians could no longer celebrate Epiphany or Easter.
In 1005, al-Ḥākim ordered that Jews and Christians follow ghiyār "the law of differentiation" – in this case, the mintaq or zunnar "belt" (Greek ζωνάριον) and imāmah "turban", both in black.
The Coptic language massively declined under the hands of Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, who issued strict orders completely prohibiting its use anywhere whether in homes, roadways, or schools.
[33] By the end of the Ayyubid period, the wearing of the marks of ghiyār (differentiation) by non-Muslim subjects was the norm and in 1249 the ruling sultan announced that the property and life of any Christian or Jew was forfeit if he was found in the streets without the zunnar or a distinguishing badge.
In the year 1354 Muslim mobs "ran amok, destroying churches... and attacking Christians and Jews in the streets, and throwing them into bonfires if they refused to pronounce the shahādatayn [to accept Allah as the only true god and Muhammad as his messenger]".
[38] Besides forced conversions, massacres of Coptic men and women would also happen if they left Islam:[39] In 1389, a great procession of Copts who had accepted Muhammad under fear of death, marched through Cairo.
But this did not terrify the women; so they, too, were all martyred.The many riots against Coptic Christians in many Egyptian cities and towns such as Cairo during the 14th century were due to resentment over the extraordinary wealth of Copts who dominated the Sultan's bureaucracy and who, despite repeated purges, often returned to power because Muslim replacements could not be found.
[40] Edward William Lane, an Arabist who traveled around Egypt in the 1820s disguised as a Muslim, was one of the first modern Europeans to witness the execution of an apostate—in this case, a female convert to Christianity who was exposed by her Coptic cross tattoo.
Lane recounts:[41] Apostasy from the faith of Islam is considered a most heinous sin, and must be punished with death, unless the apostate will recant on being thrice warned.
She was mounted upon a high-saddled ass, such as ladies in Egypt usually ride, and very respectably dressed, attended by soldiers, and surrounded by a rabble, who, instead of commiserating, uttered loud imprecations against her.
Critics cite that while in 2016 the parliament worked to pass a bill making it easier for Christians to get government permission to build churches, in practice security officials have stopped actual construction.
Pope Tawadros remarked in 2018 that "it's extraordinary that all of Egypt's football teams don't have a single Copt who has good legs and who kicked a ball on the streets when he was little".
And Muslim former player Ahmed Hossam, known in the footballing world as Mido, stated in an interview that "regrettably, there's a lot of people in Egypt who are bigoted over colour, religion and ethnicity.
[130] In April 2010, a bipartisan group of 17 members of the U.S. Congress expressed concern to the State Department's Trafficking in Persons Office about Coptic women who faced "physical and sexual violence, captivity ... exploitation in forced domestic servitude or commercial sexual exploitation, and financial benefit to the individuals who secure the forced conversion of the victim.
[132][133][134][135][136] Almasrya commented on the undeterred harassment on the part of the Ministry of Media for two female interviewers in two different situations, one of whom was called "hot" on air while the other was told to "come and I will show you where!"
