Q How has the revolution affected the Coptic Christian community in Egypt?
A Coptic Christians definitely participated in the revolution.

During the first month of the revolution, we witnessed positive interaction between Muslims and Copts. There were no attacks on churches, even when there was no security around churches as security forces left the streets. From January 25 until the end of February, there was complete national unity, no signs of discrimination or violence.

After that the honeymoon was over. Christians already suffered from discrimination before the revolution, but just one month after the uprising, it got even worse.

We believe that the government itself is in on it now by keeping silent about the infringements on Coptic rights. It also tries to justify the loss of Coptic blood.

When the church in Aswan was burned down, the governor came out and said that it was just a group of youth who let their passions get the best of them.

After the Maspero clashes, the Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF) came out and declared that army personnel were not armed and called in Coptic Christians for questioning, which reaffirms the idea of Copts being at fault.

Q How does the government benefit from inciting people against Christians?
A They want to distract people from what’s going on in the country by having them focus on sectarian violence.

They even used state media. On the night of October 9 [during the Maspero clashes], they quoted a soldier saying on television: “The Christians are sons of dogs.” The fact that they aired it shows that they’re trying to mobilize the people against Christians.

Q So you are saying that things have gotten worse since the revolution?
A They have. Before the revolution, there were smaller, more confined incidents. Since the revolution there have been over 500 people injured due to sectarian violence in a smaller time frame. Before, it used to be a couple of months or a year between each incident, but now it’s a matter of days.

Q Why?
A The state has gotten more lenient with extreme, conservative groups and they have actually managed to infiltrate state authorities.

Q Is the Coptic community afraid of Islamist political groups?
A They definitely are. If [Islamists] are in charge, they will turn the Copts into second-class citizens.

Some Salafis believe that if a Christian man is talking to a Muslim man then the Muslim should be seated while the Christian stands up and leans down to talk to him.

Imagine if they rule the country, what will they do to Christians?

Q So why haven’t Copts formed their own political party?
A The state has allowed for Islamic parties to form such as the Freedom and Justice Party and Al-Nour, but they have not allowed for a Coptic party on the basis that religious parties are prohibited.

Either way, Copts are not for a Coptic-only political party.

I am starting a political party called Al-Umma Al-Masriya [The Egyptian Nation] and I found that Coptic people don’t want an exclusive party, but they would rather have representation from all sides.

They are not for religious parties altogether. Al-Umma Al-Masriya is a liberal, civil party for a free economy. It’s still under construction, but it will hold both Christian and Muslim members.

Q How would you describe the political participation of Copts?
A Personally, I give lectures to Copts where I speak to them about positive participation.

It’s not about electing a certain party, that’s a personal freedom, but it’s important that they participate. [Some] 1.5 million Copts are eligible to vote.

That’s a big number, and if they participate fully then they can make a difference at least in the favor of the liberal parties.

Q Do you believe Copts really want to participate or are they afraid?
A People were split, some were for participating while others wanted to boycott the elections after the clashes of Maspero. They were afraid of participating.

They [felt] that either way society does not want us so why would we participate? But other people believed if we went go out and participated politically then we could make a difference.

Q As you said, people are afraid of violence. Has that caused some Copts to flee Egypt?
A It has. [There are] 100,000 cases of emmigration from the Coptic community in the past nine months, according to numbers we’ve gathered from churches in Egypt.

That’s a huge number. In the past year, there were 10,000 cases of Coptic emigration. At this rate it means that they reach 10,000 per month.

The numbers keep increasing as the violence increases.

However, there are some people who do not want to emigrate, such as myself, because I see more work to be done in Egypt, and others who are from lower classes who just can’t afford the plane ticket.

The problem then becomes that the educated, upper classes are fleeing while those from lower classes are staying, and they are more prone to violence and demanding their rights using force.

Q What are the demands the Coptic community is calling for?
A Equality. The core of their demands center around their right to live freely.

Q What do they expect from the current political forces in Egypt?
A Political forces in Egypt are not all in the same boat.

The liberals would respond to the demands of the Coptic people, but the Islamists would not respond and they would demand that they pay a special tax and that it’s enough that they let the Copts live in Egypt. 

Q In your opinion, would be the ideal scenario for Copts in Egypt?
A The ideal scenario would be a civil state, which gives freedom to both Copts and Muslims.

Q Now that an Islamist government is almost certain, are you optimistic or pessimistic?
A In the short term, I’m pessimistic. I see that the Islamist groups are going to take over for the next four years. However, I feel that moderate Muslims will reject [this] and fight against [an Islamist] regime until we can reach a civil, democratic state. et