Coptic Christians worry about future without Mubarak

"We need Mubarak. What we need above all is to be safe." They weren't safe under Mubarak, but they're even less likely to be safe under the Muslim Brotherhood. More on this story. "Coptic Christians Worry About Future Without Mubarak," by Marc Champion in the Wall Street Journal, February 1 (thanks to all who sent this in):

ALEXANDRIA, Egypt--Like the protesters who have flooded the streets of Egypt in the past week, the country's large minority of Coptic Christians worry about joblessness and lack of freedoms. But most want President Hosni Mubarak to stay in power.
Fear of what may follow the removal of Mr. Mubarak, a secular strongman who has ruled the country for the past 30 years, is making reluctant supporters out of the country's Christians, an estimated 10% of Egypt's 80 million population. Mr. Mubarak has been aggressive in pursuing perceived Islamist extremist groups, a policy that has endeared him to Coptic Christians, not to mention the U.S.

Many Copts worry that Mr. Mubarak's exit would leave them dangerously exposed--either by chaos, or to a government that may be more tolerant of Islamist extremists.

Pope Shenouda III, head of the Coptic Church, expressed support for Mr. Mubarak in an interview with Egyptian state television Monday. "We have called the president and told him we are all with you and the people are with you," he said, according to a transcript of the interview on the state television's website....

"We need Mubarak. What we need above all is to be safe," said Samy Farag, director of the St. Mark's Hospital, which is attached to the church and where the dead and injured were brought immediately after the bombing.

"We feel safer with him because he heads a big, strong party. If he leaves, parties will come to power that we don't know," said the 65-year-old doctor. He added that this included any government that might be headed by Mohamed ElBaradei, the Nobel Prize winner and former international nuclear official.

"We just don't know what their policies toward Christians would be," Dr. Farag said....

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REALPublic | February 1, 2011 4:46 AM | Reply

Mr. Spencer - I might point out what Ashraf Ramelah has stated on the Voice of the Copts website. You may recall you appeared with him about a month ago at a human rights event that he organized.

by Dottore Architetto Ashraf Ramelah - Voice of the Copts' Founder and president

"In light of the people’s revolution occurring in Egypt at this moment (similar to Tunisia last week) and the Egyptians who are finally asking for their freedom and liberty from a thirty-year dictator who destroyed the economy, culture and the people’s dignity, Voice of the Copts demands justice by calling for the arrest of Mubarak and his family’s member and all other regime members who took part in the damage and ruination of Egypt along with a freeze of all their assets inside and outside the country of Egypt."

"We are also demanding that all Western countries refuse acceptance of any member of Mubarak’s family as well as any regime member fleeing from Egypt."

"Voice of the Copts condemns Mubarak and his regime partner members for attempting a genocidal plan against the Copts of Egypt and exporting terrorists to the free world to destabilize European countries as well as United States of America and open opportunity for Islamic infiltration and Islamic supremacy."

"Furthermore, for Egypt’s arrest of Egyptian intellectuals and freedom fighters, Voice of the Copts demands that all Western countries freeze diplomatic relations with the current Mubarak regime in a sign of solidarity to those oppressed, discriminated against, and persecuted in Egypt."

"Voice of the Copts demands that all Western leaders who believes in freedom and human rights extend their hand and power to help those who for over half a century suffered from an illegitimate system that took power over Egypt with false statements of religious freedom and harmony between Muslims and non-Muslims and ruled the country in hypocrisy."

"In addition, Voice of the Copts requests that the international criminal courts begin to take action to bring justice to the people regarding atrocities committed by Mubarak and his regime."

http://voiceofthecopts.org/en/press_release/voice_of_the_copts_call_for_freedom_and_justice.html

duh_swami | February 1, 2011 5:53 AM | Reply

The Copts are between a rock and a hard place...Mubarack did them little good, and a new sharia inspired gov will do them less good...I don't think the above suggestion per 'Voice', will help the Copts very much...Their position is precarious no matter who is in charge...

joe | February 1, 2011 5:56 AM | Reply

It took the EU 7 days of unrest to utter any statement at all 0o

poetcomic1 | February 1, 2011 6:14 AM | Reply

Once Mubarak goes, any perception of Copts as his allies will NOT do them any good. My guess is that Egypt will be the 'Sunni Iran' with Al-Azhar University the 'intellectual' capital of the 'Arab Renaissance'. I think a 'sensible solution' of the problem of what to do with Egypt's enormous, young hungry male population is to send them in wave upon suicidal wave against Israel and reduce them several million. As you can see, I believe in 'tried and true' traditional Islamic economics.

ebonystone | February 1, 2011 6:43 AM | Reply

"'We feel safer with him [Mubarak] because he heads a big, strong party. If he leaves, parties will come to power that we don't know,' said the 65-year-old doctor. He added that this included any government that might be headed by Mohamed ElBaradei, the Nobel Prize winner and former international nuclear official."

He's right to be suspicious, considering the number of
recent PEACE prize winners that have been tyrants, or tyrant wannabes: Le Duc Tho, Yasser Arafat, Anwar Sadat, Jimmy Carter, Algore,, and the mighty BHO.

TheEagle | February 1, 2011 9:09 AM | Reply

This "article" is very poorly written. All the churches in Egypt are voicing their support for the protestors. From Alexandria to Cairo, Churches in Egypt held demonstrations and protests against the dictatorship regime of Hosni Mubarak.

Pope Shenouda has always and will always stand with the Egyptian people. Forged quotations and taking things out of context and mistranslating them will not help you to make Pope Shenouda look like a supporter of dictatorship of a supporter of the bloodshed of innocent Muslims and Christians protesting in the streets of Egypt.

Muslim and Christian women protest together in Egypt: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=494128607675&set=a.493689677675.268523.586357675&pid=6437550&id=586357675

TheEagle | February 1, 2011 9:13 AM | Reply

http://www.phillyburbs.com/news/local/courier_times/courier_times_news_details/article/28/2011/february/01/local-coptic-leader-cites-absence-of-democracy-in-egypt.html

Father Antonious Salib, who leads about 200 Egyptian Christians at St. Mary and St. Kyrillos Coptic Orthodox Church, hopes a new Egyptian president can lead his homeland through one of the largest periods of unrest in the nation's history.

"I think what is happening there, the unrest, comes from a man being president for 30 years. +. There is an absence of democracy," Salib said, adding that President Hosni Mubarak has not listened to the people.

"I have seen followers of different religions get along (in Egypt) in the past," Salib said. "I hope they choose the right person to lead it to become a better country, a true democracy where Christians and Muslims can live together."

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