This report says that Coptic Christians are defying Pope Shenouda and participating in demonstrations; on the other hand, however, a source on the ground in Egypt tells me that the news reports are wrong, and that Copts are not participating. Whatever may be the truth of the matter, it is certain that a Muslim Brotherhood state in Egypt would make their situation even worse than it is already.
“Fate of Coptic Christians in post-Mubarak Egypt worries some,” by John Rossomando in The Daily Caller, January 29:
Former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton warns Egypt’s ancient Coptic Christian minority could become increasingly endangered should the protests against Egyptian strongman Hosni Mubarak drive him from power….
“The overthrow of the Mubarak regime will not by any sense of the imagination lead to the advent of Jeffersonian democracy,” Bolton said. “The greater likelihood is a radical, tightly knit organization like the Muslim Brotherhood will take advantage of the chaos and seize power.
“It is really legitimate for the Copts to be worried that instability follow Mubarak’s fall and his replacement with the Muslim Brotherhood.”…
Copts complain Muslims are able to get away murdering them with impunity much like whites did in the South under Jim Crow, and the government discriminates against them by placing restrictions on the building and repair of churches while not imposing a similar rule on mosques.
“The Coptic problem is that of pressure on a minority, intolerance towards others and a lack of acceptance of pluralism. The more Egypt is influenced by the Wahhabi interpretation of Islam, the worse it is for the Copts, ” Tarek Heggy, a leading Coptic intellectual, told the Italian press agency ADNKronos International last November while speaking about the Muslim Brotherhood’s relationship with the Copts.
Their plight became painfully apparent to the world after an al-Qaida affiliate bombed of a Coptic church in Alexandria, killing 20 worshippers and wounding 100 others. But this terror attack has been one of several carried out by Muslim extremists to hit the Coptic community over the past decade.
Although the Brotherhood condemned the New Year’s Eve attack, many Copts, particularly outside Egypt, worry their situation could grow worse should Mubarak fall.
“The Copts I know are scared,” said Amir Makkar, a Copt who lives near Lancaster, Pa. “It’s a dangerous proposal with what is happening in Egypt because the problem is there is a lot of uncertainty and it is impossible to tell what is going to happen amid the chaos situation because anything could happen.” […]
Pope Shenouda III, the head of the Coptic Orthodox Church, and other church representatives have called on Copts to refrain from participating, but evidence shows many Copts have ignored their church and have joined the revolt….