Copts cling to hope of a secular state

Nothing less than a full re-drafting of Egypt’s constitution will be enough to secure democracy and minority rights in a post-Mubarak world, Michael Meunier, spokesperson for the newly formed opposition group National Coalition for Change (NCC) in Egypt, said today.

In an interview with TMP from Cairo, Meunier, a U.S.-educated, Egyptian-born Christian and one-time candidate for the Virginia House of Delegates, said NCC and other opposition groups have a long list of demands for political reform, but the critical goal is dumping the failed constitution.

“Just changing the constitution is not enough. We must have safeguards against the rise of a religious state,” Muenier said. “We need a constitution cleansed of all religious favoritism.”

NCC is a broad-based network of NGOs, major political parties, such as El Wafd and El Tagamoa, syndicates and independent politicians dedicated to establishing a secular constitution committed to religious equality and that conforms to modern international standards.

The prospects for a reformed, secular state are uncertain at best. Egypt, a Sunni-dominated country, is among world’s most religious societies, a Pew Forum study found late last year. Pew also determined that Egypt has one of the most religiously restricted societies in the world.

The 14 million Christians in Egypt comprise the Middle East’s largest Christian minority, according to Meunier. These “Coptic” – a word that simply means “Egyptian” – Christians, a group that includes Orthodox, Catholics and Protestants, have endured passive and active persecution. One longstanding example is the prohibition against new churches.

Copts may not build any new churches, and the churches that do exist must be 100 meters away from the nearest mosque and secure approval from Muslim neighbors. Conversions from Islam to Christianity are prohibited, and Copts are routinely discriminated against in hiring and in the military.

So Copts are nervously watching the protests, with deep concerns that their meager freedoms could vanish. Currently, Egyptian Vice President Omar Suleiman is meeting with opposition groups, including the hard-line Islamist group Muslim Brotherhood.

Prime Minister Ahmed Shafik, meanwhile, indicated over the weekend that conditions on the ground have improved somewhat.

“The gunfire has ended, and things are calmer now, mostly due to international backlash,” Meunier agreed. “Banks will open again, and curfews have been relaxed by two hours."

“But protests will continue indefinitely, though not constantly as they have so far. It is possible the largest protests will become only Friday-Saturday events.”

Meunier noted that, in spite of the chaos, there are signs of life for cooperation between Muslims and Christians. On the streets, he observed acts of mutual protection that have been reported in the Western press, and people from all walks of life stop him on the street to thank him for his work for religious equality.

"That is an important story," Meunier said.