Islam has nothing to do with violence against the Coptic Church in Egypt!

The reality is that for a nation that is new to democracy, the whole idea might take some time to grow and the growing pains that result could be violent. This is what is happening in Egypt now – and NO rational and reasonable person should expect a nation like Egypt to become like a Western-like democracy overnight, with freedom of religion and elections tomorrow.  The sectarian violence in Egypt has nothing to do with Islam or religious conflict, but with fall of the old Mubarak regime and a certain level of chaos that is to be expected in transition. Allow me to also point out that transitions to democracy for Russia and former Soviet countries also took a certain amount of time.  Russia is still transitioning to a democracy over 20 years after the fall of communism, and Egypt should not be viewed as any different.Allow me to also point out that all religions, Christians, Jews, along with “unorthodox” Muslims, suffered persecution under the Egyptian “state of emergency” laws that first were in place in 1981. Members of the “radical” Muslim Brotherhood were also persecuted and imprisoned during the Mubarak regime (see also Document – Egypt: Ongoing violations of the right to freedom of belief, AI).  All religions were state police surveillance under Mubarak regime and attacks against Christians were ignored (see also Egypt’s Parliamentary Elections – a challenge to the Emergency, The Human Rights’ Brief – ).

It was the ignorance and indifference of the early January 2011 attacks on Coptic Christian churches that actually brought Egyptians out in is a show on interfaith unity,  after the bombing of a church and during the democratic revolution. There are indications that sectarian violence between a minority of criminal elements in Egyptian society have been used to as security threat to re-enforce security state (Copt Blast Aftermath: When Will the State of Emergency Protect Egyptians?, AI-USA – Egypt’s Copt Crisis is One of Democracy, AINA – FEATURE-Egyptian revolution brings show of religious unity, AlertNet).

Egypt needs democratic instruments and institutions to address security problems. Since Mubarak stepped down, there has been a lack of public order, which has lead to wide-spread criminal activity in the form of petty crime and even brazen daytime attacks on hospitals and police stations. The lax security is not just in dealing with petty crime but with sectarian tension. The lack of security has meant that religious extremists of all sides have sown fear and strife in the void. (Egypt vows to tackle religious violence – Egypt vows crackdown on ‘deviant groups‘ – Al Jazeera) There first needs to be public order established, where those who engage in criminal acts, no matter their religious background, are brought to justice. This needs to be in the form of the rule of law and civil rights enforced by courts that are cornerstones of modern democratic societies.  The reality is that we are not at this point in Egypt, but the sectarian violence should be used as an opportunity to grow this type of democratic society.Human Rights First has suggested the “long-standing” failures of the Egyptian Government, but the military government has not been in power too long. The international community must be encouraged to move democratic reforms along to remain legitimate – and any attempt to thwart or suppress the Egyptian people’s aspirations for a democracy will make their government by generals illegitimate. Mohamed Elmenshawy of Huffington Post advocates a “Bill of Rights” for Egypt, but some basic lessons in democratic nationhood need to be given to the Egyptians first:

I spend two weeks in Cairo last month witnessing serious and heated debates over Egypt’s political future, and Egypt’s cultural identities. While democracy, free election, and electoral process are among major subject of these debates, a serious talk about basic rights and liberty for all Egyptians is still missing.The Egyptian revolution did not stand behind an ideological framework or guidance. Therefore, the serious debate over the makeup of the future Egyptian constitution, specifically with regards to the role of Islam and the meaning of citizenship, caused fracture and concern between Egypt’s minority and majority in the same time.