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International Coptic Organization Condemns Egypt Church
May 24, 2007 4:15 p.m. EST
Joseph S. Mayton - AHN Middle East Correspondent
Cairo, Egypt (AHN) - The Middle East Christians Association (MECA) has released a statement condemning the Coptic Church of Egypt's actions surrounding Muslim-Coptic relations. Nader Fawzy, the head of the international organization, wrote on their Website following the recent incident in Ayat, arguing that the Coptic Pope does not represent the Copts of Egypt.
Christians and Muslims clashed on May 12, south of Cairo in Ayat. Nine Egyptians were wounded following the Muslim prayer in the village about 15 miles south of the Egyptian capital.
The dispute began over the government's refusal to allow Copts in the town to build an addition onto the church, forcing many Copts to worship at home.
"Whenever there are disturbances in Egypt between the Copts and Muslims, the people wonder where the Church [Coptic] is and it is doing," Fawzy argued in his statement posted on the Web.
In addition to the criticism during the most recent dispute between Muslims and Copts in the country, Fawzy continued his slamming of the Church by arguing they are simply mouthpieces of the current Egyptian regime.
"The government asks the Church for its opinion on many political issues so the Copts would get behind it, but the government refuses the Church's advise if it's against what they [the government] want," he continued. "The Church has become a voice for the government. For example, the holy council nominates Mubarak for the presidency, prohibiting the Copts from visiting Jerusalem so they won't hurt Muslim sentiment, or for statements about the non-existence of discrimination against the Copts," he added.
Fawzy gave a possible solution to this problem, saying that "from our [Coptic] point of view the appearance of Coptic political leaders that can move and gather the Copts behind it and save face for the Church," are needed.
All Headline News (AHN) reporter Manar Ammar contributed to this report in Cairo.
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