CAIRO: P?ope Shenouda III returned from the United States after four months of medical treatment at Cleveland Clinic.
During his time in hospital, church affairs and to a large extent, the Coptic dossier, were handled personally by the Pope from his hospital bed, millions of miles away from Cairo for the first time in Egyptian modern history.
When the Abu Fana monastery crisis reached a head last summer, no one in the Christian community but the Pope was able to reach a settlement, especially after both parties of the conflict, or their representatives paid him several visits abroad. State officials, topped by President Hosni Mubarak spoke to the Pope over the phone numerous times.
For many, this means that aging Pope is regarded by officials as the defacto representatives of Egypt’s Christian community and that he is expected to control them in support of the regime.
“We realized through this unusual official concern that the regime is worried about the future of the church if Pope Shenouda disappears, a church source told me on condition of anonymity.
This helps is a sense explains the atmosphere surrounded the Pope’s return to Cairo. The Pope was received with huge fanfare. President Hosni Mubarak sent a minister to the airport before the crack of the dawn to welcome him back and to accompany him to the main cathedral, where he was once more, received by tens of thousands of Christians. On the following day several dignitaries visited him at his residence; visits which received extensive media coverage.
Pope Shenouda is definitely a charismatic religious leader, whose impact on people is both amazing and exceptional. Some ordinary Christians have reportedly carried his photograph and kissed it in front of TV cameras as they always do with Coptic Saints’ icons. One priest even told me once that he expects the Pope to remain alive until Jesus’ resurrection.
This mysterious image surrounding the Pope vehemently adds more weight to his challenging religious and public role.
The issue is that the government, because it is inept and lacks public legitimacy, has turned to popular figures to maintain balance and to prop up public support for it. Pope Shenouda is almost the only one who has legitimacy and a strong following in the Coptic community. Yet the way the government portrayed the return of the Pope to Cairo gave a strong impression to the wider community, including Copts and Muslims, that he has become the only representative of the “Christian fiefdom within Egyptian society.
In a televised interview on the main state TV channel, pope Shenouda appeared as the only spokesman for the Christian community, tackling issues ranging from church affairs to the political participation of Copts, and making critical comments concerning the way the government handles Christian matters.
When I ran in the Press Syndicate board elections in November 2007 as the only Christian candidate, I was advised by a number of prominent journalists to seek the Pope’s support. I was surprised by that because these elections were being conducted in a civil society organization.
If I had sought such support, I would have surely secured it but I felt at this moment that my public role solely centered around my religious identity. I didn’t take the advice and the results of the elections proved that every single candidate should have a reference to fall back on, whether it’s a political party or a religious group.
A prominent Coptic bishop told me in a private meeting following the elections that if I had sought the church’s support, the results would have surely been different – but I refused.
As far as the state is concerned, Pope Shenouda has become the only representative of the Coptic community. If a Copt has a problem, he has to turn to the church, simply because the government does that when it wants Christian support for the ruling National Democratic Party in public elections.
This is the problem of a government that lacks the capacity to implement public policies in the area of religious tolerance in Egypt. To fill the vacuum, the government turns to religious leaders, including Pope Shenouda, for support. As a result, the political spectrum has become more complicated and divided along religious lines.
If the government was wise, or even keen to create a democratic society, it has to establish a political system that accommodates everybody and gives a chance for all groups to express their demands.
But the government doesn’t want democracy. And Christians have practically become citizens in church rather than a state.
Sameh Fawzyis an Egyptian journalist, PhD researcher, and specialist on governance and citizenship.
