CAIRO: As sectarian tension has grown in Egypt over the past few years, Copts have become more vocal about their concerns with the decades-long difficulties facing the building and restoration of churches topping their list of complaints.
The government has allegedly tried to ease the process that Copts have to go through in order to license a church or restore weakened portions in Egypt’s ancient or historic churches. However, many Copts say that reform has been too slow and repressive laws still exist.
“The issue of church building is old and is a result of a constitutional error that does not treat Muslims and Christians equally, says Youssef Sidhom, editor of Watani, a weekly newspaper that focuses on Coptic society and related issues. “The path that a Muslim citizen follows in order to buy land, get authorization and build a mosque is enormously different from that of a Christian Egyptian citizen who wishes to build a church.
In January, a church in Udaysat, a village near Luxor in Upper Egypt, was attacked on the eve of an Epiphany service. Press reports said that the fact that the worshippers were holding a service in an unlicensed church triggered the attack. The original church had reportedly been old and crumbling and was pulled down to make way for a new church; however, the church’s rebuilding permit had been pending since 1971. The Copts in the area had built a small building and used the space as it was for their prayers.
Such incidents have arguably brought the much-debated issue of church construction to the top of the Coptic-Christian agenda.
Conflict occurred between Muslims and Copts in Alexandria, where Copts in three churches were attacked during the daytime. One knife attack in front of the Saints Church killed a 78-year-old man. Egypt’s second largest city experienced heavy rioting and protesting, and Coptic anger has once again brought the crisis of church building into the spotlight.
The incidents also highlighted a parliamentarian’s initiative for a decree that standardizes laws governing churches, mosques and even Jewish synagogues.
Churches in Egypt are governed by a set of laws set forth by top government official Muhammad Al-Ezaby Pasha in 1934, the laws were formally known as “the ten conditions decree, or the “Hemionic Line. The decree outlines procedures that state security must fulfill before a church is built on any piece of land; security has the authority to recommend or reject the building of a church in a certain area.
According to the law, churches cannot be built in a privileged area – close to a historic spot, a government quarter, a water facility or the Nile. The distance between one church and another or a neighboring mosque must be “adequate.
“It’s funny that this decree does not specify a distance. It only says ‘adequate,’ which is a very vague word and could be misused or interpreted differently by the security, says Sidhom. “Some villages are forbidden churches, because state security says there is a church three or five kilometers away.
Even if security initially approves the matter, the Muslim majority in the area has to be consulted. In the past, the final approval had to be issued by the president of the state. However, in 1996, President Hosni Mubarak issued a decision stating that the district head would approve the restoration of churches, and licensing for church building consequently became the responsibility of the local governors.
“It all comes back to the judgments of the local governor, says Milad Hanna, Coptic thinker and writer. “He may delay the building of a church for a year . depending on his judgment. If it is a time of strife, he delays the building of churches so that the Muslims would not be provoked.
The size of the church is supposedly limited as well. If security determines that the land could potentially accommodate a large church, says Sidhom, then “they would not approve the building of the church.
Historically, rejections of a church license were always unfounded, even in official papers, until 2005, when Mubarak issued a decision saying that refusals had to be explained.
Limitations also apply to restorations, with detailed and often hectic procedures to follow. Even for ancient churches, some centuries old, property rights and documents have to be found and presented before any major restoration can take place.
“We have been adopting this cause since 1990, says Hafez Abu Saada, head of the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR). “The state is completely ignoring our reports concerning this matter. The Hemionic line must be eliminated, the 10 conditions. The heads of districts, local administrative bodies and central offices should take on this duty.
Even in the new cities, built and constructed in the suburbs of Cairo, lands initially designated in plans for churches are sometimes ignored or used for other facilities. Although this is not often the case, the EOHR has received complaints about it.
On a general level, EOHR receives around five complaints annually concerning rejections of restoration and building of churches. “The rejections are not usually supported by real reasons; like for example, a rejection of [a] church because another church exists four or five kilometers away, or because of security fears, says Abu Saada. “Those kinds [of] unfounded reasons show a preexisting intention to decline [demands for churches].
Some argue, however, that “security fears are well founded, since in some areas strife has mounted as Muslims and Christians dispute dominance through churches or mosques. Incidents of attacks against churches are not uncommon.
“The government must set laws to govern this process. No one should build a place for worship without authorizations; Muslims or Christians, says Hanna. However, although Hanna acknowledges security considerations, he rejects the idea of security units making decisions. “We are not a police state, he adds.
“It should not be up to the state security to point out areas where they think that it has extreme or radical Muslims and forbid churches on them. Muslims and Copts are best friends, says Hanna. “If each has demands, then the governor should fulfill them, with the blessing of the state security. If problems arise, only then should security interfere. Forbidding something should not be the only option.
In light of the difficulty of some of the procedures, Copts sometimes skip them and unofficially transform their houses, property and even garages into places of worship. Some build the desired church and file for a license later, a process that may take years to finalize.
“Unfortunately, such haphazardly ‘adapted’ churches bear little (if any) resemblance to the structure and architecture of the ancient churches of Egypt, reads the Christian Coptic Orthodox Church’s statement.
Meanwhile, as voices are raised in protest, upper house member Mohammad Goweily has decided to make the church issue a priority. Goweily, responsible for the district of Shubra, which is dominated by Christians, said the rules restricting churches and bounding them by a top official’s decision is not even “logical.
Goweily, during two consecutive terms, has been trying to pass a law that guarantees that mosques, churches and Jewish synagogues fall under the same laws and are not governed by state security.
“This is a protection for all. The supervision of the government on the building of any house of worship is essential. There must be guarantees, says Goweily. “However, there must not be discrimination between a mosque, a church or a synagogue . between Muslims, Christians and Jews.
When it was initially proposed, all upper house members, including the Muslim Brotherhood, hailed the law.
Some Coptic voices, however, remain discouraged.
“I would be very astonished if such a law is passed, at least during this session, says Mounir Fakhry Abdel-Nour, a high-ranking member of Al-Wafd and former parliamentarian. “The parliament’s agenda is full and I don’t think it’s a priority.
Abdel-Nour, like many others, argues tha
t, as important as it is, the church issue is not the main source of Coptic troubles. It is the culture, says Abdel-Nour, who believes that Egypt’s education system and media, among other factors, create a culture of division and rejection of the “other.
“In primary, preparatory, secondary schools . there is curricula that creates a cultural atmosphere that does not only lead to disrespect of the rights of citizenship, but also promotes division and strife, explains Abdel-Nour.
Others like Safwat Al-Bayad, head priest of the Egyptian Anglican Church blame a wavering economy and religious rhetoric, Christian and Muslim, for Coptic troubles, deeming the church issue a shell for more deep-rooted matters of concern.
“The main concern is the clashes that occur between the people here [in Egypt], said Al-Bayad. “People clash with one another because they are fed up. We [Muslims and Copts] have always been living side by side. However, young people are strained, unemployed . they need money. They’re easily exploited by some people; some people pull them towards [certain ideas].
“Radical religious rhetoric is the main factor, like the clerics that stand in a mosque or a church and attack the other side, young people listen to these speeches. There’s nothing in their hands.
