EGYPT COUNTRY PROFILE
The Christian community still experiences serious problems, despite things continuing to improve in a number of areas. Positive steps in religious freedom included ongoing revisions to state school textbooks to remove degrading rhetoric against religious minorities and President El-Sisi dialoguing with religious minorities over the drafting of the new personal status law. 67 New Christian places of worship can be controversial. The easing of legal approval for church buildings continues to be positive, a step forward from the pre-2016 situation, when official permission for new churches could take up SELECTED INCIDENTS MAY 2023 23-year-old Christian woman Marina from Qena was apparently kidnapped and forced to convert to Islam after meeting Muslim woman Bahar, who was helping her find a new job. Worried about Marina, her husband Halim repeatedly called her, but her mobile was switched off. He said: “That very evening, I filed a police report on my wife’s disappearance, but the report wasn’t filed until three days later. The police have done nothing to help me. I haven’t seen or heard from Marina since.” The same day Marina disappeared, a new ID was requested showing her religion as Islam. 69 SEPTEMBER 2023 The home of Christian man Emad Wagih Emad was torched in Al-Khayari, Abu-Qurqas, Minya Province on Tuesday the 5 th , following an application to build a church. Social media posts whipped up anger, saying the church would be built without a license. Rioters apparently confused his
to 30 years and required the President’s personal approval. However, this has not prevented mob violence against Christian communities where new churches are planned – even if they have received permission. The abduction, forced conversion and marriage of Coptic Christian women and girls continues. It is almost certainly under-reported, as victims are frequently reluctant to speak about their experiences, which often involve rape. There is evidence both of systematic kidnapping by gangs and of police officers having conspired to report them as missing rather than abducted. 68 application to build a new house with the church’s application. Attackers cut off the village’s electricity supplies. 70 OCTOBER 2023 25-year-old Christian woman Enjy Malak Baseet from Marsa Matruh went missing on Wednesday the 11 th while on her way to work. After a phone call saying the family would never see her again, her father filed a report on the kidnapping, but police classified her as a missing person, closing the case a few days later. 71 APRIL 2024 Christians were attacked in Al-Fawakher village, Minya Province on Tuesday the 23 rd . A local source said extremists initially tried to expel Christians, but started torching homes when they failed. The violence was apparently triggered by plans to build a new Coptic Orthodox church. Three days later, an Evangelical church being built in the same province’s Al-Kom Al-Ahmar village was attacked. In both cases, authorities responded quickly. 72
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