CONTINUING PERSECUTION FOR EGYPT'S COPTS

Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

                       2nd Timothy, 3:12

Despite hopes that attacks on Egypt's Christian Copts would subside in 2014, there are no signs that those hopes will be fulfilled.  At the end of last month, yet another Coptic church was struck, this one being the Church of the Virgin Mary at Gizeh.

In the last half of 2013, fully 70 Coptic churches were attacked, burned or sacked, with corresponding loss of life in the Christian community.  Muslim extremists, taking out their fury over the overthrow of the Muslim Brotherhood government of Mohamed Morsi, went to great lengths in singling out Christians for retribution.

Egyptian Copts account for about 11% of the Egyptian population,or close to 10 million individuals.  Tracing their origins to St. Mark the Evangelist, who was martyred at Alexandria in the 1st century A.D., the Copts have a Christian history of 2-thousand years. Present day Copts are the descendants of Christians who remained true to their faith in the face of the Muslim conquest of Egypt in the 7th century.

Long relegated to the status of dhimmitude, or 2nd class status in Egypt, modern day Copts still face discrimination and persecution on virtually all fronts of Egyptian society.  In many respects, it is virtually impossible for Egypt's Christians to advance into the top tiers of the professions, participate fully in community and political life, receive equal opportunities in employment and to openly profess their faith.

As a result of its perilous position, the Coptic population of Egypt is declining, as Copts choose to leave their homeland for more secure venues.  However, emigration from Egypt cannot be the solution for this religious minority, as it is unimaginable that 10 million people could simply pack up, leave and save their religion on foreign shores. Most Copts, too, are convinced that their claims to an Egyptian homeland supersede equivalent Muslim claims.

Regardless of politically correct propaganda prevailing in America, Christianity in many ways is now experiencing its death throes in the Middle East, as once thriving Christian communities from Lebanon to Syria and the West Bank dwindle to a few thousand.  However, the prevailing attitude among Egyptian Christians seems to be that it would be difficult to call oneself a Copt without living in Egypt.  In any case, the Copts face an uncertain future that would be compounded by the prospect of the Muslim Brotherhood and various Salafist groups assuming power once again.

In the meantime, the lack of knowledge of American Christians of the fate of their Christian brothers and sisters in Egypt must be diminished, and due pressure must be placed on American policy makers to address the oppression and persecution of this sizable religious minority.

Deo Vindice!

May God bless Texas, and may the Lone Star State remain forever red!