Sectarian conflict has once again exploded between Egypt’s Muslims and Copts. The church attack in Imbaba last week will be a precursor for more crises to come if we don’t abandon old ways of thinking that dominated under Mubarak and which still rule the country.
Sectarian tensions emerged during former President Anwar al-Sadat’s rule and grew under Hosni Mubarak. The latter’s regime is undoubtedly responsible for what’s going on in Egypt today, not only because remnants his regime still exist and are trying to destabilize the country, but more importantly because Mubarak’s policies created fertile ground for sectarianism to flourish. The ex-president only confronted the symptoms of sectarianism without ever addressing its roots. He thus aggravated the problem, leading to the dangerous situation that Egypt is in today.
Egypt is in a transitional period during which superficial solutions will not suffice. Even if remnants of the old regime that are behind these incidents are arrested, the main problem will still persist. Egypt’s real crisis lies in popular sectarian attitudes that have spread beyond organized radical groups, entrenching divisions between ordinary citizens along religious lines.
These attitudes have deepened in the past few years as the Mubarak regime allowed a superficial religious discourse to prevail. This discourse involved a mix of business-oriented new preachers as well as scholars from the official religious establishment. Many Islamist currents also became complicit in this discourse, thereby turning Egypt into a country full of religious fanaticism and superficial religiosity.
Mubarak let this superficial discourse dominate the minds of many ordinary Egyptians for nearly three decades. Driven by the faulty logic that any movement that stayed clear of organized political activity did not pose a threat to the social order, Mubarak allowed the public expression of sectarian ideas. Inflammatory rhetoric was tolerated as long as it was not directed at Egypt’s rulers.
Mubarak’s regime took a position of neutrality and inaction when intervention was necessary (all the while intervening harshly in other matters where it shouldn't have). As a result, some Salafi groups adopted superficial and fundamentalist ideas, as did many Christians in response. Many Muslims have warned about the rise of Christian fanaticism, and rightly so, but they ignored the fact that Muslims were partly responsible. They also failed to present an alternative Islamic model that allays Christians’ fears, which in turn led Christians to retreat, isolate themselves, and become overly sensitive to everything Islamic.
It’s strange that the leaders of the Coptic Church, which warned Coptic youth against participating in the 25 January revolution, has now forcefully engaged in sectarian protests like those in front of the state TV and radio headquarters in the past few days. This stance would lead one to believe that the Coptic Church only relates to the Egyptian nation on a sectarian basis. It must be radically reconsidered lest the Coptic community becomes isolated and lives for the sake of emigration, not for the sake of participating in the Egypt’s development and democracy.
The Church has promoted a fear of Muslims, arguing that the Egyptian people lack awareness and that democracy will not work in our context. Instead, they have yearned for the old regime that mistreated Copts and the rest of Egyptians alike. The Church has also entrenched a culture of siding with rulers rather than the people, the same attitude adopted by many Salafi groups, which were also silent during Mubarak’s era but have become very active after he was deposed.
Dealing a final blow to sectarianism will require a series of difficult steps. On the short run, allegations of Christian women being held in churches after converting to Islam must investigated at the general prosecutor’s office, not on private satellite channels or on the internet, and perpetrators of crimes must be brought to justice. But on the long run, Egypt’s leaders must formulate a political vision where Copts can be fully integrated into the public sphere, thereby ending the Church’s hegemony over Coptic political affairs. Otherwise, the country will be heading for a real crisis.
Let's not wait for those who burned the Imbaba church to burn the whole nation.
Translated and abridged from the Arabic Edition.
