A delegation dispatched by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom is currently visiting Cairo in order to review the state of religious freedoms in Egypt. The commission is mandated with determining whether Egypt should be removed from its religious freedoms "watch list" and put on its list of "countries of concern," in which religious minorities face discrimination or persecution.
On Sunday, the delegation met with Ahmed Abul Magd, vice-president of the state-run National Human Rights Council, and with Sheikh of Al-Azhar Mohamed Tantawi.
"We don’t discriminate between Muslims and Christians. Both have the same rights and duties," said Tantawi. "Both pay taxes and are drafted in the army."
Abul Magd reportedly told the delegation that Egypt was "affected by the political, social and religious turmoil in neighboring countries such as Afghanistan and Yemen."
Coptic Pope Shenouda III, however, declined to meet the delegation, which he accused of "interfering in Egypt’s domestic affairs."
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
