Egypt's Christians ignored by Muslim Brotherhood: Coptic Pope

PanARMENIAN.Net - Egypt's Christians feel sidelined, ignored and neglected by Muslim Brotherhood-led authorities, who proffer assurances but have taken little or no action to protect them from violence, Coptic Pope Tawadros II said, according to Reuters.

In his first interview since emerging from seclusion after eight people were killed in sectarian violence between Muslims and Christians this month, the pope called official accounts of clashes at Cairo's Coptic cathedral on April 7 "a pack of lies".

He also voiced dismay at attempts by President Mohamed Mursi's Islamist allies to purge thousands of judges appointed under ousted President Hosni Mubarak, saying the judiciary was a pillar of Egyptian society and should not be touched.

"There is a sense of marginalization and rejection, which we can call social isolation," the pope told Reuters on Thursday, April 25, of the feelings of Christians, who he said make up at least 15 percent of Egypt's 84 million people. Most Egyptians are Sunni Muslims.

Attacks on churches and sectarian tensions increased significantly after the rise of Islamists to power following the 2011 uprising that overthrew Mubarak, even though Christians had demonstrated alongside Muslims for his removal.

Asked about the government's response to this month's attacks, he said: "It made a bad judgment and it was negligent... I would have expected better security for the place and the people."

"Sometimes we get nice feelings from officials, but such feelings require actions, and the actions are slow, and maybe little, and sometimes don't exist at all," the pope said.

"After the last incidents, we gained some promises from the authorities and the government, from some ministers, but till now there is nothing new," he said.

Christians have long complained of discrimination in employment and treatment by the authorities and called for changes in laws to make it as easy to build or renovate churches as it is for mosques.

"Christians' problems and hardships have two sides, a religious side and a civilian one. The religious side involves two main issues: building churches and land," the pope said. "I expect the government to facilitate and solve the chronic problems... For example, the building of a new church takes more than 15-16 years to get permission."