Al-Aqbat wal-Barlaman … Aswaat min Zugag (Copts and Parliament …Votes of Glass); Adel Mounir; Watani
WATANI International
13 June 2010
The monthly Watani Book series has chosen to tread the prickly path of issues concerned with the curtailed citizenship rights of Copts, and that are more often than not swept under the carpet of the Egyptian conscience. In this respect, one Watani Book dealt with the relationship of the previous president Anwar Sadat with the Copts and the Church, especially in view of the considerable spread of political Islam in the Sadat years—from 1970 to 1981 when he was assassinated at the hands of the Islamists he endorsed. Another tackled, in depth, the issue of the notorious ‘reconciliation sessions’ used by the security authorities and politicians to force Coptic victims of sectarian violence to ‘reconcile’ with their attackers, thereby settling the case out of court and relinquishing all their legal rights. Yet a third book tackled the Nag Hammadi Christmas Eve crime of last January which left six Copts and one Muslim dead, 19 Copts injured, and the entire Coptic community heart-broken. And last month, Watani founder Antoun Sidhom was commemorated in a book that reproduced many of his most memorable writings which ring true today just as when they were written through the 1970s to the1990s.
Why was this book written?
The most recent addition to the series is a book which broaches the issue of the relation of the Copts to those most conspicuous of democratic institutions and practices: Parliament and elections. Copts and Parliament…Votes of Glass which was compiled by Watani’s parliamentary correspondent Adel Mounir, carries an introduction by Samia Sidhom in which she explains that the idea for the book emerged during the campaign launched by Watani in 2008 and 2009 to rally support for the unified law for building places of worship. That bill has been lying in Parliament for five years now, but has never gained a spot on the agenda of bills to be discussed. Watani’s campaign involved sounding the opinion of MPs across the board regarding the bill, and came up with some opinions that were shocking to Copts. Even though some 85 per cent of the MPs Watani approached were all for passing the bill, it was the views expressed by the opponents that were eye-opening. Opponents of the bill used arguments that insisted Egypt was a Muslim country and that allowing Copts to build churches freely would change the Islamic look of Egypt—a possibility that was, according to them, utterly unacceptable. Others feared that, if allowed to build churches, Copts would build too many of them—a strict no-no. And yet others said that the building of churches would ‘irritate’ Muslims. If a portion of Egypt’s legislators was so impervious to the needs of Copts, the question that begs an answer is: what kind of representation are Copts getting?
Over the years
The book begins with a historic review of legislation and law makers in Egypt, going as far back in time as ancient Egypt when the country was governed with the law of the god of wisdom Thot and the goddess of justice Maat.
Since the Arabs occupied Egypt in the 7th century, Coptic participation in running the country was subject to the whim of the rulers. Copts were at times assigned significant responsibilities, and at others insignificant ones, until the Ottoman rule in the 16th century when Copts were absolutely excluded. Following Napoleon’s military campaign against Egypt in 1798 and Mohamed Ali’s rule in 1805, Coptic participation resurfaced.
The golden age for Coptic participation, however, began with the nationalist movement at the onset of the 20th century, peaked during the 1919 nationalist revolution, and sustained a healthy activity during the liberal era that extended until the 1952 Revolution. Copts joined political parties—one Copt, Akhnoukh Fanous, founded a political party on his own in 1908, but the experience was short-lived and ended in 1911. Several Coptic MPs became political leaders and had considerable following; most famous among them was Makram Ebeid who was a Wafdist but left the Wafd and formed his own party al-Kutla in 1942. In their heydey, Coptic MPs formed 8 – 10 per cent of the total number of MPs in Parliament.
Those Coptic MPs
As the 1952 Revolution metamorphosed into a ruling regime, Coptic participation underwent a severe downturn; Coptic candidates were very infrequently fielded for parliamentary elections and those who were, very seldom won. This induced the government to resort to appointing 10 Copts as MPs after each election, which in turn induced a remark by prominent Copt Rushdy Saïd that Coptic representation in Parliament since 1952 owes to the ruler’s courtesy not to public will.
The book goes on to detail Coptic representation in Egypt’s subsequent parliaments since 1879, and presents profiles of the most prominent Coptic MPs who won seats through the ballot box, not presidential appointment. Their electoral campaigns, the slogans they used, and the manner in which they were able to win votes makes very insightful reading. Among these MPs were Wissa Wassef, Sinout Hanna, Habib al-Masry, Father Boulos Bassili, Fakhry Abdel-Nour and Mounir Fakhry Abdel-Nour.
Grievances under the dome
The book ends on a melancholy note with a chapter entitled “Coptic grievances under Parliament’s dome”. It details the bills on Coptic issues that have been with Parliament for years—sometimes decades—on end, without being passed or even discussed. Especially conspicuous are the unified laws for building places of worship and for personal status affairs for Christians.
The escalating sectarian violence against Copts, and the fact that such incidents more often than not go unnoticed by Parliament, came under criticism by the Watani Book. When MPs were asked to comment on the issue, some replies ran to the effect that only ‘significant’ sectarian incidents were worth discussion, so as not to exacerbate hostilities. Others said that Copts had no real problems; they were only making them up at the urging of the Copts who lived outside Egypt.
The book belongs to the genre of live history that is extending on till today, a history that is yet being told.