Concealing the real number of Copts in Egypt is a political issue, according to the Rev. Dr Andrea Zaki, director-general of the Coptic Evangelical Organisation for Social Services (CEOSS).
Concealing the real number of Copts in Egypt is a political issue, according to the Rev. Dr Andrea Zaki, director-general of the Coptic Evangelical Organisation for Social Services (CEOSS).
Estimates of the figure vary: some put it at six million, whereas the Coptic Church says it is closer to 12 million. So far there is neither an accurate census nor an exact assessment.
Rise of Islamism
The CEOSS conference, held at Ain Sukhna on the Red Sea coast, under the title “Partners in Democracy Making”, was attended by intellectuals, university professors and Muslim and Christian religious leaders.
According to Dr Zaki, there was a shift in the public role expected of—or allowed to—Copts since the 1952 Revolution, especially with the subsequent rise of Islamist movements, which had the effect of progressively turning the Egyptian society into a sectarian hotbed. Predictably, this may have been a factor in concealing the real number of the Coptic population.
Principles of freedom, participation, equality, pluralism and peaceful transfer of power, Dr Zaki reminded, are major constants and human values that constitute the pillars of democracy, and which are not affected by religion, nationality, colour, gender, history, geography or any other. Pluralism, especially in political thought, he pointed out, is generally based on the differences existing in any democratic society that can be related to aspects such as gender, religion, denomination, civilisation and culture.
Counting indicators
In the same context Nadia Halim, professor of sociology and member of the National Centre for Social and Criminological Research, said the number of Copts could be deduced from election indicators. Given that the number of registered Coptic voters stands at five million, if the number of non-voters such as minors, unregistered voters and non-holders of a national ID card is taken into consideration, the actual figure should be close to 12 million.
Dr Halim insisted, however, that discussing numbers was unacceptable if Copts are to be considered national partners with full citizenship rights.
Dr Zaki stressed the importance of pushing Christians towards making contributions in important fields of study such as the Theology of Liberation; the relation between religion and politics; the relation between the majority and the minority; and the process of democratic transformation. The future of the Christians in Egypt, he said, is closely linked to their Muslim fellow citizens.