In Sharbat, Amriya, the parliamentary committee decides that the… Banished Coptic families to return home
In Sharbat, Amriya, the parliamentary committee decides that the… Banished Coptic families to return home
On Thursday 16 February, and following a seven-hour-long session in which politicians, rights activists, and Sharbat village elders took part, a decision was issued to allow five out of six Coptic families who were banished from their village of Sharbat in al-Nahda, Amriya, southwest of Alexandria, to go back home. The family of the young man who allegedly was the reason violence erupted against the Copts of Sharbat on 27 January, and in the wake of which the other Coptic families were banished from the village according to a decree by a Salafi-dominated village council, was not allowed back.
The Muslim villagers of Sharbat had waged an attack against the Copts in the village last January under the pretext that a young Coptic tailor, Murad Sami Girgis, had been circulating indecent photos of a Muslim woman through his mobile phone. Even though the charge was unsubstantiated, Coptic-owned homes, shops, and businesses were attacked, looted, and burned. Informal ‘conciliation sessions’ were later held by the village Salafi elders, local politicians and security officials, and ruled that six Coptic families—that had nothing to do with Girgis who had already been questioned by the prosecution and released, after which he voluntarily left the village together with his family—should be banished from the village. These families formed the wealthy trader Abu-Soliman clan. The Abu-Solimans had to leave under threat that if they remained, all the Copts in the village would be attacked and burned alive in their homes.
Alexandria governor Usama al-Fuli was present in the Thursday session in which the liberal MPs Marian Malak, Suzy Adli, Abul-Ezz al-Hariri, Amr al-Shobaki, Ihab Ramzi, Atef Makhalef, and Mustafa al-Naggar took part. Also participating in the 16-member parliamentary delegation was a number of Islamist MPs from the Muslim Brotherhood’s Free and Justice Party and the Salafi al-Nour Party including Sheikh Ahmed Sherif. Members of the banished families, a number of village elders, as well as five representatives of the Coptic Maspero Youth Union (MYU) and one from the Free Copts took part. The session was held in Alexandria.
Once the session ended, a statement was issued by the MP committee, which thanked “the sons of Amriya for burying sectarian strife and defending the Copts among them”. The statement alluded to the Muslim villagers claim that the Coptic families had not been “forced” to leave the village, that they were not “banished” but merely “separated” from the village for their own safety. The Salafi village elders insisted that the statement should include this allusion and that all talk of “banishment” was mere media exaggeration. The statement declared that the return of the Abu Solimans ensures the supremacy of law, and in no way contradicts the sharia of Allah.
The parliamentary committee decided to leave the question of the young man Girgis whose alleged misdemeanour led to the violence, and the criminals who burned the Copts’ homes and shops to legal authorities.
MP Amr al-Shobaki said the session confirmed the rule of law as a main principle and denounced the crimes committed against the Copts. He added that innocent people should not be punished because of an individual’s fault and that the rule of law alone should be used to resolve conflict.
“The issues of compensating the victims for their losses and taking the criminals to justice should be handled according to the law. And it is the responsibility of the State and the villagers to protect the families returning to their homes”, said MP Mustafa al-Naggar. The Church is, so far, the only party that has undertaken to compensate the victims.
The return of families is expected within a week, once the Abu-Solimans repair their homes. The same parliamentary committee which worked out their return, and the governor of Alexandria, will be there to escort them home.
The Salafi MP Ahmed Sherif of Amriya promised to guarantee the safety of the returning families adding that banishing Copts is refused jurally, customarily and legally and that the discussion did not include Murad Girgis who is accused of having a relationship with a Muslim lady as it is left for law.
The MYU activists argued with the MPs about the fact that all this injustice was allowed to befall the Copts on account of an unsubstantiated story. “Who is the young woman involved?” they asked. She was not identified in the prosecution’s report; there are no eyewitnesses or proof to prove the incident.” They criticised the shortcoming in securing the village and questioned why no official investigation was conducted and why no culprit was caught. The MPs answered that names of culprits have been handed to the prosecution which has ordered their arrest.
WATANI International
17 February 2012