Coptic-Muslim coexistence: A far-fetched dream?

I admit that this post will be biased! I can’t be neutral when I see my people getting attacked more frequently and more severely. I just can’t , but also I can’t lie, exaggerate, or accuse anyone without proof.

I also admit that I’m not optimistic regarding the current situation, but I won’t lose hope, not soon at least.

If you haven’t already heard yet, the Copts in Egypt got attacked AGAIN for maybe the 5^th or the 6^th time since the Egyptian revolution. This time the Islamic extremists (hopefully extremists not mainstream) gathered in huge numbers around a Coptic church in Imbaba, Giza. They attacked the Copts there, as a result 12 were killed, hundreds were injured, a church was vandalized, and another church was burnt down. The casualties included Muslims this time, which means that the Copts are fed up and will defend themselves from now on, even if they have to resort to violence.

So, the million-dollar question: will the Copts and Muslims ever be able to live together happily?

Unfortunately, I don’t know the answer. Do you?!

However, from what I see:

• Obviously, a decent number of the Muslim population want the Christians either dead or at least out of Egypt.
• Again many are either indifferent or absent minded with regard to the Copts’ sufferings.
• I dare to say that the majority of the Muslim society act in a patronizing and condescending manner towards the Copts. Talking about dhimmitude, Muslims being the majority, and Muslims protecting the Copts are clear examples.
• Prevailing ignorance cannot go unnoticed, and in my experience ignorance begets intolerance.
• Official reaction from authorities is just disappointing, and in many cases I’d say that authorities are an accomplice in the organized discrimination against Copts.
• In sake of neutrality, intellects shallowly denounce intolerance in both sides, without honestly assessing the real threat of Islamic intolerance.
• When Muslims blindly base their judgment on Christians according to one verse in the Qur’an saying: “لَن تَرۡضَىٰ عَنكَ ٱلۡيَہُودُ وَلَا ٱلنَّصَـٰرَىٰ حَتَّىٰ تَتَّبِعَ مِلَّتَہُمۡ‌ ” “Never will the Jews or the Christians be satisfied with thee unless thou follow their form of religion”. I guess it’s easy to expect the prejudices against Christians if Muslims act solely based on this verse and not on actual experience. Frankly, there are many similar verses that encourage prejudices against Christians, but it’s not the proper place to cite them here.
• Practically, there is no freedom of religion in Islam, A Muslim who converts is an apostate and should be killed.
• Many Muslims have the tendency to believe rumors, and act blindly in response to these rumors, for examples (weapons in churches, women abduction, church magic, and the church secret plans)
• Religious and theological differences between the two camps actually built a gap that is not easy to bridge, especially when the Copts hear their beliefs mocked in mosques and in mass media.

• Copts have always felt abused, and discriminated against. They have emotional scars that do not heal by time.
• Copts are not fully integrated in the society, or at least not fruitfully specially in politics.
• Copts generally see religious Muslims as radicals, which is not true in many cases.
• Copts look at their ancestors’ glorious history and feel heartbroken and helpless.
• When criminals go unpunished incident after incident, a sense of resentment keeps piling in the Copts’ hearts, and more importantly a rejection to the cruel society they are living in.

All of these issues are huge obstacles in front of healthy coexistence, and it’s apparent from my observations that this is a complicated issue, and won’t be solved easily, specially if the whole society is not earnestly seeking genuine coexistence based on equality and acceptance. We will be on the right track if we started handling these issues and work hard on alleviating their effect.

One last thing, a living example of the problems I mentioned above can be found in this video:

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