A New Year of 'Dhimmitude' for Egypt's Copts

by Raymond Ibrahim
Stonegate Institute
February 17, 2012

For Egypt's Christian Copts, the New Year began with threats that their churches would be attacked during Christmas mass (celebrated on January 7). Because many were eyeing the situation—several Coptic churches were previously attacked, including last Christmas (eight dead) and New Year's day (23 dead), not to mention ominous harbingers around the world, such as the Nigerian Christmas day church bombings (40 dead) —the Muslim Brotherhood proclaimed it would "protect" the Copts during their church services. Happily, Coptic Christmas came and went without incident.

Church of St. Mary and St. Abram, recently besieged by thousands of Muslims.

Yet, if the Muslim Brotherhood "protected" Coptic churches when many around the world were watching, as soon as attention dissipated, it was business as usual: a large number of Salafis and Muslim Brotherhood members entered a church, asserting that it had no license and no one should pray in it, with hints that it might be turned into a mosque—an all too typical approach in Muslim countries where building or even renovating churches is next to impossible.
More to the point, 2012 appears to be unfolding as the "year of dhimmitude" for Egypt's Christians. Consider the following anecdotes starting from just last January, all of which demonstrate an upsurge in the treatment of Egypt's Copts as dhimmis (dhimmi being the legal term for Islam's "protected" non-Muslim minorities—"protected," that is, as long as they agree to a number of debilitations that renders them second-class citizens):
Insulting Islam
According to the Pact of Omar (which is also one of the earliest sources banning the construction or renovation of churches), dhimmis must "respect Muslims" and never insult them or their religion. Accordingly, a prominent Christian, Naguib Sawiris, is charged with "contempt of religion" for twittering a cartoon of a bearded Mickey Mouse and veiled Minnie: "The case has added to fears among many that ultraconservative Islamists may use their new found powers to try to stifle freedom of expression." Nor are the double standards in Egypt's "contempt of religion" law missed: Christianity is daily disparaged in Egypt with impunity. Read the rest on: 

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