Few Still Regard Christians in Egypt as “second-class citizens”, Catholic Charity Told

He calls for a change in mentality, for other religions to start treating Christians as their equals, in adherence to calls made by the country’s head of State, President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi who, the Bishop says, constantly talks about “the equality of all Egyptians.”

Bishop Kyrillos, however, compares the situation of Christians during President Sisi’s time to the presidency of Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood and says that Christians are better off today.

“These are golden times for us Christians under Sisi,” he says, and adds, “When a mosque is built in a new city, he (Sisi) always asks when a church will be built next to it. He often affirms that everyone - Jews, Christians and Muslims - must be allowed to practice their religion freely and be able to build places of worship.”

The leadership of ACN has however noted that even under President Sisi, individual Christians still attract the attention of the state.

“Serious allegations, even including charges of terrorism, have been made against Coptic activist and government critic Ramy Kamel. These are considered absurd by human rights activists,” ACN leadership asserts.

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The Pontifical charity foundation seeks to know whether people enjoy as much political freedom as there is Religious freedom under Sisi's presidency.

According to Bishop Kyrillos, however, there are restrictions for all Egyptians, irrespective of their religion.

The Catholic Church leader says that attacks against human rights activists in the country are not specifically targeted at Christians.

The Catholic charity further makes reference to its World Report on Religious Freedom that has mentioned the killing of a Coptic Christian in Sinai and the abduction of Christian girls in Upper Egypt.

Asked whether attacks against Christians are still regularly being carried out today, the Bishop responds, “There are far fewer such incidents. The government is doing everything in its power to prevent them.”

“Recently, a Muslim who had murdered a Christian was even executed,” the 74-year-old Bishop of Assiut says, and adds, “Before, it would have been unthinkable that a believer would be put to death because of an infidel.”

The Bishop also confirms that indeed, things have improved in the country with regard to the legalization of Churches that were built without approval.

“I read that about 50 percent of the Church buildings in Egypt have in the meantime been legalized. However, things here in Assiut are moving forward very slowly. The process is very complicated,” he says.

Highlighting some of the requirements that need to be met in the legalization process, Bishop Kyrillos says, “Two requirements need to be met. You must be able to prove undisputed ownership of the land on which the church was built. The second is the submission of a plan of the building prepared by a registered architect. There are also special safety requirements.”

Agnes Aineah is a Kenyan journalist with a background in digital and newspaper reporting. She holds a Master of Arts in Digital Journalism from the Aga Khan University, Graduate School of Media and Communications and a Bachelor's Degree in Linguistics, Media and Communications from Kenya's Moi University. Agnes currently serves as a journalist for ACI Africa.