MP Haitham El-Hariri calls for law enforcement on perpetrators of Christian-related violence
Egyptian member of parliament (MP) Haitham El-Hariri took to social media his condemnation on the continued violence against Egyptian Christians.
On July 20, he took to Facebook to say that "reconciliation sessions" are unconstitutional and illegal, which, he said is just "burying heads in the sand."
As reported by The Daily News Egypt newspaper, El-Hariri emphasized on his Facebook post that "The law should be applied on any violators, without arresting innocent people just for the sake of making balanced cases."
Several activists and politicians have expressed that they would like the law put into action especially in cases of sectarian violence against Christians living in Egypt who identify themselves as Coptic Christians.
Mina Thabet, programme director for minorities and vulnerable groups with the Egyptian Commission of Rights and Freedoms, said, according to France24, that violence on Christians has intensified. In July alone, a Christian pharmacist was beheaded; a priest's relative was stabbed; and a kindergarten school was burned after a rumor that it will be turned into a church. No one was prosecuted for these crimes.
"It is escalating in a very short time," Thabet said.
Thabet said that several factors contribute to the issue of violence on Christians. Illiteracy rate is the foremost reason. In the town of Minya, Radical Islamists have stronghold in the governorate, they control schools as well as preach ideology against Christians.
"They are all factors," Thabet said, adding, "You can't separate the economic and social factors from the equation. It's a complicated equation."
In late May, according to Independent, a 70-year-oldy Coptic woman in Minya was beaten in front of 300 Muslim men. Forced to take the consequence in behalf of her son, who had been rumored to be having a relationship with a Muslim woman, the woman nakedly paraded for two hours. When police arrived, the mob has already dispersed.
Earlier this month, as reported by Express, Naim Aziz Moussa was taken into custody when he offered his home in Amreyya, Alexandria to fellow Christians who gathered there for worship. When a Coptic priest visited his residence, a Muslim mob rallied outside his house, threw stones, destroyed vehicles, looted and burned two other neighboring homes.
"They were crying out: 'Islamic! Islamic! We don't want churches in Amreyya!'" said Moussa.
Moussa complained to the police who arrived during the violence, but he said, "The police did nothing to protect the Christians."
Moussa, along with six other Christians, were arrested, and charged with building [a worship center] without permission. They were later released on bail; however, Moussa cannot return to his home unless he reconciles with his opponents.
According to Breitbart, the biggest problem, say activists, is the lack of prosecution. The perpetrators are only given menial consequences like a slap on the wrist, points out Sherif Azer, Egyptian civil rights activist and PhD researcher at the University of York in United Kingdom.
Azer explains that instead of pressing charges, local authorities pressure Christians into "reconciliation" sessions. The opposing parties negotiate a settlement, wherein Christians are bound to surrender their legal rights and sometimes even forced to leave their communities.