Country: Egypt

Group: Copt

Date Finalized: 4 April 2023

Team: Austyn Evans (lead), Natasha Chandra, Kelsey Dwyer, Ariana Jackson, Khulan Davasauren

Content Warnings: Murder, lethal violence, ethnocide

Approximate Time Period: 1950s-current

Egyptian Copts are the largest and most significant minority Christian population in the Middle East, making up 10% of the population (Rehbein, 2017). Islamic rule in Egypt persecuted the Copts starting in the 17th century (Minority Rights Group, 2021).  In 1972, Islamic groups burnt down Coptic churches, houses, and shops (Vineym 2017). The Shari’a law introduced in 1983 oppressed Copts in a new way. The Mubarek regime killed 21 Coptic christians in 2010-2011 (Minority Rights Group, 2021). Starting in August of 2013, a string of attacks on Copts began. Muslim groups burnt down, robbed, and attacked 47 Coptic churches and then a Muslim angry mob killed 4 Copts blaming them for the death of a Muslim (Viney, 2017). A military assault against a Coptic demonstration killed 28 Copts and injured 212 people (Minority Rights Group, 2021). During this time, Egyptian security personnel escalated attacks against Copts killing at least 800 but potentially 1,000 Coptic people (Viney, 2017). In 2017, ISIS held a mass execution of 21 Egyptian Copts and then in 2018, Muslim residents led violent attacks on Coptic homes and people (Magdy, 2018). A suicide bomber killed 41 people, including 15 children, at a Coptic church (Rehbein, 2017). Muslim groups currently still subject Copts to violence and religious discrimination and lethal violence still persists against the Copts, forcing Copts to either leave or change their faith (Minority Rights Group, 2022). Data Quality: There is a large amount of research and documentation about the minority Egyptian Coptic group, thus, it is rated a 3/3.

Sources

  1. Rehbein, M. (2017, May 26). Who are Egypt’s Coptic Christians? CNN. Retrieved April 6, 2023, from https://www.cnn.com/2017/04/09/middleeast/egypt-coptic-christians/index.html
  2. Minority Rights. (2021, June 23). MRG deeply concerned by attacks on Coptic Christian Community. Minority Rights Group. Retrieved April 6, 2023, from https://minorityrights.org/2013/08/20/mrg-deeply-concerned-by-attacks-on-coptic-christian-community/
  3.  Minority Rights Group. (2022, December 13) Egypt: Copts continue to suffer the effects of hate speech online.. Retrieved April 6, 2023, from https://minorityrights.org/programmes/library/trends2020/egypt/
  4. Minority Rights Group. (2021, January 20).Copts.  Retrieved April 6, 2023, from https://minorityrights.org/minorities/copts-2/
  5. Viney, S. (2017c, April 10). Who are Egypt’s Coptic Christians and why are they persecuted? ABC News. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-04-10/who-are-egypts-copts/8429634
  6. Magdy, S. (2022, August 14). Fire at Cairo Coptic church kills 41, including 15 children. AP NEWS. https://apnews.com/article/middle-east-africa-religion-fires-egypt-edb5996566c71ccc5dc632bfbe513aea