The predominant Islamic culture fuels religious discrimination and creates a hostile environment that allows the trampling of Christians’ fundamental rights. Justice is slow in coming in criminal situations.

Greg Musselman is a spokesman for Voice of the Martyrs Canada. He says a recent spate of Upper Egypt church fires on October 13, 16, and November 1 seems suspect. “Some of the official reporting coming out of there, at least from the government, is saying, well, it was an electrical short, that kind of thing. Okay, maybe in one case, but three cases?”

Investigations are ongoing, but fire officials’ suggestions about the fire’s causes have Christians crying foul. Musselman explains that in one case, “One of the priests in the Orthodox Church that was destroyed by fire was an electrician. He said, ‘we actually went through all the safety measures to make sure that the electrical was done properly and that it was safe, and then the fire breaks out,’ and that could happen. But there was also some security video that showed a person throwing something onto the roof of the church.”

Is there justice for Christians in Egypt?

(Map courtesy of Wikimedia Creative Commons)

A closer examination of the video failed to reveal answers. “They were not able to make out the person because of the angle of the camera, but something was thrown on the roof of one of the churches, and it started a fire. So they believe that was arson.”

However, because church authorities had a warning, it’s another reason these fires are suspicious.”Security in Egypt was telling the churches to make sure that their security cameras were working. They understood that something was going to happen. There had also been some other information coming out, as well, that some Islamists had been warned to stay clear of the churches. So there was something that was going on.”

Aside from the obvious, why would Islamists want to burn down the churches? It’s part of an ongoing intimidation campaign. The Islamic State publicly vowed to wage war on Christians.

Musselman also says the Muslim Brotherhood still blames Christians for their humiliating fall from grace. “El Sisi, the current president, has a relatively decent relationship with the Orthodox Church, and that, of course, upsets the Muslim Brotherhood, who were pushed out of power. So the Orthodox Church is seen as somewhat in cahoots with the current administration.”

Christians treated as second-class citizens

The bullying is relentless. Some give up and leave the country. For those who remain, VOMC works with international partners to provide a safe place of refuge, counsel, and discipleship for Christians from Muslim backgrounds. Due to religious pressure from their families, some leave home, while others face ostracization in their communities because of their identity with Christ.

(Screen grab courtesy of Copts United live)

“That’s intimidation that’s been going on for years and years in Egypt. Any time that a church, Orthodox or other, tries to do renovations, they are stopped– there’s just all these situations happening, (like) attacks, during the Christian holidays.” Even as Christmas approaches, church officials now have an eye on beefing up security in Egypt.

What can we do?

When considering what we can do on their behalf, Musselman urges us to pray that followers of Christ won’t give in to terrorism. “These attacks have taken place. And then, folks start asking questions, ‘why am I being attacked?’ and ‘is it worth it?’ and ‘do I believe this?’ It often causes people to kind of look at ‘what do I believe in?’ and pushes them towards the Bible.”

The good news: some are already standing up for their faith. “One of the churches that was burned down and suffered severe damage, the believers were there the following Sunday. They were meeting for worship, and I think that’s a wonderful thing. They’re saying, ‘this is important, and we’re going to come together and we’re not going to be intimidated.’” Ask God to provide for their spiritual and practical needs; pray that He will strengthen and encourage them so they can effectively share the message of the Gospel with others in their communities.

Header photo still of Mar Girgis Church in Helwan, Cairo taken from video/YouTube/CoptsUnitedlive.

Miles Windsor of Middle East Concern shares, “It’s a village with around 400 Copts living there and they were stopped from holding Sunday mass and banned from the premises. They chanted, ‘Kyrie Eleison,’ which means, ‘Lord have mercy.’ As they were chanting, they were dispersed by force.”

(Photo courtesy of Open Doors USA)

However, the reason police gave for banning the church is problematic for several reasons, says Windsor. “First, the official police report says that the decision was [made] after complaints by a couple of Muslims. And in addition, Egyptian law requires no permit for religious meetings and indeed, Article 64 of Egypt’s Constitution guarantees freedom to practice religious rights and to establish places of worship, stating that freedom of belief is absolute.”

The village is in Egypt’s Minya Governorate, which has popped up frequently in the news for cases of Coptic Christian persecution. Minya has the highest concentration of Coptic believers in the country, and yet Copts have seen their homes attacked and burned, and their church trips and conferences threatened with violence. The bus massacre of Coptic Christians also took place in Minya.

“This isn’t an isolated case. This is something which we’ve seen in a number of communities, and I think at least 15 sites in Minya have been shut down, Christian worship sites. And we’re seeing that it’s a case where often it’s a result of local Muslims, local extremists putting pressure on [police] and saying they’re offended by the presence of Christians, and therefore the police take action to avoid confrontational conflict.”

These cases of church worship bans in Minya haven’t made many rumbles in news headlines, but the people of Egypt are starting to speak out.

“In quite a rare move, the Bishop-General of Minya, Anba Macarius, has gone public in his complaints about this and raised this very issue. He’s written public letters now in complaint about all this.”

(Photo courtesy of Open Doors USA)

Windsor says hopefully we will see a resolution as it gains public attention in Egypt and internationally. “This is something that [President Abdel Fattah] el-Sisi really needs to work hard to improve. I think there is a sense that there is a genuine desire from that level to improve the circumstances of Christians and enable a degree of security and freedom for Christians in Egypt, but this really needs addressing.”

Coptic Christians make up between 6-18 percent of the Egyptian population. Egypt’s government estimates there are around five million Coptic Christians in the country. However, the Coptic Orthodox Church says that number is closer to around 15-18 million. According to Open Doors’ World Watch List, Egypt is ranked as the 21st harshest country for persecution of Christians, with a “very high” persecution level.

And yet, Windsor reminds us, “God works and is more powerful than all those who are seeking to marginalize His people and marginalize the Gospel. So we can trust that and we can keep praying for our brothers and sisters there.”

On that note, here are a few things Windsor says we can be praying on for our Coptic Christian brothers and sisters:

“Be praying that in these situations, given the tension, given the frustration, that [our] brothers and sisters are strong, great witnesses in that difficulty. I think it’s a situation in which it would be very easy to respond in ways which aren’t necessarily helpful and don’t necessarily show good witness. So prayer for the witness of the Body of Christ there would be good,” says Windsor.

“I think as well, we can be praying that the freedom which is being sought for Christians at a higher level of Egyptian government would also filter down to the more local level. The reality is there is always likely to be opposition to Christianity, to Christians in places like Egypt, particularly from hardline Muslims. But we can be praying that the government seeks to protect and support the Christian community.”

Throughout the calamity, wooden crosses were burned, innocent victims were severely injured, and seven Coptic women were abducted. The Assyrian International News Agency says it seems evident that attacks were preplanned, and police did little to stop it. Not a single arrest was made.

There is little evidence that the Copt accused of the assault which started the chaos even committed the crime. Sources say the girl in question only remembered that her attacker was wearing black. No trial had been conducted to decide a verdict.

In the meantime, no international voices have cut in. International Christian Concern (ICC) reports that a few U.S. congress representatives recently questioned the United States' position toward Egypt's human rights policies, but the issue appears unresolved. The United States has provided billions of dollars in military and economic aid for Egypt, despite their lax position toward religious freedom.

ICC Regional Manager of the Middle East Aiden Clay says the U.S. has a responsibility to be a light to other countries for democracy, human rights and religious freedom. He suggests the country do this by "applying human rights sanctions on U.S. assistance to Egypt," nominating a Religious Freedom Ambassador, and affirming human rights "as a core objective of U.S. foreign policy."

Prayer is needed for the Christians being persecuted in Farshoot. Pray that other powerful nations would step in and pressure Egypt to enforce religious freedom and human rights. Pray for victims of the recent attacks to stand firm and continue to share their faith, even amid persecution.