UK-based persecuted church advocacy Release International is calling on re-elected Egyptian President, Abdel Fattah el–Sisi, to make a “clear commitment” to protect Egypt’s persecuted minority and safeguard religious freedom in the country.
President Sisi was re-elected last week with a reported 97 per cent of the vote amid concerns of low voter turn-out which reportedly dropped to slightly more than 40 per cent.
Release International says Christians in Egypt – home to the largest remaining Christian community in the Middle East – continue to face persecution, often called “the pressure”, which stems from what it says is “long-term cultural discrimination” which can affect the job prospects, access to public life and the ability of Christians to build and repair churches.
The organisation says the harshest persecution in recent years has come at the hands of Islamic extremists who have “launched terror attacks on churches, burnt down Christian places of worship, businesses and homes and driven Christians out of Upper Egypt and Sinai”. Security for Christians in regions beyond Cairo, particularly the villages of Upper Egypt and the Sinai, where the so-called Islamic State has a foothold, remains “precarious”.
“In recent years, Upper Egypt has seen an explosion in kidnapping of Christian children for ransom and as a tool of religious cleansing,” said a statement released by the organisation. “And religious extremists are targeting Christian girls for kidnapping, forced marriage and conversion.”
Paul Robinson, chief executive of Release, described the persecution as a “deliberate strategy”.
“All too often the police turn a blind eye to kidnap attacks on Egypt’s Christian minority,” he said, urging the President to “address the discrimination and persecution of its vulnerable Christians”.
“Mr President, Christians should no longer be driven from their homes, their churches must no longer be targeted for shootings, bombings and arson, and their families must be afforded the protection of the state. Please intervene to prevent this epidemic of kidnapping.”
