Source: Middle East Institute
Author(s): Bård Helge Kårtveit
Original Link: http://www.mei.edu/content/map/egyptian-copts-under-attack-frailty-national-unity-discourse
On May 26, 2017, 30 Egyptian Coptic Christians were killed on a bus headed for St. Samuel’s Monastery near Minya.[1] This attack followed the Palm Sunday bombing of two Coptic Churches in Tanta and Alexandria. In less than six months, more than 110 Copts have been killed in attacks committed by Islamic State (ISIS). After being targeted in their churches, in their homes, in marked places, and on buses, Egyptian Copts have fled North Sinai, and feel unsafe in other parts of the country. Their faith in President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi is eroding, and more significantly, they are losing patience with the way Christian-Muslim relations are talked about by church leaders, by the government, and in the Egyptian press.
Sisi the Savior
Within a discourse of unity, Egyptian Copts are described as ‘an integral part of the Egyptian nation.’
The bombing of the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul in Cairo prompted accusations by Copts of inadequate protection by state security forces.
Four years ago, things looked rather different….
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