Sudan: Update to SDN8590 of 21 May 1991 on the treatment of Coptic Christians
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 14 September 2001 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | SDN37523.E |
| Reference | 2 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Sudan: Update to SDN8590 of 21 May 1991 on the treatment of Coptic Christians, 14 September 2001, SDN37523.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3df4bea714.html [accessed 17 September 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Recent information on the treatment of Coptic Christians could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.
According to the 2000 Annual Report on the International Religious Freedom, the Sudanese government "is generally least restrictive of Christian groups that historically have had a presence in the country, including Copts, Roman Catholics, and Greek Orthodox, and is more restrictive of newer arrivals." The report describes the Coptic Christians in Sudan as "a small but influential and long-established population of Greek Orthodox and Coptic Rites Christian centred around Khartoum. About 500, 000 Coptic Christian live in the north" (ibid.).
A 10 February 1993 News From Africa Watch report noted that:
The Sudanese Copts are a small but prominent minority 500,000 who have lived in Sudan for more than one hundred years. They have significant communities in urban towns in the northern provinces, especially Dongala, Atbara, the capital Khartoum and Omdurman, Wad Medani, Port Sudan, and al-Obeid, served by twenty-three churches and two bishops. They are now threatened by an Islamic fundamentalist government that seems determined to drive them out of their country. They are subjected to a wide range of discriminatory practices.
A report published on Sudan Update Website described the situation of Copts as:
They have 23 churches and two bishops. There are less than 200,000 members of the Coptic Christian community in Sudan, but their presence in the country dates back over thirteen hundred years, and because of their advanced literacy and numerically their role has been more significant than their numbers would suggest. Their adoption of a passive, non-confrontational role in an overwhelmingly Muslim society, coupled with their light skin colour, has helped them to avoid the worst excesses of religious and racial discrimination, but in recent years they have been harassed and intimidated by the National Islamic Front regime. Although they have common roots with the original Christian missionaries in Sudan, they tend to be overlooked in the debate on religious persecution, which focuses on the Christians in Southern Sudan (3 Sept. 1999)
Reporting on a 6 February 1999 incident at Karthoum University during which "a group of Muslims students burnt copies of the Bible and other Christian literature at a book exhibition," a 22 February 1999 article revealed that "one of the Christian students who were injured during the February 6 attack was Jamal Butrous, a Coptic Christian (All Africa News Agency 22 Feb. 1999).
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
References
All African News Agency. 22 February 1999. "Sudan; Religious Intolerance Threatens Peace in Sudan." (AN/NEXIS)
Annual Report on International Religious Freedom. September 2000. United States Department of State. Washington, D.C.
News From Africa Watch. 10 February 1993. Vol. V, No 3. "Sudan
Sudan Update. 3 September 1999. AbdelSalaam Hassan. "The Copts."
Additional Sources Consulted
Africa Confidential 1992-2001.
Amnesty International. 1992-2000. Annuals Reports. 1992-2001.
Country Reports. 1992-2000.
Human Rights Watch (HRW). 1994-2000. Annual Reports.
IRB Databases.
LEXIS/NEXIS.
Resource Centre country file. Sudan. 1994-2001.
Internet sites including:
allAfrica.com
Amnesty International.
The Arabic News Weekly.
The Coptic Magazine.
Human Rights Watch.
ReliefWeb.
Sudan.net
Sudan News Agency
Search Engines:
Lycos.