Serious problems of discrimination and other human rights violations against members of religious minorities remain widespread in Egypt. The Egyptian government has failed to take effective steps to halt repression of and violence against religious believers, or, in many cases, to punish those responsible for severe violations of religious freedom. Egypt remains on the Commission's Watch List and the Commission continues to monitor the actions of the government of Egypt to see if the situation rises to a level that warrants designation as a "country of particular concern," or CPC.

Egypt has a poor overall human rights record that includes repressive practices that seriously violate freedom of thought, conscience, and religion. The government maintains tight control over all Muslim religious institutions, including mosques and religious endowments, which are encouraged to promote an officially acceptable interpretation of Islam. Islamists, including groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood, who believe in or seek to establish an Islamic state in Egypt based on their political interpretation of Islamic law, may be subjected to harassment, arrest, systematic torture and/or prolonged detention. Although some of these groups advocate and have used violence to achieve their aims, including the assassination of President Anwar al-Sadat in 1981 and the murder of foreign tourists, the government's campaign against Islamists has sometimes resulted in the arrest, detention, and ill-treatment of persons not affiliated with any group and not accused of perpetrating violence.

Coptic Christians face ongoing violence from vigilante Muslim extremists, including members of the Muslim Brotherhood, many of whom act with impunity. Egyptian authorities have been accused of being lax in protecting the lives and property of Christians. Christians are rarely promoted to high levels in the government or military and are frequently discriminated against by private employers in hiring and promotion. For all Christian groups, government permission must still be sought to build or repair a church, and the approval process for church construction is time consuming and inflexible. In January 2004, four Coptic Christian youths were arrested, reportedly for possessing religious material and literature. They were released in early April and all charges were dropped.

At the end of December 1999, communal violence in the village of al-Kosheh resulted in the deaths of 20 Coptic Christians and one Muslim. In February 2001, a criminal court acquitted 92 of 96 defendants, Muslims and Christians, suspected of crimes committed while participating in that violence. None of the four convicted, all Muslim, was convicted of murder. Coptic religious leaders and families of the victims criticized the verdict and the General Prosecution quickly lodged an appeal. In July 2001, the Court of Cassation ordered a retrial of all the defendants, which opened in November 2001. In February 2003, the Sohag Court again acquitted 92 of the 96 defendants arrested in connection with the Al-Kosheh killings. Of the other four who were convicted, one was sentenced to 15 years for the killing of the sole Muslim victim, while the other three men, all Muslims, received either one or two year sentences. According to the State Department, in March 2003 the public prosecutor appealed the verdict, citing "misapplication of the law and inadequate justification of the verdict." The case is ongoing.

During the past two decades, including incidents as recently as late in 2003, several dozen Christians who have been accused of proselytizing or had converted from Islam have been harassed by police or arrested for violating Article 98(F) of the Penal Code, which prohibits citizens from ridiculing or "insulting heavenly religions" or inciting sectarian strife. Neither the Constitution nor the Civil and Penal Codes prohibit proselytizing or conversion. Nevertheless, at least two couples who had converted to Christianity were charged and imprisoned in 2003. According to Amnesty International, several Egyptians who converted to Christianity over the past year reported arbitrary detention and torture or ill treatment. Particular problems often arise in the case of Christian women or girls who convert to Islam.

Also in 2003, authorities charged several converts from Islam to Christianity with violating laws prohibiting the falsification of documents. In such instances, converts, who fear government harassment if they officially register the change from Islam to Christianity, have reportedly altered their own identification cards and other official documents to reflect their new religious affiliation. In October 2003, 20 Egyptians were arrested for allegedly bribing local government authorities to alter their civil records to identify them as Christians. Several of those arrested were converts from Islam to Christianity. As of this writing, two remain in detention.

Members of other religious minorities, including Jews and Baha'is, face discrimination and even violence. All Baha'i institutions and community activities continue to be banned by the government. Over the years, Baha'is have been arrested and imprisoned because of their religious beliefs, often charged with insulting Islam.

Material vilifying Jews and Baha'is appears frequently in the state-controlled and semi-official media. In November and December 2002, Egypt aired on state television a series based on the forged and notorious anti-Semitic tract, the Protocols of the Elders of Zion. Clerics in state-run mosques continue to spread virulently anti-Semitic views. In December 2003, a senior UNESCO official publicly denounced the display of the "Protocols of the Elders of Zion" at the Egyptian Alexandria Library as being anti-Semitic. The display was subsequently removed.

In recent years, there have been an increased number of arrests of members of small Muslim groups accused of defaming Islam. In March 2002, a State Security Emergency Court convicted eight Muslims from the city of Mataria near Cairo of holding "unorthodox Islamic beliefs and practices." Sentences ranged from three years in prison to a one year suspended sentence. In September 2002, a State Security Emergency Court in Nasr City in greater Cairo convicted another 21 persons of "insulting religion due to unorthodox Islamic beliefs and practices." One person was sentenced to three years in prison, another to one year, and the rest to one year suspended sentences. In December 2003, state security forces arrested and detained eight Shi'a Muslims without charge. They were reportedly interrogated about their religious beliefs and physically abused. As of this writing, three remain in detention.

All mosques must be licensed by the government, which seeks to control them in an official effort to combat extremism. The government appoints and pays the salaries of imams in mosques and also monitors their sermons. In June 2002, the Minister of Awqaf (Religious Endowments) announced that of the more than 80,000 mosques in Egypt, the government administratively controls 60,000 regular mosques and 15,000 mosques located in private buildings. The Minister said that the government hoped eventually to control and administer all mosques in the country.

The Commission has urged the State Department to monitor closely religious freedom in Egypt and to respond vigorously to further violations. In January 2004, the House introduced the Egyptian Counterterrorism and Political Reform Act (H.R. 3725) which, among other things, highlights the victimization and discrimination by the Egyptian government of the Coptic Christian community in Egypt. Commissioner Khaled Abou El Fadl traveled to Egypt in October 2003 and held a series of meetings with U.S. Embassy officials and representatives of several Egyptian religious communities and non-governmental organizations on behalf of the Commission. In April 2004, the Commission wrote to President Bush urging him to raise with Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak at their April meeting that the Egyptian government should implement democratic and human rights reforms, including enhanced protections for the right to freedom of religion or belief and an end to messages of hatred, intolerance, or incitement to violence on the basis of religion in the educational system and government-controlled media.

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