1997 NCC General Assembly, Nov. 11-14, 1997, Washington, D.C.
1997 NCC General Assembly, Nov. 11-14, 1997, Washington, D.C.
"If the U.S. wants to lead, it must be willing to
accept
the freedom of others not to follow."
I am here to give a face to Christians in Egypt, who this legislation was designed to help, but will more than likely hurt. I am proof that Copts are not persecuted. I am an eighth generation Copt and those in my country know that I am of the Coptic faith, but I have been promoted to the level of importance in our government that Robert Rubin enjoys in your government. There is a small group of Copts in your country that would like to drive a wedge between Copts and Muslims in my country. You should speak to the Copts in my country, the mainstream Copts. Of course, some Copts and others believe that sometimes and in certain circumstances they are discriminated against. But then minorities in the U.S. feel the same way. And we in Egypt do not feel it’s appropriate to legislate how you in the U.S. handle your problems with minorities.
Egypt has 7000 years of diversity and one of the oldest Christian Churches in the World. We have been at the crossroads of history throughout these centuries. All invaders of Egypt have tried using the Copts as a wedge to dominate our country. They all failed. Napoleon In 1798 tried to enlist the Copts, but they refused and took refuge in "Al Azhar" the holiest of Islamic institutions in Egypt.
The British, again in 1882 tried to enlist the Copt under the guise of protecting them from "persecution" and "discrimination". Again they failed and the Coptic leadership took refuge in Al Azhar.
You are seen today to be trying to do the same.
It is unfair to judge Egypt by Islamic fundamentalists as it is unfair to judge the US by Aryan Nation Groups.
Bigotry is a part of all nations and all our nations have at one time or another suffered from bigotry obtuseness and discrimination. Egypt is no different. But systematic discrimination in Egypt, no, much less persecution. I am living proof of that speaking to you here as Minister of Economy.
My religion is my own business...If the U.S. wants to lead, it must be willing to accept the freedom of others not to want to follow...The essence of society is our business and these are issues that are best left to these within the country. There is an old Egyptian saying: My brother and I against my cousin, and my cousin and I against the foreigner.
Legislation like Wolf-Specter puts a wedge in a country, creates more turmoil than it alleviates. The underdog will find life more difficult because those in charge will doubt that the U.S. is acting out of self-lessness and so this will focus suspicion on the minority group. It is best not to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries, especially in social/cultural relations.
With legislation like this, you only hurt yourself. There are many who will trade with us if you don't. We like U.S. business in our marketplace because it brings a certain ethics and honesty that we appreciate, but we do not need you in our marketplace. What it does to U.S. Egyptian relations is explosive. Your legislative efforts appear to many in my country to be an attempt at driving a wedge between the Copts and Muslims: we consider ourselves all to be Egyptians. Your legislation appears to be an attempt to weaken our society. It does nothing but bring up memories of others who have tried and failed. It stirs up resentment towards the U.S.
Your legislation is dealing in an area you do not understand. Do you really wish to debate Muslims about their religion and their ideas and tell them how to change? I do not believe you are equipped to do that, and I know you cannot legislate it. You are trying to solve a problem you do not understand and it is not even the problem you think it is, but what you are doing is seriously damaging relations between our countries.
In response to a question about what the world should do about human rights abuses in various countries, the Minister answered that it is best to work within the international human rights mechanisms to deal with human rights abuses.... When there are crimes against humanity, we should rise up to confront them. Mechanisms were put into place after World War II to deal with this situation and they should be used now. One nation on its own, judging the activities of another, is not appropriate when there are atrocities. World organizations should deal with them and individual countries should understand that they should use these organizations. They will produce results when a single nation in today's world can not.
Mr. Boutros-Ghali is Egypt's Minister of Economy. With sponsorship from the National Council of Churches, he presented a briefing on religious persecution legislation on April 16, 1998, in Washington, D.C., for members of Congress and their staff. Following the briefing he provided this written summary.
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