- Conversion of Coptic Women to
Islam
- The news from Egypt bring us stories of an
increasing number of young women especially, and to a lesser
extent young men, to Islam.
- While this has already been the case for a long time, the recent
months have shown an acceleration of this trend. This has been
perhaps especially so since the famous incident of the miserable
Wafaa Costantine. This is also a part of the war of attrition
being waged against the Copts to end their existence in
the very country that they took their name from. The conversion
of a person from one faith to another is certainly one of man's
basic freedoms.Yet the way the conversions of the increasing
number of Coptic women, and at least one handicaped young man,
has not only taken an epidemic proportions, but is being done
against the will of the victims, using coersion,
deception, blackmail, and outright illigal means. Worse than all
of this, however, is the inevitable
biased intervention of the Egyptian so called "State Security
Forces." Always in favor of Islam, regardless to the illegality
of the process. This very attitude of the Egyptian
authorities was, and is, the reason behind the increasingly
frequent and loud protests of the Copts against what they
consider as excessive humiliation and violation of their human
rights at the hands of the by fanatic Moslems, and with the
blessing of the Egyptian government that is supposed to protect
and dispense justice to them as rightful Egyptian citzens.
- The current recent surge of forced
conversions is being encouraged and financially supported by
forces outside Egypt. Monetary compensation is being paid
to each team that suceeds in converting a Coptic woman. I say
team because the process involves many individuals who
share and distribute the monetary rewards among themselves. A
recent confession of a reformed Moslem fanatic who apparently
participated in several of these conversions states this
clearly.
- The same person mentioned an amazing and
unbelievable number of tricks and deceptions he and his "team"
used to trap their victims.
- Among these acts were the establishment of
pseudo-romantic relations, blackmailing with photos taken with
the victim in compromised situations often under the effects of
drugs, the exploitation of unhappy family life, marital discord
and quarels, luring poor victims with money, outright
abductions sometimes of minors or handicapped persons, false
promises by the Moslem pursuer/deceptor to emmigrate and convert
to Christianity after the woman converts and marries him, as
well as brain washing sessions especially after the actual
conversion to Islam.
- The role of the so called State Security
Forces in these sad and illigitimate acts is prominent and
varied. As I mentioned above, the State Security Forcesare
invariably interfere and the interventionis always in favor of
Islam and not justice or fairness. It is always aimed at keeping
the victims from going back to their families and faith. This is
done regardless of the victims pleas and the attempts of the
families to retrieve their lost children. Their tactics
include, among other things, preventing the victims from
contacting their families when they realize that they committed
a mistake by converting, and express the desire to go back,
neglecting the legitimate requests of the families to see the
victims, intimidation of the familes, and the provision of false
official documents and witnesses in case the issue is brought to
a court of justice.
- The Egyptian state has therefore breached its
contract with the Copts to protect them and render justice to
them as citizens of Egypt.
- This one sided breach frees the Copts to take
their case to the international community and organiztions
concerned about the violations of the human rights. They can do
this while they continue to fight the corrupt Egyptian system
from within. Peaceful demonstrations, hunger strikes, resorting
to a dubious justice system, and the evocation of the decent and
patriotic Egyptian Moslems to extend their support to them. It
is time for the Copts, inside and outside Egypt, to establish a
legal and human rights defense fund. This can recruit competent
Egyptian Moslem and Coptic lawyers to take the cases of these
helpless and poor victims to the Egyptian courts. The Diaspora
Copts can do the same with the international organizations. It
is crucial not only to follow each case individually, but to do
so until every case is resolved in a fair and just way. We are
not talking about Copts who choose to convert to Islam with
their free will, but about those who fall victims of deception
and illegal means, and certainly any convert to wishes to revert
to his or her Christian faith and can't because of the
overwhelming power of the state.
- The current regime appears to be in its last
throws. Historically, such times in the bring to the Copts
increasing burdens of an already existing background of
persecution. The regime is busy trying to survive. This, and a
long standing policy of persecuting the Copts make it clear that
any reform or relieve of this persecution will only come with
the moribund system is pressured.
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- Sabry Fawzy Gohara, M.D., FRCSC
Assistant Professr of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery
medical College of Ohio, Toledo USA