COPTS ON SECTARIAN STRIFE IN UPPER EGYPT

C O N F I D E N T I A L CAIRO 002515 SIPDIS DRL/IRF FOR COFSKY; NSC STAFF FOR PASCUAL E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/16/2028 TAGS: PHUM PTER PGOV ECON KIRF KISL SOCI EG SUBJECT: COPTS ON SECTARIAN STRIFE IN UPPER EGYPT Classified By: Minister-Counselor for Economic and Political Affairs William R. Stewart for Reason 1.4(d). 1.(C) Summary: During an early December trip through Upper Egypt, Coptic CHURCH officials described what they see as growing social and economic frustration, manifested in outbursts of violence. Many of these outbursts, but not all, have sectarian dimensions. While Upper Egyptian Copts told us relations between Muslims and Christians as better than ten or fifteen years ago, when violent extremist groups such as Gama'at Islamiya (GI) were active, they expressed concern that incidents of sectarian violence have increased in recent years. While attributing much of the violence to poor economic and social conditions, they also blame the GoE for failing to enforce Egypt's laws out of fear of appearing "un-Islamic," thereby fueling support for the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) and other Islamist groups. Coptic officials told us that the GoE is confident Copts will never challenge it; however, to the GoE, the MB is a threat. Paradoxically, despite the GoE's fear of the MB, the Copts also reported the spread among local government and security personnel of "MB ideology," especially at the lower levels. Some also complained about difficulties in obtaining permission to build or renovate churches, a result of the spread of "Islamist ideology." While CHURCH construction is not a problem in all areas - two bishops apparently build and renovate churches at will - others complained that the GoE barred them from building or renovating churches, fueling feelings that Copts are treated unfairly. End summary. -------------- Sectarian Tensions -------------- 2.(C) From December 1 through 3, we visited Coptic officials in Qena, Sohag, Assuit and Minya Governorates, the heartland of Egypt's Coptic Christian Church. In recent months, there have been a number of incidents of sectarian violence in Upper Egypt, particularly in Minya Governorate. There were varied opinions on the degree of the problem. The three bishops we met with in Minya Governorate (Bishops Agabious, Demetriuos, and Papendious) reported that sectarian tensions were on the rise. Coptic Bishops in Sohag (Bishop Wissa) and Assuit Governorates (Bishops Lucas and Thomas),told us that Muslim-Christian relations were generally good in their areas, something they attributed to effective local governance and outreach efforts by both Muslim and Christian leaders. All agreed, however, that societal tensions, including sectarian clashes, were escalating in Egypt as a whole. 3.(C) Our interlocutors agreed on the factors driving societal violence, including sectarian incidents. According to Bishop Thomas in Assuit, Egyptians are frustrated with social, political and economic stagnation. This frustration manifests itself in outbursts of violence, sometimes with a sectarian aspect, but not always. Bishop Thomas cited recent sexual harassment incidents in Cairo and clashes between security forces and Bedouins in the Northern Sinai as non-sectarian examples. According to Bishop Thomas, Egypt's public education system "teaches intolerance" and discourages critical thinking, creating an environment conducive to sectarianism. The GoE's lack of response to sectarian incidents - pushing for "reconciliation" rather than prosecuting and punishing those responsible - creates a culture of impunity, encouraging more incidents. According to Bishop Thomas, the GoE takes Coptic support for the government for granted, knowing that the only political alternative is the MB, which the Copts will never support. Therefore, rather than risk increasing support for the MB by "siding" with Copts, the GoE pushes "reconciliation" in hopes that problems will "go away." (Note: Bishop Thomas spent several months in the US this past summer after being attacked in the Egyptian press for his speech at the Hudson Institute on the "Arabization" of Egypt. According to Bishop Thomas, the media criticism, which he said a Coptic rival instigated, has abated and he has experienced no problems since his October return to Egypt. He added that a local imam, who criticized Bishop Thomas in particularly strident and threatening language, has "shut up." End note.) 4.(C) In Minya, the bishops said although sectarian tensions were on the rise, the situation is still far better than ten or fifteen years ago, when GI was active. They attribute increased tensions to deteriorating economic conditions and a local government dominated by the security services, particularly the State Security Investigations Service (SSIS). They blamed Minya's recently appointed governor, General Ahmed Diaa Eldin, a FORMER Ministry of Interior spokesman, for ceding control of the governorate to his "SSIS cronies." In their view, SSIS - and now the local government - view sectarian disputes as opportunities to extract bribes and burnish "Islamic" credentials by "siding" with Muslims. Bishop Papendious was especially critical of the local government's handling of two recent incidents in the towns of Tabeeya and Dafash. Both incidents occurred in majority Christian towns where Bishop Papendious said Christians are "economically more powerful" than the Muslim minority. Two Christians died in the incidents, but, according to Bishop Papendious, the local government focused on "reconciliation" rather than enforcing Egyptian law. 5.(C) In Qena, a group of Coptic priests believe that relations between Christians and Muslims are deteriorating. They cited economic hardship and a poor educational system as chief causes. They also said that the local government, especially the security services -which they described as the only authority in Qena- was becoming more Islamic and adopting an "MB ideology." This leads to the local government and court system "siding" with Muslims involved in business or other disputes with Christians. Therefore, it is to a Muslim's advantage to turn any dispute with a Christian into a sectarian issue. They view this unequal application of the law - driven by the GoE's fear of Islamists and inability to check the spread of "MB ideology" at the lower levels of government - as a GoE failure and something for which "you can't blame the Muslims." -------------- CONTINUED CONCERNS ABOUT VIOLENT EXTREMISM -------------- 6.(C) The Coptic officials we spoke to agreed that the situation for Upper Egypt's Copts is better today than it was in the 80's and 90's. Nonetheless, all expressed varying degrees of concern that extremist groups, particularly GI, could pose a future threat to the Coptic community. The Coptic priests in Qena told us that although the GoE defeated GI, the group had moved underground and still had weapons hidden in villages throughout the governerate, adding that "everyone knows this." In Minya, Bishop Demetriuos, told us that GI's ideas are still present and adherents are "coordinating," but the group's current strategy is "non-violence." Bishop Denetrious worries that GI will not permanently maintain this non-violent approach. -------------- CHURCH CONSTRUCTION -------------- 7.(C) Egypt's Copts consistently report difficulties in obtaining GoE approval to build, maintain or renovate churches and associated schools and community centers. Views differ on this issue. Bishop Wissa in Sohag Governorate reported that SSIS, who he said "controls Sohag," permits him to build and renovate churches "at will." He noted, however, that his diocese encompasses Al Kosheh, site of the January 2000 sectarian murder of 21 Copts. According to Bishop Wissa, he is treated with "kid gloves" because the GoE knows the area is under intense international scrutiny since the Al Kosheh incident. Bishop Wissa has resigned himself to the reality that nobody will ever be punished for the Al Kosheh murders. 8.(C) In Assuit, Bishop Lucas said that his requests for construction permits were routinely approved. Others, including Bishop Thomas, also in Assuit, complained of real shortages of CHURCH space and an inability to obtain permits. Bishop Thomas agreed with Bishop Lucas that in some areas, the GoE does permit CHURCH construction, but this is the exception, and the GoE highlights the exceptions in an attempt to show that there is no problem. In any case, Bishop Thomas said, Copts are frustrated, even where they have no need for additional CHURCH space, because they see no limits on mosque construction while they are required to go through a difficult, lengthy, and sometimes fruitless, approval process. -------------- Comment -------------- 9.(C) Societal violence, both sectarian and non-sectarian, is on the rise in Egypt, driven by frustration with the country's ossified social, economic and political systems. When Copts are involved, the GoE, out of fear of appearing less "Islamic" than the Muslim Brotherhood, fails to aggressively enforce Egypt's laws, not only fueling Coptic resentment, but also encouraging further sectarianism. It is noteworthy that, at least in the case of Sohag, the GoE is apparently sensitive to international scrutiny of sectarian conflicts and has responded positively. SCOBEY