VI. Reports, Publications and Activities

43. The National Council for Human Rights issued a press release following its meeting with a European delegation of the Jehovah’s Witnesses in the Council’s offices on 7 February 2009. According to the press release, the delegation was met by Dr. Kamal Abu al-Magd, the vice-president of the Council, and Dr. Said al-Daqqaq, a member of the Council. According to the statement, the delegation reviewed the principles of the Jehovah’s Witnesses faith and discussed the current situation of the denomination in Egypt, noting that it faces several problems in achieving acceptance, particularly among the Orthodox Church. The delegates noted that members are considered Zionists and violators of human rights principles, which has obstructed the exercise of their basic rights. The statement said that Dr. Abu al-Magd stressed that the Council “is prepared to engage in efforts to change the group’s image with the government authorities” and he affirmed the Council’s respect for revealed religions and freedom of belief. The statement also noted that the Council and the delegation agreed “on the importance of correcting the image of the Jehovah’s Witnesses and refuting the alleged links of the group with Zionism or the state of Israel, within a framework we hope the delegation will put forth to prove the falsity of this reprehensible charge.” The Council’s statement also quoted Dr. Said al-Daqqaq as saying that “the competent authorities had been contacted resulting in a reduction of the  pressure placed by the authorities on Jehovah’s Witnesses, particularly in the governorate of Alexandria.”

44. The weekly Watani in its issue of 8 February 2009, published an interview with intellectual Dr. Ali al-Samman, during which he spoke about the Group of 15, an informal meeting of intellectuals and clerics who discuss ways of confronting sectarian tensions and offer recommendations to the official authorities. Al-Samman said that the group was formed after the sectarian events in Alexandria in 2005 and its members include Father Basanti, the bishop of Helwan; Munir Fakhri Abd al-Nur, the secretary-general of the Wafd Party; and others. He stated that, keen not to assume an official form and make its activities and recommendations public, the group meets informally every few months in al-Samman’s home. He added, “The cabinet heard about the committee’s work and was excited about it, so Sami Saad Zaghloul, the cabinet secretary, contacted me and asked me to inform the cabinet about the group’s meetings and its recommendations, so that they could be forwarded to the Prime Minister, and which has taken place.”

45. On 25 February 2009, the US Department of State released its annual report on human rights throughout the world for 2008, which, as usual, contained a detailed section on Egypt. Regarding freedom of religion, the report addressed several aspects of discrimination against Copts, Baha'is and Jehovah’s Witnesses in Egypt as well as restrictions on the right to change one’s religion. The report also noted the ban on the headscarf in elementary schools and the fact that it can be worn in middle and high schools only with the consent of the student’s father. Discussing sectarian incidents, the report noted the events in Ain Shams in November 2008, when a building used without a permit by Christian students for prayers was attacked. The report also observed that two Copts continue to be detained on charges of killing a Muslim during attacks on the Abu Fana monastery in May 2008, although no charges have been brought against those who attacked the monastery and the monks.

In an official response to the report, the spokesman for the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a press release on 27 February 2009, “Egypt does not accept any other country setting itself up as a guardian of the Egyptian people or a judge in matters of human rights in the country...This stance reflects the Egyptian state’s conviction that it is accountable to no one but the Egyptian people.” The statement added, “The Egyptian government is obligated to protect and uphold human rights and basic liberties in accordance with the Constitution and the law, as well as comply with international human rights conventions and agreements that Egypt has ratified.” The statement went on to say that “the primary motive of Egyptian efforts to improve the national human rights system is the conviction that upholding the rights of the Egyptian citizen is at the heart of the national interest.”

46. The Ministry of Awqaf’s Supreme Council on Islamic Affairs held its 21st conference in Cairo on 5 to 8 March 2009, attended by representatives from 80 Islamic countries and several global Islamic organizations; this year’s title was “Renewing Islamic Thought.” Sessions were devoted to several speeches given by participants, among them Dr. Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu, the secretary-general of the OIC, who stated that “there is a campaign targeting Islam, clearly seen in the phenomenon known as Islamophobia, which has increased since the [11] September events.” The conference recommended “taking action to renew Islamic thought, develop the social sciences and humanities, maintain vigilance when issuing fatwas and legal judgments, and uphold quality preparation for preachers,” in addition to “making demands for an international resolution criminalizing the defamation of religions.”

47. On 26 March 2009, 14 Coptic organizations, among them 13 operating outside Egypt, issued a declaration establishing the International Coptic Council for Organizations and Activists Working on Coptic Rights. According to the charter issued by the organizations, which are active in Europe, the US, Canada and Australia, the new council is composed of “Coptic NGOs working in human rights and individuals interested in the issue, with the objective of discussing issues related to Coptic rights and related issues, plans and activities, as well as coordinating the efforts of these organizations and activists to avoid unnecessary repetition by delegating roles and specializations in this field.” The working charter said that the signatories “support the efforts of Copts, in Egypt and abroad, to address the Coptic issue from within the Egyptian home and they seek this first and foremost, but this does not preclude their legitimate right to pursue all legitimate means of attaining this goal given the universal nature of human rights.” Regarding the group’s relationship with the Egyptian church, the signatories stressed that their organizations “respect clerics and their spiritual leadership” but they believe that the role of the church leadership should be limited to “spiritual matters, in accordance with the principle of separation between religion and state.” The signatories include representatives from the US Copts Association, Egyptian Canadian Organization for Human Rights and the Middle East Christian Association.

48. On 29 March several Copts living outside Egypt issued a statement titled “Renewing Coptic Action.” The statement noted that a group of nearly 100 activists and those interested in “the Coptic issue” had met in Virginia, US on 28 and 29 March 2009, to discuss renewing Coptic action. According to the statement, the attendees agreed to “begin steps to establish a Coptic organizational entity.” The statement said that “the Copt’s fair demands” will not be achieved but “through a system that separates religion from state and politics...in which the public sphere and order is neutral regarding religion, but upholds the rights of its citizens to freedom of belief and adherence to values.” Regarding political reform, the statement said, “Elections in and of themselves do not equal democracy, but may indeed lead to the opposite...Real democracy can only be established within a secular system of governance.”

The statement gave “President Hosni Mubarak and the political leadership” several recommendations regarding the freedom of religious practice, political participation, discrimination in official posts, education, government media and “violence against innocent Coptic citizens.” It also stressed the need to pass the personal status law for Christians drafted by the Egyptian church several years ago. The signatories formed an organizational group as a first step to establishing a new organizational entity for Copts living outside Egypt.