The author starts his interview with the reasons behind
sectarian anger in Egypt.
Bishop Musā believes that accumulated problems and delayed radical solutions are
behind the feeling of
uselessness among Copts. Additionally, the religious revival, both Christian and Muslim, has
had positive
and negative effects on people; it has protected them from the incoming Western culture, but at the
same
time, it has turned some of them into fanatics, as at the early 90s, generating terrorism that harms both
Muslims and Christians.
Bishop Mousā blames Israeli practices in Palestine and the US occupation
of
Iraq for the current sectarian anger, especially after Bush’s description of the war on terror as a
“crusade”. He
believes that Bush is not representing Christianity in any way, but that some Copts have tried
to benefit from his
religious tendency to internationalize the issues of the Copts and to have resort to the
UN.
The bishop says
that the resolutions on Palestinian issues and the occupied Arab territories are
living proof that resorting to the
UN is useless. The solution for the Copts’ problems, as the bishop
thinks, must be generated from within
Egypt. He supports the idea of forming a fact-finding committee for
that purpose.
He adds that radical
solutions must be found especially to the problems of building
churches, of appointing Copts to senior public
positions and to the weak parliamentary representation of
Copts.
As for the Muslim Brotherhood, Bishop
Mousā thinks that their stance towards the Copts has
changed since they gained seats in the latest
legislative elections, but it still ambiguous; do they
consider Copts as citizens or dhimmis. He believes
that Copts should not fear if the Muslim
Brotherhood reaches power, because Islam orders Muslims to give the Copts
their rights and protect
them.
The disappearance and kidnap of Christian girls is another issue discussed in
this interview.
Bishop Mousā believes that these situations are misinterpreted. The problem is the deception
of underage
girls who legally cannot convert to another religion. The church does not object to the conversion of
any
Christian girl to Islam and her marriage to a Muslim by the rule of law, according to Bishop Mousā
[Editor: This is language for public consumption, the church does object to conversions, but is not in a position
to legally stop them]. He also denies that the church supports Christianization missions; the church is only
concerned with taking care of its children and teaching them the real core of Christianity.
Bishop
Mousā supports the church’s stance towards divorce and second marriages. He believes that granting
people
divorce certificates would only increase divorce rates for trivial reasons. He says that those who
want to remarry
can do so away from the Coptic Church. He also thinks that the new personal status law for
non-Muslims would put an
end to this problem.
The bishop also discussed the regulation of the
election of pope and its possible
substitution with a new law that would allow all to participate in this
process in a more democratic fashion. He
believes that the 49-year-old regulation needs to be amended, but
that pope Shenouda prefers to postpone
that.
The interview was ended with arts and the church’s
stance towards “The Da Vinci Code”. Bishop
Mousā replies that the church opposes movies that tackle the
life of the Christ, except for ones that quote
from the Bible. The church opposes “The Da Vinci Code”, the
novel and the movie, since it assaults Christian faith,
according to Bishop Mousā, by claiming that
Jesus married Mary Magdalene, which was not mentioned in either
the Bible or the Qur’ān.
Nevertheless the church does not oppose showing the movie in Egypt, but the
bishop fears that it may
encourage young people to demonstrate.
