Arab West Report Egyptian press summaries and media research for dialogue

“Muslims and Copts under Mubārak” is the title of the new book written by Sāmih Mahrūs, a Christian journalist, in which he discusses the Muslim-Christian relationship in Egypt, an Islamic country.

 

Mahrūs dedicates his book to the souls of the Naj‘ Hammādī victims. He believes that the incident of Naj‘ Hammādī drew attention to the fact that Egypt is in crossroads. He argues that Egypt faces a domestic threat more critical than any foreign one.

 

Mahrūs interviewed a number of Egyptian intellectuals to know how they understand the crisis. They all agree that Egypt does not suffer from sectarian fitnah. However, Najīb Sāwīris, the Christian-Egyptian businessman, stated that citizenship in Egypt faces lots of problems and that Copts resort to free work because they were not given fair opportunities in official work. Mufīd Shihāb said that the government does not does intend to discriminate between citizens on sectarian basis, but mistakes are always possible.

 

The book further deals with 11 major ideas: national unity, citizenship, coexistence, developing religious and media discourses, developing school curricula, inter-faith dialogue, sectarian inducement, mosque building, freedom of faith and political participation.