How does a secular democratic nation go from religious freedom protection to religious freedom abuses? It appears that when countries align themselves with Islamic Law, religious minorities face persecution.
Take Egypt, for example. Coptic Christians in Egypt are the largest minority group in Egypt and make up the largest Christian group in the Middle East. Though they are a minority, they are no immigrants. Even before they were Christian, their bloodlines date back to the pharaohs. Many Christian sites in Egypt mark the location of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph’s stay in Egypt. Under the rule of Emperor Diocletian, hundreds of thousands of Coptics were massacred in 302 AD.
During the 1950s, Coptics and Muslims alike promoted a united Egypt and led anti-colonialist movements. Then, the Muslim majority began to promote the Egyptian national identity as being inherently Islamic. Religious courts, including independent Coptic courts, were abolished. When Israel became a nation in 1948, Coptics were targeted as sympathizers.
Many fled the persistent persecution and immigrated to other countries. Those who remained saw their religious freedoms erode. The introduction of Article II of the Constitution in 1971 codified that Egyptian law follows Islamic law. This article became the basis of many unjust and discriminatory legal, social, and political trends.
Today, Coptics endure many hardships, including discrimination and persecution because of their faith. A church bombing in 2017 killed 44 people and injured more than 100. When terrorists bomb churches, they are rarely held accountable. In fact, many churches are not allowed to rebuild. Instead of the government prosecuting those who attack churches, they deny building permits and jail those who begin repairs. When churchgoers protest their infringement of rights, they are met with the force of the Egyptian police and military.
Being Christian in Egypt is a generational sentence of lower-class citizenship, poor education, lack of opportunity, and poverty. Christian children receive substandard education, which is why International Christian Concern (ICC) runs Hope House, an after-school instructional program to provide additional learning support. They also provide vocational training and small business loans to help break the cycle of poverty for Christians in Egypt.
Unfortunately, Turkey appears to be heading in the same direction as Egypt. After the fall of the Ottoman Empire, Turkey mimicked the governments of France, Germany, and Italy by establishing a secular democracy and codified human rights laws. This made Turkey unique because even though it was a majority Muslim country, it did not follow Islamic or Shariah Law.
There are 81.5 million people in Turkey. The majority are Turkish, with nearly one-fifth being Kurdish. Most residents are Muslims. Turkey has welcomed many refugees in recent years and is now the largest host of refugees worldwide.v Over 3.6 million Syrian refugees live in Turkey. These refugees are not housed in camps but are assimilated into Turkish neighborhoods. The arrival of Syrian refugees has become entangled with the existing identity debates and conflicts in Turkish politics as to the reconstruction of the country among more Islamic lines.
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