Coptic Pope Denounces Forced Conversion of Coptic Girls
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PRESS RELEASE Contact: Christine Tadros
IMMEDIATE RELEASE Phone: 202.737.3660
Washington DC (3/25/2004) - U.S. Copts Association received numerous
disturbing reports of the cooperation of various Egyptian supermarkets in
the systematic forced conversion and abduction of Coptic girls. Reports
reveal that Christian Coptic girls who resist conversion have been
physically abused and raped at the time of their abduction.
These deeply troubling reports indicate that supermarkets publicizing
shopping contests are in fact singling out Coptic girls for conversion to
Islam. Once alerted to the girl's religion, store employees notify the young
Christian woman that she has won a contest. To claim her prize, she is asked
to proceed to the upper levels of the store where her reward awaits. Once
upstairs, the girl is asked to sign documentation confirming receipt of her
reward.However, the paperwork is documentation for the conversion of an
individual to Islam; and the young girl is unaware that her signature is in
fact official confirmation of her conversion to Islam.
Coptic women who resist are accused with theft and strip-searched. There are
several reports of the rape of these young Christian women. Despite their
families' desperate attempts to rescue their daughters, the girls are not
returned to their families.
Police intervention has been minimal. In fact, in a recent statement, His
Holiness Pope Shenouda III drew attention to the gravity of the situation.
"I urge that police officials take a decisive position because I am getting
countless letters in regards to this issue," stated the Pope, spiritual
leader of the approximately 11 million Copts of Egypt. In his March 16th,
statement, the Pope pointed out the danger posed by these repugnant events
and indicated a determination to bring this barbaric practice to a halt. "We
don't want any more catastrophes to happen to us, what has happened in the
past is enough," the Pope continued.
In his speech, the Pope also alluded to the recent arrest of the young
Coptic Christian college students in Sinai. The four students, ages 19-20,
had in their possession a number of Bibles and Christian material. They were
arrested on January 26th for "disturbing the national unity" and have just
received another 49-day extension to their imprisonment with no court date
in sight.
These disturbing conditions in Egypt reveal a growing culture of intolerance
in the midst of the government's lofty rhetoric of socio-political reform.
President of the U.S. Copts Association, Michael Meunier has repeatedly
condemned the inaction of the Egyptian police in matters pertaining to
violence against the Coptic community. "The absence of governmental
intervention in the rape, abduction, and forced conversion of these girls is
completely unacceptable," stated Meunier. "What is equally alarming is the
systematic nature of these assaults the widespread cooperation of the
various supermarkets reveals a methodical and organized effort aimed at the
Coptic community," he continued. Coptic girls, the most vulnerable targets
of Islamist violence, have been victims of other various forms of violence
and forced conversion.
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The U.S. Copts Association, founded in 1996 and based in Washington D.C.,
advocates for democracy, religious freedom, and human rights in Egypt. The
Association represents over 700,000 Egyptian Christians in the United
States.
WWW.Copts.com [
www.copts.com]
