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An uneasy calm has descended over the village of Al Kosheh. As the government scrambles to control the poisoned atmosphere, intellectuals and politicians in Cairo say it will take more than tightened security to mend the fences of sectarian discord. Although relations between Muslims and Christians rarely degenerate into the violence seen in Al Kosheh, critics warn that unless the government works to address issues of political representation, media penetration and discriminatory laws, more problems will arise.
Both Muslim and Christian leaders in Egypt deny that there are any conflicts between the two groups. The leader of the Orthodox Copts, Pope Shenouda III, has avoided discussing the issue and only refers to Copts in the context of "Egyptians." But unless Copts are treated as first-class citizens, feelings of alienation will thrive, said Samah Fawzy, author of the book Out of the Sectarian Tunnel: Coptic Problems in Egypt and writer for the Coptic journal, Watani.
Pointing to the lack of equal access to media, political representation and the inability for Christians to build churches without presidential permission, Fawzy believes the government is sending the message that Copts are inferior. "The government itself has participated in creating this problem. The areas of discrimination create an unhealthy atmosphere and encourages extremists to attack Copts," he said.
In the 1995 election, not a single Copt was nominated to run for the National Democratic Party – albeit six Copts were appointed to parliament and two currently hold powerful ministerial positions. Although Fawzy applauds some of the government's attempts to bridge the gap, he believes much more needs to be done. Some kind of change needs to come for all Egyptians, points out Hafez Abou Seada, secretary general of the Egyptian Organization of Human Rights (EOHR). He believes the government needs to look within itself and focus on its human rights record to find the solutions to prevent further sectarian violence from occurring.
"The problem between Copts and Muslims requires political reform. If the government is really serious, the political system must be made free and fair," he said.
The government's mismanagement of the last incident in Kosheh helped create an atmosphere of mistrust, said Seada, referring to a 1998 EOHR investigation which found that 1,200 Kosheh citizens were severely beaten in a routine murder investigation.
Though their report had found both Muslims and Christians to be victims of torture, the government's failure to punish the people involved created a feeling of persecution among the Christian community. "If they had acted upon our report which asked them to hold those responsible accountable and conducted serious discussion on human rights, this latest incident would never have happened," said Seada.
Religious factors are muddling the issue, say other analysts, though they disagree as to the weight that should be given to religious differences.
For some, what happened in Al Kosheh is a reflection of the government's neglect of economic and social tensions rather than a reflection of sectarian relations in Egypt.
Mustapha Kamal Al Sayyid, professor of political science at the Cairo University and the American University in Cairo, insists that religion was used as a scapegoat to explain the tensions between the villagers actually caused by economic factors. "What I'm worried about is the socio-economic deterioration of the Egyptian standard of living which turns people against each other for a variety of reasons and sometimes that reason is religion. But it is not a question of a persecuted minority," said Al Sayyid.
Historically, however, Copts have at times specifically been targeted by Muslims and that may explain the us-versus-them mentality of Christian community in Egypt, explained Dr. Yunan Rizk, professor of modern history at the Ain Shams University in Cairo.
He said that throughout Egypt's modern history there have been shaky relations between the two sides.
The unease has been allowed to grow unchecked for years and in particular since the burning of a church in the northern Cairo suburb of Khanka in the 1970s. Unless action is taken to stem the negative tide manifested in events like Al Kosheh, it will continue to grow, explained Saad Eddin Ibrahim, director of the Ibn Khaldoun Center, an independent think tank in Cairo, and an expert on minority issues. He said that if the government helps to integrate the Copts into society using such measures as increasing their presence in the mass media to help create a feeling of familiarity, there will be less opportunity for religious groups to cause strife. "A spirit of tolerance must be created among Muslims who don't learn anything about Copts in school or from television. That needs to change," said Ibrahim.