Solidarity, acrylic on canvas painting by St Global Nomads Foundation, Netherlands (From Saatchi Art)
A correspondent, Rosa Corazon de la Cruz, commented (See Comments: December 10, 2019 7) on our article, Why the Arab Muslim Majority in Egypt Don’t Want the Copts to Refer to Themselves as a Minority Group, “Wonderful article. What can Christians outside of Egypt do to help?”
Our answer is as follows:
Thank you. They can help:
First, by understanding the terrible suffering of the Coptic minority that probably lasted for longer than any other minority in the world.
Second, by understand that the Copts are a nation with unique and distinct culture, and that it is not only about religion, but race, history, language, music, traditions, etc. In this sense, we say the Copts should not be seen as only a religious minority. It is a national minority in as much as by national we mean that it is a cultural minority. In the sense of being a cultural minority it is all religious, lingual, historical, traditional, literary, custom, etc., minority. We expect outsiders to help us not just because they share religion with us, but also because our cause is right on many levels: as a persecuted and oppressed national minority (that includes being racial and ethnic minority). We expect all sorts of peoples to sympathise with our cause, not just Christians, but of course non-Coptic Christians across are at the forefront of seeing our misery and supporting us.
Third, by presenting the problem of the Copts as a national minority problem, requiring recognition as such by the international community, and deserving of the application of international law, particularly the UN Declarations on the Rights of Minorities, on.
Fourth, by using political and diplomatic avenues, at a local, national, regional or international level to put pressure on the Egyptian government to recognise the existence of the Coptic national minority and to abide by its international responsibilities towards protecting and promoting Coptic identity, culture and rights.
And fifth, we see Egypt as a multinational state not as a nation-state, and that it is composed of Arabs, Copts and Nuba; and we call for a non-territorial cultural national autonomy for the Copts in Egypt and a consociational democracy in which all three Egypt’s nationalities share power, not leaving Egypt’s affairs be run by the Arab nationality alone to the exclusion and marginalisation of its two other major nationalities: the Copts and the Nuba.
