CAIRO: The Secular Coptic Front re-shifted its focus from the controversial issue of church reform to citizenship in its third annual conference last week, in a move signaling the group's belief in the role of citizenship in fostering the welfare of Copts. "We aim at the welfare of Copts. We believe that achieving citizenship would solve Coptic problems ... Coptic problems would be engulfed in the big social problems, Kamal Zakher, a Coptic intellectual, activist and the general coordinator of Secular Copts Front told Daily News Egypt. The Front has drawn its share of controversy after calling for the modernization of the Coptic Church in its conference last year. In response, Church leaders said the Front has weak relations with the church, doesn't represent Copts and is on the wrong path. Like last year, this year's conference, which featured the participation of scholars, intellectuals and different religious leaders, was also boycotted by the Coptic Orthodox Church. Zakher said, however, that those he invited from the Church had politely apologized and gaven him their blessings. Without mentioning names, Zakher said that several clergymen supported him believed that the time wasn't right for their participation. Under the title "Towards Consolidating the Culture of Citizenship for a Just and Prosperous Society: A Coptic Vision, the conference kicked off with a discussion about how citizenship is viewed within different religions and sects. Sheikh Salem Abdel Gelil, the deputy minister of endowments, noted that Prophet Mohamed had consolidated the concept of citizenship and defined it as the act of giving as much as possible to the home country and enjoying equal rights without any discrimination between Muslims, Christians and Jews. However, he argued that the contentious second article of the constitution, which stipulates that Islam be the principle source of legislation, is an application of democracy because the majority of the population is Muslim. This doesn't, however, mean that non-Muslims should not enjoy the same rights, he said, clarifying that by non-Muslims, he meant Christians and Jews only. Following the 2007 constitutional amendments, many had expressed their disappointment that Article 2 was left unchanged, noting that it contradicts other parts of the constitution that call for the integration of all faiths within society, giving them equal rights. "Neither Christianity nor Islam accepts non-religious people and atheists. Atheists do not exist among Muslims and Christians because they are like a cancer inside society, Abdel Galil told Daily News Egypt. "I'm happy with the example of Sheikh Abdel Gelil, Zakher told Daily News Egypt. "His image and position make him more effective than 100 intellectuals because he teaches Mosque preachers. On the other hand, Priest Rifaat Fikry of the Anglican Church defined citizenship as the act of "transcending all limited loyalties, including religious loyalties. He called for respect for international covenants on human rights as well as the rights of atheists and Bahais. Talking to Daily News Egypt, Fikry argued that the "religious-ization of public life in Egypt is everybody's fault, blaming both religious and state institutions. Participants in the conference criticized the performance of different state institutions, media outlets, political parties and civil society organizations with regards to consolidating the concept of citizenship. They called for revising the constitution and "purifying it by avoiding the dependence of one religious perspective. They also asked for establishing a civil legal system that organizes the public life without discriminating against Copts or women by taking Islamic Sharia as an excuse. It also called on the Ministry of Education to emphasize concepts of a civic state, citizenship, democracy and liberalism in the school curricula. One participant, Dr Kamal Mogheeth, stressed that Egyptians, regardless of faith, are facing an array of national problems that include poverty, unemployment, improper and insufficient housing and child labor. The solution for these, he said, requires a unified stance. The same goes for education, which in Mogheeth's opinion, is a potential solution to many problems. The educational system, he argued, should create citizens aware of their country's history, geography, religious and ethnic combinations, the ins-and-outs of the political system and the constitution. He called for an educational system that encourages difference in opinion. Addressing religious institutions could also be a solution, as participants blamed the role of these institutions throughout the country's history in diminishing the role of Copts in society. One research paper authored by Akram Habib argued that the withdrawal of the Church from public life and the emphasis the Ottomans had put on the Islamic identity of the country is responsible for many problems today. Political Islam was also criticized. Osama Al-Ansary, a lawyer, noted that it is the Islamist discourse, not the Quran, that perceives citizenship as "being a member of the [Islamic] Umma , making Islam the main element of citizenship. Along the same lines, the Muslim Brotherhood were criticized in another research paper, which argued that the speeches of their leaders aim at excluding non-Muslims and women from the right to rule. The paper said the group is "monopolizing the interpretation of Islam. The paper also argued that the group's calls for making the Quran and Sunnah the basis of society contradict the concept of citizenship. The conference called upon religious institutions to "support the value of citizenship among youngsters. This, however, wouldn't be the sole responsibility of these institutions; the conference also asked syndicates to "get back to performing their role of protecting their members. Dr Samer Soliman, a political economy professor at the American University in Cairo, argued that the problem in Egypt is that the state controls associations and syndicates in a corporate system that was imported from Fascist Italy. "Syndicates turned into organizations of control, acting on behalf of the state instead of being voluntary associations of professionals seeking their own interests. . It is useless to talk about citizenship if there are no organizations through which people could confront the state, Soliman said. Political parties have a role to play as well, conference participants said. They called on these parties to activate their political participation and to "objectively and positively interact with different social factions. Dr Mustafa Al-Nabarawy, an academic, explained that civil society organizations that have no religious, militarily, political or governmental affiliation are vital in consolidating citizenship, since citizenship is, by definition, the right to participate in drawing national policies. However, almost 30 percent of civil society organizations, according to Al-Nabarawy, are religious, offering services to the public. And because of their affiliation, he continued, there is discrimination in the services provided. "It is not true that secularism comes at the expense of religion. Secularism is an organizer. Secularism is the playground, not a player, said Al-Nabarawy. "We are asking for a secular discourse that incites all players to work within it. "It is an atmosphere or a framework that allows all cultural, religious and political currents to express their views and leave the choice for the people. He also criticized the secular discourse in Egypt and emphasized the need for a discourse that does not use religion nor attack it. "Instead of attacking other discourses, try to come up with a new one, he said.
