Al-Ahram Weekly Issue No. 244 26 Oct. - 1 Nov. 1995
Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875

Copts re-join the electoral fray

As Islamists prepare to throw their full weight into the coming battle for parliament's 444 contested seats, Copts are expected to renounce the passive attitude they have maintained for years and participate more actively, both as voters and candidates. While the Copts' chances of equitable representation in the next People's Assembly seem slight, analysts nevertheless view their political comeback as a healthy sign.

For over a decade, Copts have demonstrated an increasing reluctance to involve themselves in domestic politics, an apparent reaction to the Islamist upsurge which began under the regime of President Anwar El-Sadat. But this passive attitude appears to be changing, both as a result of the church's encouragement and the growing realisation among Copts that withdrawal from national politics marginalises them in a way that could only bolster the Islamist movement. Many appear set to cast their ballots in the 29 November elections; some are preparing to run as candidates.

Several political parties, led by the Wafd and including the National Democratic Party (NP), the leftist Tagammu and even the Islamist-oriented Labour Party, are fielding a limited number of Copts in the election battle. The Wafd, known as the 'house of the Copts", is launching 30 candidates, the largest for a single party. Labour has pledged support for two and the NDP is nominating a figure somewhere in between. The Tagammu has nominated one and there is a possibility that a second may be added.

"We are doing the right thing," said Mounir Abdel-Nour, the Wafd's candidate in Cairo's Al-Wayuli constituency. "It is a good step towards the full political participation of Copts, as well as Muslims, which will serve as a solid basis for social stability."

Many Copts credit Pope Shenoudah III for their change in attitude. The head of the Coptic Orthodox church has asserted repeatedly that it is the Copt's "right and duty" to play a more active role in politics, particularly in the parliamentary elections.

The political parties have different motives for nominating Copts. Labour, despite its Islamist orientation wants to show that it is nevertheless a party for all Egyptians. And Tagammu, whose newspaper, Al-Ahali, devoted unprecedented attention to Coptic concerns during the past year, appears eager to win over Coptic voters as it tries to present itself as the opposition's alternative to Islamism. As the ruling party, the NDP feels politically and morally bound to represent the entire nation; and the Wafd has traditionally targeted the Coptic vote.

Coptic candidates insist that despite their religious affiliations, they are contesting the elections as patriotic Egyptians. "When I address my constituents, I do not confine myself to Coptic concerns. I do not say that since I am a Copt, all Copts have to vote for me," said Nabil Habib, the Labour candidate in the Giza first district.

Analysts agree that the total number of Coptic candidates is unlikely to exceed the modest figure of 40, around two per cent of the total number of candidates, estimated at slightly over 2,000. Even if all the Coptic candidates won seats in the Assembly, which is unlikely, the Coptic representation would still be meagre indeed - Copts are estimated at between six and 10 per cent of the nation's 60 million population.

But it will be an achievement for any Copts to make it to the Assembly, argues Wagih Shukri, the Tagammu's candidate in Bandar Al-Minya constituency, pointing out that all five Coptic members of the outgoing parliament were not elected but appointed by the president of the Republic. In addition to the Assembly's 444 contested seats, the president has a constitutional right to appoint 10 MPs.

Launching Copts as election candidates should be "very carefully calculated", according to Rifaat El-Said, secretary-general of Tagammu. The principal criterior is to choose Copts who have a good chance to win, "not to nominate a Copt just for the sake of nominating a Copt". According to El-Said, nominating a Copt who will only win two or three votes in an electoral district of a few thousand people will prove frustrating to Coptic voters and candidates alike.

Some analysts date Coptic reluctance to get involved in politics as far back as 1953, when the multi-party system was abolished. But others link it with the rise of the Islamist trend in the 1970s and 80s, which reached a peak when Sadat banished Pope Shenoudah to a Western Desert monastery shortly before the president's assassination in October 1981.

Sermons by hardline Muslim sheiks have encouraged anti-Coptic sentiment in some parts of the country. "So, gone are the days when a Coptic candidate would win the vast majority of votes in an all-Muslim constituency," said Marlyn Tadros, a human rights activist. Physical attacks against Copts, including killings, by the militant Al-Gama'a Al-Islamiya in Upper Egypt, have discouraged Copts from participating in public activity, a Coptic clergyman in Al-Minya reported.

During the past three months, as preparations for the elections got underway, Islamist militants have harassed or killed a number of Copts in Upper Egypt. "I have received threats but decided to ignore them," Shukri said. "After all, those who have been killed were not even involved in politics. If they [militants] decide to kill me, they will anyway."

But overall, the climate is one of cautious optimism, according to Bishop Moussa, head of the Church's national participation group. In his opinion, what really counts is that Copts exercise the rights and duties of citizenship.

The Church has been urging Copts to register as voters since the end of last year. The campaign began with an article by Pope Shenoudah in the church's magazine Al-Kerazah , urging a more active political attitude. Sermons on the same theme were subsequently delivered in churches and voter registration forms distributed to church-goers to spare them the trouble of picking them up from civil registry offices.

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