Introduction:

Egypt's active participation in the anti-Iraqi alliance during the Gulf War has reinforced the image of Egypt as a moderate, pro-Western state. The image is not entirely without foundation. When Anwar Sadat succeeded President Nasser in 1970 Egypt was in the vanguard of militant anti-Zionism and was the Soviet Union's principal political and military ally in the Middle East.

However, the more pragmatic Sadat broke ranks with the Soviet Union and defied his anti-Zionist Arab allies by signing the Camp David accord with Israel in 1977. As a result he was assassinated by members of a fanatical Islamic conspiracy. The main lines of Sadat's foreign policy have been continued by his successor Hosni Mubarak. In return Egypt has been rewarded by western governments, principally the United States, with vast quantities of economic and military aid.

Egypt's adoption of a pro-western foreign policy has not been accompanied by the total implementation of democratic government based on the rule of law. The driving force of Egyptian political life is Islam. Islam as a political ideology strongly influences the actions of the government, the judiciary and main opposition groups alike. Political power is concentrated in the hands of the President and the ruling National Democratic Party. The Mubarak regime has allowed nine non-religious political parties to function, albeit with restrictions, in the hope that the existence of a multi-faceted legal opposition will help divert popular support away from its most powerful enemy - the militant Muslim movement. But government regulation of the political process ensures that Egyptians cannot exercise the theoretical right to change their government by peaceful, democratic means. The power of the executive branch of government, in particular the President and the Interior Minister, to issue decrees which bypass judicial scrutiny has few restrictions. The higher judiciary has moved away from its craven dependence on the executive of a few years ago, but still has a very pro-government mentality. Islamic law impinges on statute law very little - except in family law. But its ethos is prevalent in government actions.

The basic human rights of Egyptian citizens are restricted by the state and are also violated increasingly by manifestations of militant Islam in society, especially against non-Muslims. Among the most serious human rights problems in Egypt are imprisonment without due process of law; the use of torture; invasion of privacy; restrictions on the press and the right to peaceful assembly and association; and discrimination on the basis of sex.

The freedom of religious minorities is also severely restricted by law, arbitrary government action and social pressure. Discrimination and violence against members of Egypt's Christian community from the side of both the Islamic state and Muslim extremists has been on the increase over the past two decades. The Institute for Religious Minorities in the Islamic World has documented cases of the imprisonment, torture and murder of Egyptian Christians in recent times.

This report examines the contemporary plight of Egypt's Christian minority. It focuses not only on the general discrimination which this minority faces, but also describes specific problems which individual Christians and their churches continue to endure. Some names have been abbreviated to protect Christians who are vulnerable to reprisals.

Information is drawn from a variety of current and recent sources, both published and unpublished. Fact-finding visits to Egypt in 1990 and 1991 yielded much pertinent information.

The report is compiled in the hope that violations of the human rights of Christians in Egypt will be more widely recognized and that appropriate peaceful actions on their behalf may be encouraged.