EGYPT: Egypt's sizeable Coptic Christian community reacts to the election of Islamist Mohamed Mursi as new president

Record ID: 858815

  • Title: EGYPT: Egypt's sizeable Coptic Christian community reacts to the election of Islamist Mohamed Mursi as new president
  • Date: 28th June 2012
  • Summary: EXTERIOR OF COPTIC SHOP IN THE SHUBRA DISTRICT MEMORABILIA ON DISPLAY EMPLOYEES (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) ANTON FAROUK, COPTIC CHRISTIAN, SAYING: "It doesn't really matter to us whether there's a Christian vice president or not. The vice president of the Freedom and Justice Party is Christian and we've never even seen him and he's not even a representative of Christian public opinion. So this whole matter of a Christian vice president is merely a political game like we all know." MEMORABILIA ON DISPLAY IN STORE BANNER OF DECEASED POPE SHENOUDA BANNER OF POPE SHENOUDA HANGING ON BUILDING IN THE SHUBRA DISTRICT
  • Embargoed: 13th July 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Egypt
  • City:
  • Country: Egypt
  • Topics: Politics,Religion
  • Reuters ID: LVAE77Z1STCK04C0FK0ZKTQMRTSS
  • Aspect Ratio:
  • Story Text: Egypt's Coptic Christians are assuming a wait-and-see attitude towards president-elect Mohamed Mursi's win.
    Many in the predominantly Christian neighbourhood of Shubra in Cairo backed defeated candidate Ahmed Shafik, a former air force commander and ousted President Hosni Mubarak's last prime minister.
    Muslim Brotherhood's Mursi won by just 3.5 percentage points to Shafik, who many Copts believed would be the solution to their problems.
    Yosry Wanis voted for Shafik but said that he would give the new leadership a chance.
    "These (political) movements have all come out promising to give every person his rights. So we'll try them out in the next four years and see what happens. I voted for (Ahmed) Shafik but we'll just have to wait and see what happens in the country with the Brotherhood," Wanis said.
    Coptic Christians have long complained of discrimination under Mubarak's rule, who ran a secularist state.
    In the 16 months since Mubarak was ousted, the country's transitional period, managed by the military council, has been plagued with political unrest and economic instability.
    This has led to a decline in the tourism industry, one of the main pillars of Egypt's economy. Some Copts are calling on Mursi to solve this problem.
    "I'd ask him to reassure people. People who work in tourism and foreign investors. We're all one in this country and the most important thing is to restore security because it is the most important thing in the world," shop owner Ashraf said.
    Although Mursi has yet to be sworn in, he has already begun forming his government. Media reports have quoted Mursi's spokesperson as saying Mursi will appoint a Coptic Christian and a woman as his vice-presidents.
    But despite this, some remain sceptical.
    "It doesn't really matter to us whether there's a Christian vice president or not. The vice president of the Freedom and Justice Party is Christian and we've never even seen him and he's not even a representative of Christian public opinion. So this whole matter of a Christian vice president is merely a political game, as we all know," said Anton Farouk, a Coptic Christian.
    Christians form about a tenth of Egypt's 82-million, mostly-Muslim population.
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