Demonstration Press Release

COPTIC CHRISTIANS DEMONSTRATED AT KING TUT EXHIBITION OPENING

Demonstration held in front of the The Field Museum yesterday, May 25, drew over 100 protesters

Chicago, Illinois, May 26, 2006-

On Thursday, May 25, Coptic Christians and their supporters held a peaceful demonstration in front of the South Entrance to The Field Museum, forcing Egyptian delegates and American politicians attending opening events for the King Tut Exhibition to sneak into the side entrance. Demonstrators included representatives from Chicago’s three Coptic churches (St. Mark in Burr Ridge, St. Mary in Palatine and St. George in Monee) as well as supporters from other Christian and Muslim activist groups and human rights organizations.

This demonstration occurred in tandem with others in major cities around the globe where Copts have protested the tragic stabbings at Coptic Christian churches in Alexandria, Egypt over Palm Sunday weekend and the subsequent government cover up of the true perpetrators of these crimes. These peaceful protests give a voice to Copts around the globe who seek to offer support to their brothers and sisters in Egypt and to protest the Mubarak government’s campaign of discrimination against the Coptic minority. The presence of the Egyptian delegation in Chicago for the opening of the King Tut exhibit, as well as the attendance of prominent American politicians, provided Chicago Copts a unique opportunity to express outrage at the treatment of Coptic Christians in Egypt. Unfortunately, the delegates chose to continue to ignore the plight of the Copts, opting to avoid even laying eyes on the protesters.

Copts are the Orthodox Christians of Egypt and comprise approximately 12% of Egypt’s population of 77.5 million. Coptic Christianity is one of the religion’s oldest branches and originated in Egypt in approximately 42 C.E. Copts have lived in Egypt for almost 2,000 years and have basically coexisted peacefully with their Islamic neighbors since the rise of Islam in the 7the century. However, in the 50 years since the Egyptian Revolution, treatment of Copts by the government has reduced the community to a desperate state. Over the years many deliberate strategies have been put in place to deny Copts economic, educational and social opportunities, governmental representation, due process in legal matters and basic civil rights.

Copts are barred from obtaining high-ranking jobs. The U.S. State Department in its International Religious Freedom Report on Egypt, 2005 notes that there are no Christians serving as governors, presidents or deans of public universities and that there are very few Christians in the upper ranks of the security services and the armed forces. Coptic testimony is not recognized in courts of law, and although they comprise about 12% of the population, Copts hold less than 2% of Parliamentary seats. In addition, a 14^th century law banning church construction still remains in force, which bars Christians not only from building new churches but from performing necessary maintenance on existing structures without express Presidential approval.

Sadly, these are only a few of the obstacles that have been erected by the Mubarak government to prevent Coptic Christians from participating fully and equally in Egyptian society. In addition to flagrant human rights abuses against the Coptic minority, Egypt’s government has also failed to enact promised democratic reforms. Elections are still plagued by fraud, freedom of the press and religion are restricted and the government continues to operate in an authoritarian manner. Egyptians of all faiths and living in countries around the globe believe that the only way that real equality for Copts and all Egyptian citizens only can be achieved through the institution of a truly democratic government. The Mubarak government’s failure to do so, and its continued litany of excuses for refusing to effect democratic changes, compounds problems for Copts and for all Egyptian citizens.

The protest was only one in a line of expressions of ever increasing outrage by the Coptic Christian community. The more that individuals and groups learn about the shameful conditions placed on these citizens of Egypt by the Mubarak regime, the more outrage there is. Current bi-partisan legislation in the House of Representatives seeks to reduce or eliminate the $1.3 billion annual U.S. aid package to Egypt if certain human rights conditions are not met. Since 1979, over $60 billion in aid has been distributed to the Egyptian government, much of it without oversight.

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Contacts:

Name: Ellen Middlebrook Herron

tel: 847.920.2081

fax: 847.256.1092

email: ellen@wrechicago.com

Name: Cameel Halim

tel: 847.212.8525

fax: 847.256.1092

email: cmlabd@aol.com