Egypt Placed on 'Special Watch List' for Persecuting Christians

 

There is a concerning rise in Christian persecution across Egypt, where constitutional guarantees of religious freedom are increasingly undermined by community-level discrimination and state-sanctioned roadblocks to acknowledging... 

Incidents of Christian persecution in Egypt are either unaddressed or increasing, depending on which Egyptian community is being referenced. Egypt has been called out by various American administrations in the past for failing to enforce its own constitution, which states that “freedom of belief is absolute” and that “the freedom of practicing religious rituals and establishing worship places for the followers of ‘divine religions’” is guaranteed. 

Instead, Egypt allows discriminatory practices and laws that hinder Christians from freely expressing their beliefs. The majority of the persecution takes place on a community level, especially in areas with a high population of extremist Muslim groups. In general, southern Egypt is worse than northern Egypt. Christian women are subject to harassment, and school children are bullied (especially when school is in session). Christians regularly endure employment discrimination and false accusations of violating blasphemylaws. Christians are in the minority with only 15 percent being a part of the population in Egypt, though Egypt has the largest percentage of Christians overall in Africa. The rest of the population is Islamic. 

Previously, Christian churches have been bombed, believers killed, and women and children have been raped and / or forced into sex trafficking. Though the government promises Christians more legalized Churches, permits to build or repair churches have been refused because of the faith of those applying for the permit. In addition, there are aggressive neighbors and mobs that are eager to fight and hinder building or repair efforts. If Christians speak about their faith on social platforms, they can be charged with breaking blasphemy laws and fined and / or imprisoned. Muslims who convert to Christianity are typically pressured by their families to return to their Islamic faith. The state goes to great lengths to prevent conversions from being acknowledged.

Because Egypt continues to allow freedom of religion to be hindered, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is demanding that the United States place Egypt on its 2026 Special Watch List (SWL). Basically, Egypt will be monitored by the USCIRF regarding whether or not extremist groups continue to gain power, and whether or not the persecution of Christian grows any worse.