The main issue at stake is whether Egypt will become a Civic Democratic State, or that Sharia will be the sole source of all legislation, and that when the interpretation is ambiguous Al-Azhar will be the sole Institution to provide the right answers. I was under the illusion that this matter has been resolved long ago and that it has ceased to be a controversial issue any longer. Those advocating the supremacy of religion in every human-made law, use smart phones to communicate, drive modern cars and live in houses equipped with the latest inventions of man. They do not ride camels and do not live in tents, so why do they want to foist 1500 years of regression on the rest of us? Do they have hidden agendas?
Christians in Egypt paid a hefty price to the ousting of the Muslim brothers; more than a hundred of their Churches and institutions were burnt, the Patriarchate was vandalized, their children were crushed or killed by other means, their homes were destroyed, their girls are being kidnapped, raped or forced into prostitution and they were asked to leave their homeland or else. If the Copts constitute 10% of the population and even if the majority of them assembled in Tahrir square demanding the ouster of Mohammed Morsi, they would have constituted only 10% of those who demonstrated against Morsi’s government. Copts were accused unjustly for the fall of Muslim Brothers and have paid a hefty price for that. Are their sacrifices not enough to justify a Civic Constitution by which they are treated as equal partners (under the law) to the rest of the Egyptian Citizens? Or they should continue to be persecuted?
Muslims constituted the majority of Egyptians for centuries. This is a fact. Also, Muslims living in free democratic countries are treated, as they should, equal to others with different religious beliefs, so why are Christians living in Egypt treated different from Muslims? It bothers me immensely to see that the Salafists are insisting that the Constitution should differentiate between Egyptian Citizens according to their religions. As if it is not enough that Egypt is rated dead last, among nations, in its treatment of women? We should spare no effort to rectify this atrocious standing and not extend it to include the treatment of others whose religious beliefs are not acceptable to Islamists? The fact is: ALL the thriving nations subscribe to democracy, while ALL those at the bottom have religions at their core. As an example, the 5 million citizens of Finland produce more than the 360 million inhabitants, ruled by religion, in the Middle-East.
The main question confronting the Committee of Fifty is: Do we want to repair the enormous damage that plagued the Egyptian life over the past decades, or do we want Egypt to deteriorate further? There is no in-between. Replacing reality by wishful thinking never helps. Hot talk is never a substitute to sensible actions. I say to those calling for abandoning the Committee of Fifty: quitting is not an option, you must fight for your principles. The FACTS and TRUTH are on your side. If you quit you render yourselves ZEROS and you will allow all NEROS to force their destructive agenda on the rest of citizens. That is not an acceptable outcome. You should never allow the meaningless loud voices, void of deliberate reasoning, to intimidate you.
Constitutions are not consensus documents that justify “majoritarian” rule, but they are intended to be roadmaps that shape of the future of Nations and PROTECT ALL ITS CITIZENS. Otherwise, not only Egypt will be a loser but Muslims may suffer all over the world. Citizens in developed nations will be afraid of Islam and treat Muslims as “different from us”.
It is time for well-informed Egyptians to rally for a “Civic Constitution” that affords freedom, justice and equality for all Egyptians and which is void of discrimination against some citizens because of religious belief, gender, age, station or any other factor.
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Dr Motfy Basta, MD, FRCP, FRCPE, FACP, FACC, FCCP, FAHA…
