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The Free Egyptians fully supports Coptic demands for justice and equality in Egypt. They furthermore demand that a new census be made under international auspices and scrutiny to determine the exact ratio of Copts to the total population of Egypt with a view to block expected undue contestations of Coptic representation in political and social life in this country.
In effect, The Free Egyptians approves and endorses the following Coptic demands subject to the census aforesaid:
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1. The Egyptian Government should implement a policy of separation of Church and State by the abolition of the second article in the Egyptian constitution that states "Egypt is a Muslim Country and the Quran is the main source of legislation." Article 40 states that "All citizens are equal", however the second article supersedes the 40th.
2. The Copts are 15 million but are represented in only 1% of elected and appointed Government positions; we demand fair political representation of Christians in Egypt by designating 25% of the electoral districts for strictly Coptic candidates, similar to the current system wherein 50% of the districts are closed to any candidates except farmers and laborers.
3. The Copts demand 2 of the following 4 top leadership positions be held by Copts: Vice President, Defense Minister, Interior Minister, and Prime Minister.
4. The Egyptian Government should promote equal representation by advocating for 25% representation in the Popular Council and all Professionals Bars and Associations.
5. People who have committed crimes against the Copts, such as massacres against Copts, kidnappings, rapes, and forced conversion of Coptic girls (as young as 12 years old) must be brought to justice. Police officers who falsified reports after torturing Copts and converts to Christianity must be held accountable for their crimes (Mubarak’s 23-year reign has seen 30 massacres against the Copts, 100s of rapes and forced conversion to Islam, and no one was ever convicted of any such crime).
6. The Egyptian Government should end its policy of discrimination in building and repairing churches – currently, applications for building and repair of churches MUST be approved by the National Security Police, and are rarely approved. This approval policy, along with the second article of the Egyptian Constitution, make the Copts not only strangers in the eye of Muslims, but also, third class citizens in their own home land.
7. The Egyptian Government should compel the media to stop propagating hate towards Christians and should abolish the discriminating practices of the educational system, admitting all qualified candidates into Al-Azhar University, regardless of their religion.
8. Mubarak’s Government MUST stop torture and imprisonment of Muslim converts; and allow anyone with an immigration visa to leave Egypt safely.
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Ahmed Mohamed
Founding President
The Free Egyptians
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