Muslim-Christian relations in Egypt burst onto the public stage last week after allegations by Coptic Christians of forced conversion to Islam triggered demonstrations in Cairo. Sectarian friction was also reported in provinces of Upper Egypt.
Some observers, however, suggest such tension is often exaggerated for political purposes.
"A number of minor events in the last six months" such as mutual accusations of forced conversion and wrangling over the construction of religious edifices have roused emotions on either side of the sectarian divide, says Mohamed Said, deputy director of the state-run al-Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies.
On Dec. 5 and 6, longstanding resentment exploded as hundreds of Coptic Christians, Egypt's largest Christian denomination, staged angry protests in Cairo and in the west delta province of Beheira.
The demonstrations were sparked by the alleged abduction and forced conversion to Islam of the wife of a Coptic priest. Protestors, gathering at a Coptic cathedral in the Cairo district of Abbasiya demanded the return of the woman in question, Wefaa Constantine, to church authorities.
Demonstrators also protested against what many Christians perceive as an unofficial discrimination policy.
Protestors staged round-the-clock sit-ins at the cathedral until the confrontation reached its climax Dec. 9 when church authorities instructed demonstrators to disperse after receiving assurances that Constantine had been handed over to a church council. By then, some 55 people had been injured, while 34 Christian demonstrators were arrested for allegedly attacking police during the disturbances.
The Cairo protest does not appear to have been an isolated incident. It coincided with independent claims by church authorities in the Upper Egyptian province of Assiut - a historic flashpoint of sectarian discord - that the ruling National Democratic Party's local representative had pressured Copts (Coptic Christians) in his jurisdiction to convert to Islam. The party representative, quoted in the government-run al-Ahram weekly , said the claims were "completely fabricated.."
Sensational headlines peppered the pages of the opposition press. The independent weekly al-Esboua asked, "Who will ignite the fitna ?", using the Arabic word - charged with dread - for "sectarian warfare". The left-wing Tagammua Party mouthpiece al-Ahali proclaimed, "The spectre of sectarianism threatens Egypt."
State media downplayed the issue, although political talk shows on government-run television channels featured prominent figures from al-Azhar University - the seat of Sunni Islam - reiterating Islam's tradition of non-violent proselytising and the importance of interfaith dialogue.
Christian-Muslim relations have generally been peaceful, but there have been periodic outbreaks of violence, especially in Upper Egypt, where the subject remains an extremely sensitive one.
Sectarian violence erupted most recently in 2000 in the village of al-Kusheh where according to official accounts 20 people were killed during armed clashes between the two sides, although local accounts suggest a higher death toll. In an indication of the sensitivity of the incident, al-Kusheh was subsequently renamed Dar al-Salaam, or "City of Peace".
But many Upper Egyptian Copts complain that official discrimination against Christians remains rife, often at the local level. They point to the under-representation of Copts in the government, army and police.
"For every 100 local officers, maybe one of them is Christian," said a Copt from the Assiut province. He said local bureaucracy also obstructs the building of churches as opposed to mosques. "This makes us angry," he said.
Most Muslim observers say sectarian tension is often exaggerated for political purposes, with an eye to potential foreign intervention. "Outside forces are always trying to inflate the issue," said Mahmoud, resident of Assiut.
The skepticism is not without some justification. Michael Meunier, president of the U.S. Copts Association, appealed reportedly at the behest of church figures in Egypt to U.S. President George W. Bush and his administration Dec. 6 to intercede on behalf of Egypt's Coptic community.
In an open letter to the White House, Meunier claimed to have "evidence" that a "relentless campaign of persecution against the Copts of Egypt is well organised, encouraged and facilitated by Egyptian government officials, on both central and local levels.." The letter urged Bush to authorise the State Department "to interfere and put an end to the police brutality, terror and organised persecution against the Coptic Christians of Egypt."
The charge, coming at a time when sectarian strife elsewhere in the region, as in Darfur, has raised the question of foreign interference, is sure to make Cairo nervous. Still, according to Said, "Cairo isn't on the defensive." Meunier has a reputation for being "given to exaggeration", he said. But he added "we'll have to settle it with dialogue and immediate action to defuse these sentiments."
The Dec. 12 edition of pan-Arab daily al-Hayat says the Wefaa Constantine case was finally settled when Coptic authorities "accepted the fact that the woman in question was not subject to any pressure to leave the Christian religion." The paper went on to report that despite a lengthy sit-down with a church council she has remained insistent on her conversion to Islam.
"I think it's over now," said Said. "Security has handed the lady over to church authorities, but she's still determined to convert."
Hefez Abu Seada, general secretary of the non-governmental Egyptian Organisation for Human Rights also concedes that "according to our information, there was no forced conversion." He adds, however, that despite the apparent resolution of the issue, greater foreign pressure for religious freedom could be expected. "There are still outstanding Coptic issues, regarding, for example, the building of churches," he said.
Abu Seada says official ambiguity over the issue does not help. "There will be more pressure because all these unconfirmed rumours are circulating about violations against Copts," he said. "This is largely because there's no transparency."
Local authorities in Assiut had little to give visitors at the time of the incident other than polite repetitions of the official mantra: "There are no problems here. We're all brothers."
Said describes the recent events as "a new spark on what's seen as an uneasy situation." But he says the incident should also serve as a wake-up call "alerting all people concerned to avoid bad feelings, to come together and to emphasise national unity and equal treatment."