Background:

The matter concerned is dialogue, including the 3 levels of dialogue: (1) daily life; (2) the socio-political aspect; and (3) the religious aspect. Father Christiaan van Nispen tot Sevenaer (15.3.1938 – 12.5.2016) and Egyptian Muslim Āshraf al-Khaṭāb are asked to share their viewpoints on Muslim-Christian relations in Egypt, and in particular, what is being done in terms of improving these relations by means of dialogue.

Side A:

The Christian population in Egypt numbers approximately 6 million people, making it the largest Christian community in the Middle East. Father Christiaan van Nispen is a man known to be involved in dialogue and argues that Egyptian Copts generally live in solidarity with Egyptian Muslims. Āshraf al-Khaṭāb, an Egyptian Muslim, says he has many friends of different religions – be it Christians or Jews – it does not matter to him because friendship is not determined by religion. It is common that Christians are invited to Islamic festivities and vice versa, Father van Nispen agrees and mentions that Pope Shenūdah III invited Muslim authorities to Christian festivities on several occasions. It is also not uncommon for organisations, institutions to do the same thing. van Nispen believes it is a norm, not an extraordinary set of events. Al-Khaṭāb believes Copts are like Muslims, they are Egyptian and do not want to be grouped as a minority as this further stimulates segregation. Father van Nispen says people deny that Christians need special protection as a minority. Egyptians react against (both Muslims and Christians) the need for special protection of Copts, as this insinuates that they are not an integral part of the society already.

The issue of discrimination is elaborated by van Nispen, arguing that the Egyptian society indeed has problems, and a new structure needs to be put in place. There is too much focus on violent political groups as if that is the only issue Egypt faces. Father van Nispen argues that it is indeed Christians who suffer, but they do so just as much as Muslims with the exception of some Southern areas like in Asyūṭ. In general, it is the Egyptians as a people who suffer, not necessarily Muslim Egyptians or Christian Egyptians. Al-Khaṭāb builds on that by saying that the Muslim-Christian incidents that have happened are incidents in a certain context, but do not present a shared hostility against Christians.

Van Nispen is part of an interfaith organisation, the Religious Brotherhood Group in Egypt. This group aims at refining dialogue between Christians and Muslims in Egypt. The Religious Brotherhood deals with the religious aspect of dialogue in which the members even pray together after every meeting regardless of their faith. Al-Khaṭāb is not a member but believes that God’s will is peace amongst all peoples and believes the group is a good start. The future of Egypt according to van Nispen is that with the right dialogue, Egyptians can live together in solidarity and build the future together. Al-Khaṭāb believes that the history of Egypt proves the goodness of the Egyptian people and that it will never turn into Algeria or Ireland.