At the time of the visit of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom to Egypt, Saad Eddin wrote a declaration on the Coptic issue. He wrote that Copts are historically the origin of Egypt and one of its two major socio-demographic components. However, they have occasionally been subjected to ugly discrimination, in blatant violation of Egypt’s constitution and tradition of religious tolerance. He added that Egyptians are extremely sensitive to the appearance of foreign intervention in their affairs, especially as regards sectarian issues.