Al-Jumhūrīyah on Wednesday interviewed Bishop Bīsantī of Helwan and al-Ma‘ṣarah.

 

Asked about how he views the scene in Egypt after the bombing of the Church of the Two Saints, the bishop said “following the Two Saints Church incident I experienced friendliness from my brother Muslims even greater than the already existing friendliness and love, because they felt that the Copts were hurt and struck at badly in that terrorist incident.”

 

When asked if the Unified Law for Building Houses of Worship would solve the difficulties surrounding the construction of churches, Bīsantī replied that there are two basic conditions for the law to succeed: that a church is [allowed to be] built with the same ease with which a mosque can be built, and that there be no conditions that impede the building of churches.

 

Queried on whether the state is tardy in complying with Coptic demands, the bishop concurred, then cited two examples of Copts being denied appointments they deserved. “What I want to say is that a Copt should receive his rights so long as he merits them, and to take them easily, not after a struggle.”

 

The interviewer then asked if the bishop supported a quota for Copts in parliament, to which he responded: “Has the [women’s] quota devalued women’s worth in Egypt?” and when the interviewer pointed out that Pope Shenouda had opposed the quota he said: “he did but owing to the situation currently existing he said there was ‘no solution’ except the quota or voting by the list system.”

 

Regarding his support or otherwise for cancellation of the entry for religion on identity cards, Bīsantī said he supports this “because I am a citizen, let my religion be what I wish [it to be], as long as I am honest and loyal to my country and my countrymen.”

 

When asked if the church had become ‘a state within a state,’ the bishop responded “No. There is a reply to that [claim], for the state has clear powers; has anyone not submitted to those powers? Has anyone refused to pay taxes, for example? … Secondly, if we assume the truth of that allegation, where would this Coptic state be. What happened in Sudan did so because they do have two states, in the north and the south, and it is impossible for that to be repeated here; we have churches, relics, and a presence from Alexandria [in the north of Egypt] to Aswan [Egypt’s southernmost city].”