Coptic Christians Fear Oppressive Bill Loaded with 'Deadly Venom'

Egyptian Christians are rejecting a government-sponsored bill that was formed to "ease building restrictions on churches." 

They believe it would instead cause discrimination towards practices in the Christian community, even though some official church representatives had welcomed the proposal. 

"The problem with this bill is that it treats the Christians as subjects, not full-fledged citizens," Coptic activist Kamal Zacher said.  "It hands over the jurisdiction to the Coptic Church and absolves the government of any constitutional responsibility towards the Christians."

"This bill simply ignores all the rights and freedom of religion enshrined in international conventions of which Egypt is a signatory," Zacher told Breitbart.

The chairman of the Young Christians Association, Mina Majdy, agrees that the bill is the "latest in a strong of oppressive measures against the Copts." 

"The bill makes church building a national security issue,"  Majdy said. "It includes opaque parameters such as the 'appropriate number of Christians.' According to whom? What are the objective parameters? What we Christians see as appropriate may not seem that to a government official. Our country needs a law that would stifle, rather than fan, the flames of sectarian tension."

According to Zacher the bill does not even recognize the existence of the cross as a physical object. "This opens the door to some people to oppose putting up crosses on church buildings," he explained. 

He elaborated on the bill's further consequences saying that it could "enable local council heads the right to strike down planning proposals without providing an explanation."

Zacher also said the decision regarding the size of the Coptic population and the degree of their need of a church is left up to the governors under the rule of the bill. 

"It is likely to cause a crisis, because it gives the state the authority to demolish buildings belonging to the Christian community and the church," he said. 

Back in May, World Watch Monitor reported on the bill saying it includes 13 articles that define a "church." The report also said that the draft hopes to recognize the Bishops' right to appeal to a higher body of government about delays and impose a limit of 60 days for a decision to be made. 

Coptic legal activist Naguib Gabriel said, "Today, the nature of attacks goes beyond mob riots or local authorities' intransigence. A lot more mars the relationship between Egyptians and Egyptians. Important as it is, this law cannot on its own solve all the woes endured by Copts."

Others have also expressed their disgust for the recent restrictive legislation. 

Christian lawyer, Said Fayez said the bill does not address the restrictions placed upon Christians' religious freedom. 

"It's a sham, a shameful bill, flammable and open ended, allowing every governmental agent to interpret it according to their views," he said. 

Former lawmaker and member of the Anglican Council, Farid Bayadi also said that the bill consists of "deadly venom" and leaves many "loopholes." 

Another activist, Isaac Ibrhaim said the bill is loosely worded and can be contradictory based on other interpretations. 

"Instead of all the secrecy around its drafting, it should have been done in conjunction with Christian citizens, clerics and jurists. It allows the security forces to intervene in church building procedures," he said.