As I posted before , the uprisings in Egypt may or may not be a positive development for religious freedom in the area. Michelle Boorstein reports in the Washington Post today that as change seems more and more likely, the minority Christian population is gripped with a mix of feelings:
Copt leaders in the United States said they are terrified that a new Egyptian government with a strong Islamic fundamentalist bent would persecute Christians….
"The current situation for the Copts stinks, but [longtime Egyptian President Hosni] Mubarak is the best of the worst for us," said the Rev. Paul Girguis of St. Mark Coptic Orthodox Church in Fairfax County, which has about 3,000 members. "If Muslim extremists take over, the focus will be extreme persecution against Copts. Some people even predict genocide."
…
But not all American faith leaders are bracing for the worst. Joel Hunter, an evangelical pastor of a Florida megachurch and a frequent adviser to President Obama, said he's hearing a lot of optimism from Egyptian Christians who believe the uprising will lead to more freedom and religious liberty.
What's clear, as Boorstein's piece points out, is that what happens to the Christian community in Egypt – the largest such collection in the Middle East – will be watched closely by Christians and religious freedom advocates all around the world.
