Official statistics place the number of Christians at six percent, with Christians claiming twenty percent. The actual number is likely somewhere between.

Despite the prominent Christian community, the country's constitution gives preference to Muslims and Christians are treated as second-class citizens, denied political representation, and discriminated against in employment. At times, the discrimination results in violence, as happened during three days of rioting, starting on New Years Eve 1999 in El-Kosheh. Following a dispute between a Muslim trader and a Christian shop owner, Muslims from El-Kosheh and surrounding communities rioted, destroying dozens of homes and businesses and leaving twenty-one Christians dead and thirty-three wounded. In February 2003, two of ninety-six Muslims accused in this riot were convicted. However, in June 2004, 94 of the 96 convicted criminals were acquitted.

The government uses an 1856 Ottoman Empire law to keep any church from being built without the permission of Egypt's president. Repairs of any kind to places of worship are up to the discretion of the local governor. An example of the difficulties faced under these regulations was in August 2003 when police attempted to destroy the wall around an historic monastery. The former governor had approved the construction of the wall, but the present governor did not recognize this permission. After intervention from President Mubarak and pressure from within Egypt as well as the international community, the governor backed down on his order.

A serious problem facing Christians in Egypt is the kidnapping, and often rape, of Christian girls, forcing them to marry Muslims. On June 30, 2003, seventeen-year-old Nermine was kidnapped in front of the Isis Secondary School in Alexandria, Egypt. Her parents received a call saying that she would be married to a Muslim man. The police refused to intervene and her father was not allowed to advertise the issue in the media. In October 2003 there were two similar instances reported of girls disappearing. There have been several reports of young Coptic women at college befriended by Muslim male students, drawn into a life of drug addiction, and finally abduction and conversion to Islam. Police routinely refuse to act in these cases, denying any kidnapping or forced conversion.

While the constitution allows for freedom of conversion, Muslims converting to Christianity have been unable to change their religion and name on their identification cards. Without that change, Christian women would still be designated as Muslims and would be unable to marry a Christian man. Children of those designated Muslims would have to be educated as Muslims and those with Islamic names would routinely be turned away from entering churches by police. Consequently, Christians have frequently had false ID cards produced only to face prosecution for falsifying government documents. Christians converting to Islam face no difficulty in changing their ID cards. A court decision in 2004 affirmed a woman’s right to change her religious identity. However, in November of the same year, two teenage girls were being forced to take Muslim identities when it was discovered that their father had altered their birth certificates, replacing their Christian identification with a Muslim identity.

There have been a few hopeful decisions made by the Egyptian government. Some educational materials are now recognizing the Coptic contribution to Egyptian society. The Coptic Christmas was officially recognized as an official national holiday in January, 2003. (The Orthodox Christmas is celebrated on January 7). The National Council for Human Rights was formed, and there has been a move toward more interfaith activity. Despite these moves, Egypt has a long way to go before it can be recognized as a religiously free nation.

• Pray for safety for Christian young people in Egypt.  Pray that those kidnapped, that they will be returned to their families and that they will maintain their Christian faith.
• Pray for those facing economic and social challenges because of their Christian faith.  Pray that the authorities will uphold the constitutional freedom of religion.
• Pray that the ministry of churches in Egypt will continue and that the Gospel will be preached throughout this nation.