Created on 25 Jan. 2012 03:27:40 PM
Coptic Christians are perhaps one of the most visible constituencies who have suffered after Mubarak’s downfall. While many were glad to see Mubarak go, some young Christians have become disenchanted by prominent incidents of sectarian strife and the Islamists’ overwhelming electoral victory.
“I’m not a political person,” said Rasha Fayez, a 25-year-old Coptic Christian from the working-class neighborhood of Shubra. But she wishes Mubarak was still in power. “He was Muslim, but he was a political man” who maintained strong foreign policy and kept Egypt peaceful domestically.
Now, Fayez worries that an Islamist will become president and force Islamic law on all Egyptians, maybe even making all women cover their hair with a headscarf.
George Kalliny, a 23-year-old Coptic Christian, thinks most Christians agree with Fayez, although he believes that over time governing the country will force the Muslim Brotherhood and the ultraconservative Salafists to moderate their views. In the end, he said, liberals like himself will gain more power.