On 7 July 2018, Gatestone Institution published parts of a
speech delivered at the 9th annual convention of Coptic Solidarity, held in Washington D.C. on 21-22 June 2018. In very strong terms, Salim Mansur (who is Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Western Ontario in Canada) made it clear that, as a Muslim majority nation, Egypt has an obligation to do more to protect the large Coptic Christian minority which has suffered so much sectarian violence over the years. He also suggested that an international policy modelled on the Helsinki Agreement of 1975 but "tailored to the specific situation within the Muslim world" would help put pressure on member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to act against human-rights abuses.
Yonas Dembele, persecution analyst at World Watch Research, comments: "Although the Islamic State group (IS) is the main militant threat against the Christian population in Egypt, sectarian incitement and anti-Christian populism are not limited to IS activities. Egyptian anti-Christian violence increased sharply following the removal of Islamist President Mohammad Morsi from power in 2013. The Muslim Brotherhood officials regarded the Copts as being complicit in the military coup led by General al-Sisi, and Christians became the target of angry supporters. Churches continue to be flash points for anti-Coptic attacks and their construction and renovation is a highly political process in Egypt that has historically required presidential approval to proceed. As it stands, Christians remain very vulnerable to attacks by radical Muslims and any international pressure on the government to provide more protection is to be welcomed."
