I want to insure that, during these times, there is a focus on the plight of the Egyptian Coptic Christians, because the way they are treated is in contravention to the Egyptian constitution. Their lives are continually in peril.

Copts have been and continue to be discriminated against on the basis of religion and thus prevented from getting jobs, being promoted, and enjoying equal opportunity, all in contravention of Article 8 of the Egyptian constitution which states: "The State shall guarantee equality of opportunity to all Egyptians."

Article 2 of the Egyptian Constitution states that Islam is the religion of the State and the principal source of legislation is Islamic Jurisprudence (Sharia). The duplicity is obvious. If one is not a Muslim, all avenues of advancement are closed and there is no equality of opportunity.

The ICU, whose members are tax-paying citizens of the United States, calls upon the Obama Administration to demand that the religious, civil, and political rights and equal economic opportunities for the Christian Copts are protected under Egyptian law including but not limited to assurances that: Coptic children will not be forced to memorize Koranic verses, that books and curricula be revised to remove any hostile statements against the non-Muslims, and that Friday sermons at the different mosques must not advocate hatred toward the non-Muslims.

Joseph Hakim
Executive Vice President of the International Christian
Union\
North Bergen, NJ

Click Here to Read Jewish Voice and Opinion February 2011 Issue