The Copts Get Tough: Church Issues Demands

In the wake of the sectarian conflict in Egyot: a still from a 1960s Egyptian movie: a Muslim sheikh and a Coptic priest on a bicycle built for two. Too bad it's only an old movie.

In the real world, the Coptic Church, sounding tougher than in the recent past, has issued demands of the Presidency:

The Coptic Orthodox Church has identified five demands for President Mohamed Morsy to resolve the sectarian crises that have erupted in various parts of the country.

“We demand the president to apply the law to everyone, ensure safety and security in the entire country, activate fully the principle of citizenship, amend religious discourse, and teach Coptic history in schools,” Father Makary Habib, the personal secretary to Pope Tawadros II, told the Turkish Anadolu News on Wednesday.

“The absence of the law treated Copts as if they were second class citizens,” Habib said, adding that what is happening now is the result of thirty years of sectarian problems under the regime of former President Hosni Mubarak.

“We are tired of painkillers,” he said, hinting to informal and customary solutions. “We need concrete steps.”

Though Egyptians marched yesterday against sectarian violence, tensions remain high. Anyone have a supply of bicycles?