Is There Religious Discrimination in Egypt? [2]
Ismail Imadudeen
August 11, 2008
The Hamayouni Decree and Tax Payment [Al-Jizyath]
Copts want the antiquated 19th Century Hamayouni decree be abolished. It is inconceivable to require that the president of Egypt must approve permits to build a church or even to repair a toilet in a church. Mosques in Egypt are being built with no restrictions.' US Copts Association.
This quotation represents one of the most striking and controversial demands for the Copts in Egypt, which requires the ratification or even the abolition of the ´defamed´ Hamayouni decree. So what is the Hamayouni decree? Is it an Islamic, Quranic invention, or is it just a creation of man, who could be some times wise and some other times insane?
First of all I would like to explain that law to the ordinary, neutral reader; the Hamayouni decree regulates the building of the non-Muslims religious facilities, which was first passed in February, 1856 by the then Ottoman Emperor, and, surprisingly, it was passed to give more rights to the minorities within the Islamic Ottoman Empire. The law was used for the first time in Egypt, after ´Egyptianizing´ it, in February, 1934, and there were ten, controversial conditions for granting permission to build Christian worship facilities. In fact, the Egyptian version of the law has been a pale version that was highly misunderstood, and some times misinterpreted.
The law, in its essence, aimed at ensuring the societal integrity, as it has been perceived that building a Christian facility on the right location will assure peace between Muslims and Christian on one side, and on the other side, between the different Christian sects with one another. Well, the Egyptian Copts never saw it this way, nor the Muslims saw it the other way, and things continue like this until unfortunate accidents arise here or there that inflame ethnic disturbances, for instance, the late disturbing incidence of Abu-Fana monastery, where a group of armed tribesmen attached the monastery for a seemingly conflict over the land possession and ownership.
It is worth mentioning here that conflicts over land possession and ownership arise always between the tribesmen and the government it self, and the government, on the other hand, uses dialogue some times (the custom), and force in some other times, when other means fail, to resolve the conflicts. So, I find the interpretation of Abu-Fana incidence by some expatriate Copts that it is an evidence of the systematic discrimination against the Copts in Egypt, to be really hilarious and inappropriate.
However, I do join hands with my brothers the Copts, and other Christian groups, inside Egypt, and ask our coherent leadership to think of a gradual, but decisive solution to the Hamayouni decree; a solution that will permanently eliminate any sensitivity and misunderstanding between the two elements of the society.
With regard to the ´Jizyath,´ or the special tax paid by the non-Muslims to the Islamic state, it´s really shocking to me how this issue has been used fraudulently by some expatriate Copts to allegedly highlight the kind of discrimination that the Copts suffered during the Islamic rule to Egypt since the Arab conquer 14 centuries ago.
The ´Jizyath´ is simply a type of tax; what is wrong with collecting a tax from the citizens of a country? Is it because it is based on religion? Well, there are many other taxes in Islam imposed solely on Muslims, I repeat, imposed solely on Muslims, so would one say that Muslims were discriminated inside their Islamic empire because they were required to pay a tax for them being Muslims? The ´Zakath´ is a pillar of Islam, and a Muslim wouldn´t be considered true Muslim if he/she doesn´t pay this type of tax. So, what those minor groups are trying to say is simply so witty and deceiving. The ´Jizyath´ was a tax that was imposed on the non-Muslims in return for defending them from any foreign invasion, besides that it worked the same way today´s taxes are working; I mean that the funds collected from the non-Muslims were summed up with those collected from the Muslims and used for development projects. I read many articles that offend that tax and take it as an evidence of the ´brutality´ of Islam. Let´s see who are exempted from this tax, according to the holy Quruan:
Women.
Children.
Sick people.
Poor people.
Clergymen who reside at monasteries.
Furthermore, in case that the Islamic state couldn´t provide the necessary security for the non-Muslims, like in case of foreign invasion, all the non-Muslims would be exempted from that tax.
It is worth mentioning that this type of tax is mentioned in both the Old and New Testaments, so it is not an Islamic invention.
Well, is there any thing else to say? It is sad that our world is full of this type of hatred and retribution! It is sad that there would be some people who would be ready to falsely defame their country and savagely attack their brothers and sisters in humanity for just a cheap price! Is it the fame that they seek? Or is it just the desire to have a cause? But Hitler had a cause; same does Osama Bin Laden and many more.
I would end this part with an enlightening (translated) quotation of His Holiness Pope Shenouda III:
"Egypt is not merely a country where we live in; it is a country that lives within our souls."
Copts want the antiquated 19th Century Hamayouni decree be abolished. It is inconceivable to require that the president of Egypt must approve permits to build a church or even to repair a toilet in a church. Mosques in Egypt are being built with no restrictions.' US Copts Association.
This quotation represents one of the most striking and controversial demands for the Copts in Egypt, which requires the ratification or even the abolition of the ´defamed´ Hamayouni decree. So what is the Hamayouni decree? Is it an Islamic, Quranic invention, or is it just a creation of man, who could be some times wise and some other times insane?
First of all I would like to explain that law to the ordinary, neutral reader; the Hamayouni decree regulates the building of the non-Muslims religious facilities, which was first passed in February, 1856 by the then Ottoman Emperor, and, surprisingly, it was passed to give more rights to the minorities within the Islamic Ottoman Empire. The law was used for the first time in Egypt, after ´Egyptianizing´ it, in February, 1934, and there were ten, controversial conditions for granting permission to build Christian worship facilities. In fact, the Egyptian version of the law has been a pale version that was highly misunderstood, and some times misinterpreted.
The law, in its essence, aimed at ensuring the societal integrity, as it has been perceived that building a Christian facility on the right location will assure peace between Muslims and Christian on one side, and on the other side, between the different Christian sects with one another. Well, the Egyptian Copts never saw it this way, nor the Muslims saw it the other way, and things continue like this until unfortunate accidents arise here or there that inflame ethnic disturbances, for instance, the late disturbing incidence of Abu-Fana monastery, where a group of armed tribesmen attached the monastery for a seemingly conflict over the land possession and ownership.
It is worth mentioning here that conflicts over land possession and ownership arise always between the tribesmen and the government it self, and the government, on the other hand, uses dialogue some times (the custom), and force in some other times, when other means fail, to resolve the conflicts. So, I find the interpretation of Abu-Fana incidence by some expatriate Copts that it is an evidence of the systematic discrimination against the Copts in Egypt, to be really hilarious and inappropriate.
However, I do join hands with my brothers the Copts, and other Christian groups, inside Egypt, and ask our coherent leadership to think of a gradual, but decisive solution to the Hamayouni decree; a solution that will permanently eliminate any sensitivity and misunderstanding between the two elements of the society.
With regard to the ´Jizyath,´ or the special tax paid by the non-Muslims to the Islamic state, it´s really shocking to me how this issue has been used fraudulently by some expatriate Copts to allegedly highlight the kind of discrimination that the Copts suffered during the Islamic rule to Egypt since the Arab conquer 14 centuries ago.
The ´Jizyath´ is simply a type of tax; what is wrong with collecting a tax from the citizens of a country? Is it because it is based on religion? Well, there are many other taxes in Islam imposed solely on Muslims, I repeat, imposed solely on Muslims, so would one say that Muslims were discriminated inside their Islamic empire because they were required to pay a tax for them being Muslims? The ´Zakath´ is a pillar of Islam, and a Muslim wouldn´t be considered true Muslim if he/she doesn´t pay this type of tax. So, what those minor groups are trying to say is simply so witty and deceiving. The ´Jizyath´ was a tax that was imposed on the non-Muslims in return for defending them from any foreign invasion, besides that it worked the same way today´s taxes are working; I mean that the funds collected from the non-Muslims were summed up with those collected from the Muslims and used for development projects. I read many articles that offend that tax and take it as an evidence of the ´brutality´ of Islam. Let´s see who are exempted from this tax, according to the holy Quruan:
Women.
Children.
Sick people.
Poor people.
Clergymen who reside at monasteries.
Furthermore, in case that the Islamic state couldn´t provide the necessary security for the non-Muslims, like in case of foreign invasion, all the non-Muslims would be exempted from that tax.
It is worth mentioning that this type of tax is mentioned in both the Old and New Testaments, so it is not an Islamic invention.
Well, is there any thing else to say? It is sad that our world is full of this type of hatred and retribution! It is sad that there would be some people who would be ready to falsely defame their country and savagely attack their brothers and sisters in humanity for just a cheap price! Is it the fame that they seek? Or is it just the desire to have a cause? But Hitler had a cause; same does Osama Bin Laden and many more.
I would end this part with an enlightening (translated) quotation of His Holiness Pope Shenouda III:
"Egypt is not merely a country where we live in; it is a country that lives within our souls."