International Christian Concern | August 24, 2020
Egyptian officials have forced a Coptic Christian family living in Hawarat village (Fayoum Province) to vacate their properties and leave the village, according to local press.
The Coptic man was backing his motorcycle and accidentally ran over his Muslim neighbor’s young daughter, killing her. The girl’s father acknowledged that the incident was accidental and made no accusation against the Christian family. However, Mayor Hanni Snofar of Fayoum Province pursued a reconciliation meeting between the family. During the meeting, he ordered that the Coptic family must sell their belongings and leave the village.
Reconciliation meetings are commonly used in Egypt as a way to resolve what is considered a sectarian issue outside of the judicial system. In most instances, Christians are forced to give up some part of their rights in order to appease their Muslim accusers. What is unusual about this situation is that there was no accusation by the girl’s father against the Christian man. Why the mayor ordered the Christian family’s displacement is an unusual step in this context, although not unusual in other reconciliation scenarios.