Speaking at the Canadian bishops annual plenary on Sept. 23, Mina gave an eyewitness account of the plight of Egypt’s Copts and Christians. He said Christians are “always under attack” by extremists who are determined to make Egypt an Islamist state.

“Living in Canada and experiencing freedom of religion is something people take for granted,” Mina told the more than 80 bishops gathered at the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops’ plenary. “It is my pleasure to clarify for your graces reality of events taking place in Egypt at this time.”

Islamists rose to power during the Arab Spring in 2011, Mina said. Under the previous Mubarak regime, Islamists had been held in check. But the election of Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood “allowed extremists to speak and act more freely. They were determined to make Egypt an Islamic state,” he said.

“Christianity in Egypt was founded by St. Mark the Evangelist in the first century,” Mina said. “Until 639 Egypt was a Christian country. But in 639 Muslims invaded Egypt and forced many to convert and killed many who refused.”

That had the effect of making Christianity a minority religion, and that has lasted through modern days, he said. Christians — Copts, Catholics and Protestants — currently make up about 12 per cent of the population.

“In recent years, we were always under attack,” the archbishop said.

Last spring, extremists attacked the Orthodox Coptic cathedral, St. Mark’s, which has the same significance to Coptic Christians as the

Vatican has to Roman Catholics, Mina said.
But Morsi was removed from power after just one year as Egyptians, both Christians and Muslims, joined together to speak in a peaceful revolution to remove the Morsi government. Thirty-three million people left their homes to “reject the Muslim Brotherhood and those who wished to make Egypt an extremist Muslim state.”

The Egyptian military removed Morsi from power on July 3, but since then “a wave of Islamist anger sparked by Morsi supporters” has resulted in more than 50 churches attacked and burned, as well as community centres, libraries and museums. Mina shared some of the photos of the destruction with the Canadian bishops.

Islamist extremists accused Christians of having overthrown Morsi instead of “accepting their deadly mistakes, pride and hatred,” Mina said.

“They also burned down more than 100 houses and 150 shops and offices owned by Christians,” he said.

“The burning and destruction occurred within only six hours of the military crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood camps.”

The vast majority of Egyptians support the government and the police in the war on terrorists who are responsible for burning churches, Mina said.

“We have full faith in God’s intervention. He will navigate the Egyptian people to a better future,” he said.