Three people including 8-year old girl were killed when a gunman on motorcycle attacked a group of Coptic Christians outside the church in Cairo. People came under fire as they were leaving a wedding ceremony. Ashraf Ramelah, founder and president of the Voice of the Copts, commented on the violence against Christian Copts in Egypt.
Ashraf Ramelah chairs Voice of the Copts, a human rights organization drawing attention to the suffering of Coptic Christians in Egypt.
According to Ramelah, “what happened yesterday was a murder from Islamist people, they tried to push Christians and damage the relationship of two peoples in Egypt”. They try to live in peace, but Islamists do not want Christians to be there, he says.
“Back in 1965 they wanted to remove and take out of Egypt Jews, Muslims, tried to clean the Middle East from Christians. That is the reality of what happening in Egypt right now.”
The expert believes that there are links between the ongoing political turmoil in Egypt right now and the attacks that target Christian Copts.
“Yeah, I mean it’s the same as forever… And the political Islamists are based upon attacking Christians in any way, any platform and because of any reason real or not real,” he says.
Since 2011 the persecution, oppression, and discrimination against Copts of Egypt has increased by “million percent”.
“And the reason behind that, it is Islamic hate against Christian and not Muslim in general and it’s focusing Egypt,” Ramelah adds.
“In 1980s 85 people were killed in area called Al Hamra and don’t forget in 2011 in the New Year’s Eve almost 85 people were killed going out from the church after the main celebration of the New Year by Muslims and Muslim Brotherhood or Hamas, whatever you like to call it.”
Ramelah sees it as an attack “against peaceful people during worshiping their God.”