CAIRO: The Chairman of the Committee of Religious Freedoms of the U.S. Congress Leonard Li, said that the State Department is “concerned” with the status of religious freedoms in Egypt, adding that the department expressed during the last three years a number of related concerns about the increasing incidents of violence against religious minorities, especially Christians, after an increase in violent incidents in recent years.

Liu added, in remarks published by Fox News that were also highlighted by local Egyptian newspapers on Sunday, that the suffering of the people who convert from Islam to Christianity is “not isolated from the reality in Egypt, where there are many converts to Christianity, and the Egyptian government says it will not recognize their conversions to Christianity,” pointing out that they fear for their lives and “do not have all the advantages and religious rights enjoyed by the rest of the people.”

Liu attributed the absence of a climate of tolerance in Egypt to two reasons: first, for “not punishing those responsible for crimes of violence against the Copts and the religious minorities in recent years, causing an increase in such crimes.” Second is what he said was “the existence of several laws that discriminate against Christians and religious minorities, thereby creating an environment that makes people not respect these minorities.”

The news network quoted sources in the Commission on International Religious Freedoms saying the State Department put Egypt on probation last year because of religious discrimination and revealed that it is possible to transfer Egypt this year to the list of countries with “special attention” and may be able to impose sanctions on Egypt, which receives an annual aid of approximately $2 billion from Washington.

The delegation of religious freedoms committee under the chairmanship of Liu visited Egypt last week and held a series of meetings with officials and activists in order to gather information in preparation for issuing its annual report in May on the status of religious freedoms in the country.

BM

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