A call for all Copts
The Free Copts has reported that the Maglis al-Milli elections are coming up and Coptic leaders are urging registered Coptic church goers to vote!
I urge Copts not to vote due to the voting requirements and because these elections are not free but act as a rubber stamp for his holiness.
Here is my beef with the Maglis al-Milli, from a previous post of mine:
The Coptic Orthodox Church like that of the Egyptian government has been led by strong men who are desperate not to give representation to their oppressed subjects. Not many Copts in the land of immigration know that we like our Catholic compatriots have a parliament one that is in charge of the inner dealings of the mother church. The Coptic Parliament or the Maglis al-Melli, is an institution that was created in 1874 to oversee the affairs of the Coptic community and manage church endowments. Briefly during the reign of Pope Cyril it activities came to a virtual freeze in 1956, but were revived in the 1970s. Al Ahram Weekly evaluates the voter restrictions that are placed on average church goers:
Council elections have been plagued in the past by low voter turnout and many blame the strict conditions for voter registration. Under the council's statutes, voters must be over 25 years old and have either a university degree or be registered as a businessman or land owners. These pre-conditions are dismissed by some detractors as "unconstitutional" and blamed, along with the apathy of many Copts, for poor turnout. Only 4,000 Copts are currently registered to vote.
This council has been in the past been a tool to further the rights of the Copts, but currently it is being controlled completely by our Pope Shenouda III. Presently there are no independent council members, nor are there any opposition members who do not have the backing of our Pope.
Even local church councils in the land of immigration follow this same trend of putting extreme power of the church’s finances in the hands of the priest. For the last twenty years my church has participated in ‘democratic’ elections that would even make President Mubarak blush. Just recently due to pressure from the congregation, mostly from my parents, did my priest allow true elections for the church council, one in which voters were chosen individually from amongst the congregation in true democratic elections.
I urge Copts not to vote due to the voting requirements and because these elections are not free but act as a rubber stamp for his holiness.
Here is my beef with the Maglis al-Milli, from a previous post of mine:
The Coptic Orthodox Church like that of the Egyptian government has been led by strong men who are desperate not to give representation to their oppressed subjects. Not many Copts in the land of immigration know that we like our Catholic compatriots have a parliament one that is in charge of the inner dealings of the mother church. The Coptic Parliament or the Maglis al-Melli, is an institution that was created in 1874 to oversee the affairs of the Coptic community and manage church endowments. Briefly during the reign of Pope Cyril it activities came to a virtual freeze in 1956, but were revived in the 1970s. Al Ahram Weekly evaluates the voter restrictions that are placed on average church goers:
Council elections have been plagued in the past by low voter turnout and many blame the strict conditions for voter registration. Under the council's statutes, voters must be over 25 years old and have either a university degree or be registered as a businessman or land owners. These pre-conditions are dismissed by some detractors as "unconstitutional" and blamed, along with the apathy of many Copts, for poor turnout. Only 4,000 Copts are currently registered to vote.
This council has been in the past been a tool to further the rights of the Copts, but currently it is being controlled completely by our Pope Shenouda III. Presently there are no independent council members, nor are there any opposition members who do not have the backing of our Pope.
Even local church councils in the land of immigration follow this same trend of putting extreme power of the church’s finances in the hands of the priest. For the last twenty years my church has participated in ‘democratic’ elections that would even make President Mubarak blush. Just recently due to pressure from the congregation, mostly from my parents, did my priest allow true elections for the church council, one in which voters were chosen individually from amongst the congregation in true democratic elections.
posted by Koptikjihad at
3:43 AM
5 Comments:
"the land of immigration" is the diaspora. or were u making a joke?
it's a literal translation of what our clergy calls the land where the Copts live, outside of Egypt.
u mean ard el mahgar? all arabs use that term. i think u need to speak to some non copts now and then :) either way, it's the diaspora in english.
it's funny that you say that i'm treasurer of the Arab Student Association,but not an active member of the Coptic Student Association.
What's wrong with being a Secular Zealot?
nothing's wrong...my understanding is that most coptic activists are not particularly devout. ishta.
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