Clinton Warns Religious Freedom “Tenuous” in Egypt
On July 30, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pledged to work with Egyptian leaders if they form an inclusive government based democratic principles. She also criticized Egyptian authorities for failing to “equally” apply laws to perpetrators of sectarian violence. The following are excerpts from her presentation of the 2011 International Religious Freedom Report.
I visited [Egypt] two weeks ago. I had a very emotional, very personal conversation with Christians who are deeply anxious about what the future holds for them and their country. What Egypt and other countries decide will have a major impact on the lives of their people and will go a long way toward determining whether these countries are able to achieve true democracy…
President Morsi has said clearly and repeatedly, in public and private, that he intends to be the president of all the Egyptian people. He has pledged to appoint an inclusive government and put women and Christians in high leadership positions. The Egyptian people and the international community are looking to him to follow through on those commitments.
But I heard from Christians who want to know that they will be accorded the same rights and respect as all Egyptians in a new government led by an Islamist party. They wonder, understandably, will a government looking explicitly to greater reliance on Islamic principles stand up for non-Muslims and Muslims equally? Since this is the first time that Egypt has ever been in this situation, it’s a fair question. Egyptians are building a brand new democracy. What it will look like, how it will work, how it will handle religious pluralism – Egyptians will be writing the answers to those and many other questions for years to come…
We are prepared to work with the leaders that the Egyptian people choose. But our engagement with those leaders will be based on their commitment to universal human rights and universal democratic principles…
And we are certainly aware of the forming of the new government, with the announcement of a new Prime Minister. We’re waiting to see who’s in that government. That will be an important step along the way. We are looking for ways to try to support the government, particularly in fulfilling the economic aspirations of all Egyptians. But we are going to judge by actions, not words. And the actions are really just at the very beginning stages…
Now, I am concerned that respect for religious freedom is quite tenuous. And I don’t know that that’s going to quickly be resolved, but since 2011 and the fall of the Mubarak regime, sectarian violence has increased. Attacks on Christians and Muslims, sectarian violence from – in both communities has cost lives, and we don’t think that there’s been a consistent commitment to investigate and to apply the laws equally to the perpetrators of such violence. That then sends a message to the minority community in particular but to the larger community that there’s not going to be any consequences for acting out one’s own religious prejudices or social insecurities. And that’s the kind of recipe that can quickly get out of control in terms of conflict and also undermine the new democracy.
So I am urging the Egyptian Government at all levels to respect the rights of all Egyptians. And I’m urging those who are concerned, not only Christians but also moderates, liberals, secularists, to organize themselves. I mean, this is something that I started talking to the Tahrir Square veterans about shortly after the fall of Mubarak, that it’s been my experience that when democratic space opens up, when freedom opens up in authoritarian regimes falling, those who are unorganized will not be successful…
So stand for principles, stand for values, gain people’s trust that you’re trying to help their lives improve, and you’re going to leave to them the space they should have to exercise the most precious freedoms that any human being should have regardless of who their leaders are, and begin to make that case. And the United States will stand ready to assist in any way possible.
Thank you very much.
The following are links to selected country profiles in the 2011 International Religious Freedom Report: