ISLAM-CHRISTIAN DIALOGUE

223 CHRISTIAN MARTYRS OF THE 21ST CENTURY: THE COPTS In Egypt the Feast of the Nativity is ce- lebrated on January 6th, for years near Christmas and Christian holidays violen- ce has been repeated against the Coptic faith. on December 11, 2016, an attack has torn apart about fifty believers, in the Coptic cathedral in Cairo. In February 2015, twenty Coptic workers in Libya were slaughtered with a sword for being Christians refu- sing to convert to the Islamic faith. In August 2013, spe- cially trained and equipped militias of Muslim brothers plundered, bur- ned, and destroyed more than fifty churches and Chri- stian institutions in just two days, most of which served the population without distinction of reli- gious belief. Some assaults failed due to the decisive inter- vention of Muslim neighbors. In January 2011 a bomb killed Christians in a church in Alexandria, Egypt Copts in Egypt are indigenous citizens the most numerous Christian communities often considered and perceived as a foreign ethnic group. Copts suffer such discrimination, syste- matic intolerance, that in recent decades ten thousand Christians convert to Islam every year. The contrary is prohibited. One hope comes from the current Presi- dent of the Republic who has implemen- ted a policy of fraternal dialogue with the Copts after years of repression. As CADR (Ambrosian Center for Dialogue with Religions) of the Diocese of Milan cre- ated under the impetus of Cardinal Marti- ni, has been committed to inter-religious dialogue in contact with the Christians of the Middle East for more than twenty-five years so that governments may become increasingly effective promoters of justi- ce, equal duties and rights in the educa- tion of the Egyptian citizens. An invitation to work on education, on the media, on textbooks in scho- ols and even to invite to this edu- cational line of ju- stice and peace, the imams who have in their hands the formidable instru- ment of sermons in mosques, where it would be appro- priate to proclaim also the verses of the Koran that under- line God's will towards religious plurali- ty and the commitment to compete for good in God's mercy. That the aid of the European community to countries whe- re there is violence against believers be subordinated to the effective promotion in the country of the values of civil and religious freedom for all without any di- scrimination. In the hope that this voice of ours will promote peaceful coexistence between population, apply, human rights for a pe- aceful coexistence among the peoples of the Mediterranean area.