WASHINGTON —Coptic Solidarity hosted its 12th Annual Conference The Coptic Problem: Hate Based on Religion in Washington, D.C., June 13-14. This leading policy event unites legislators, academics, policy professionals, and activists to discuss the situation of human rights and democracy for Copts in Egypt as well as other indigenous minorities in the region.

The Policy Day was hosted on Thursday, June 13 in the Cannon Caucus Room of the US House of Representatives. The conference continued on June 14 at the Hilton Springfield.

The detailed programs for both days are available online. Here are some highlights:

Coptic Solidarity was pleased to have the bi-partisan participation of US Representatives French Hill (R-AR,) Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), and Jim McGovern (D-MA), as well Vice Chair of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), Eric Ueland.

This year, the Conference was built on Coptic Solidarity’s advocacy for women with a session focused on Overcoming Challenges: Compound Persecution of Women. Further highlighting the plight of Copts in rural Egypt is Tereza Haroun, founder of the Panorama El-Barsha Troupe featured in The Brink of Dreams film which recently won the Golden Eye Award for Best Documentary at the 77th Cannes Film Festival.

Ensaf Haider became an activist and author after her husband, Raif Badawi was imprisoned on blasphemy charges in Saudi Arabia. Despite Badawi’s release in 2022, he is still serving a ten-year travel ban and the family has been separated since his arrest in 2012. Mrs. Haider brings a personal face to the suppression of free speech and specifically how blasphemy laws are utilized to silence individual thought and the expression of it.

H.E. Emanual Hana Shaleta, Bishop of the Chaldean Catholic Diocese of St. Peter the Apostle, was speaking and receiving Coptic Solidarity’s Annual Leadership Award on behalf of Chaldean Patriarch Louis Raphaël Sako. Coptic Solidarity led an international statement in 2023 urging the immediate reinstatement of Patriarch Sako to his position as head of the Chaldean Church in Iraq. Coptic Solidarity honors Patriarch Sako for speaking truth to power, defending his persecuted community, and safeguarding the properties of Iraqi Christians and the Chaldean Church.

Other highlights included a session dedicated to the protection and preservation of indigenous culture in the MENA region, the participation of young Copts discussing and leading a workshop on empowering Coptic Youth activists, and a session recognizing the 10-year anniversary since the rise of ISIS from the perspective of minorities impacted including Coptic, Yezidi, Assyrian, and Syriac speakers.

Coptic Solidarity president, Caroline Doss, said “this is one of the most dynamic conferences we have planned. Coptic Solidarity warmly welcomes interested individuals of all backgrounds to join us in learning and mobilizing more people to action for the protection and preservation of indigenous minorities.”

About Coptic Solidarity

Coptic Solidarity is an organization seeking to help minorities, particularly the Copts of Egypt. We support those in Egypt working for democracy, freedom, and the protection of the fundamental rights of all Egyptian citizens, and advocate in cooperation with the affiliated organizations in Canada and in Europe (Solidarité Copte). For more information, contact Lindsay Rodriguez at 801-512-1713 or coptadvocacy@copticsolidarity.org.

CONTACT: Lindsay Rodriguez, 801-512-1713, coptadvocacy@copticsolidarity.org

Read more news on Religious Freedom and Egypt on Missions Box.