Coptic Pope's Jerusalem visit sparks backlash in Egypt
The Coptic Church confirmed that its position regarding the ban on Copts visiting Jerusalem is unchanged, despite the travel of Pope Tawadros II to the city to attend the funeral of Bishop Anba Abraham.
The visit by the head of the Egyptian Coptic Orthodox Church, Pope Tawadros II of Alexandria, to Jerusalem on Nov. 26 to preside over the funeral prayer of the late bishop of Jerusalem, Anba Abraham, sparked controversy among Coptic and political circles, with some arguing that the visit runs contrary to an existing ban issued by the church itself.
Several political parties issued statements denouncing Tawadros’ trip. In a statement released Nov. 26, the left-wing Nasserist Dignity Party described the visit as “a deep crack in the wall of resistance to normalization” with Israel. Meanwhile, Younes Makhioun, head of the Salafist Nour Party, posted a statement to his official Facebook page Nov. 28 in which he described the visit as an encroachment on patriotism for all Egyptians — be they Muslim or Coptic — since the church and the Copts are part of the Egyptian national fabric.
The visit was also denounced by a number of public figures. Former presidential candidate and head of the Strong Egypt Party Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh described the visit as “normalization with Israel” in a tweet Nov. 27. Former presidential candidate Hamdeen Sabahi confirmed that the pope's visit to Jerusalem weakens the national value of the church, while the head of the Egyptian Journalists Syndicate, Yahya Qalash, announced the syndicate's objection to the visit.
The Orthodox church justified Tawadros’ decision in a Nov. 28 article written by church spokesman Father Boulos Halim and published in the daily Al-Masry Al-Youm. In the article, titled “The patriotism of the Egyptian church, the nation’s identity and the media’s fantasy,” Halim stressed that the Egyptian Coptic church has “proven its patriotism throughout history.”
