Copts Need Not Apply

A couple of days ago I read something in an Egyptian newspaper that made me rub my eyes...look around in confusion...and ask my husband "what year is it??"

The newspaper: Al Masry Alyoum (The Egyptian Today)
The news item: Islamic Fayssal Bank Refuses To Allow Copts To Buy Shares

For some reason, I felt life go black and white around me, and I expected to see a band with a Coptic cross on my arm, and the word "Copts" garffitied on my house.

Then I remembered it's 2006
and humanity has supposedly moved on from this kind of hatred and discrimination


Here's an article written in the same newspaper about this very same subject..by Ahmed Al Sawy. In it he condemns the Egyptian government for allowing this absurdity to take place, at a time when sectarian tension is already at a boiling point.

"
لا أعتقد أن البنك السعودي يستطيع أن يفعل ذلك في أي بلد يحترم قانونه ودستوره، وربما لا تستطيع كل البنوك السعودية المتعاملة بنظام المعاملات الإسلامية داخل أراضي المملكة حرمان غير المسلم من التعامل معها، إلا أن بنك فيصل علي ما يبدو وجد في مصر نظاماً قانونياً رخواً،وحكومة لا تملك القدرة أو الرغبة، أو الإرادة لحماية مواطنيها ضد الانتهاك الصارخ لحقهم في المواطنة داخل الوطن الذي يحملون جنسيته.
"
I do not believe that the Saudi bank could do this in a country which respects the law and the constitution. I don't even believe that Saudi Islamic banks operating within the Kingdom (of Saudi Arabia) can prevent non Muslims from dealing with them. But it seems Fayssal Bank has found in Egypt a weak legislative system and a government lacking interest in protecting her citizens against such blatant violation of their rights, in their own country!

"
تأسس بنك فيصل الإسلامي في مصر عام ١٩٧٧، وتم تسجيله لدي البنك المركزي المصري كبنك تجاري يخضع لأحكام قانون البنك المركزي، ومع ذلك فرض المادة ١٢ من نظامه الأساسي علي قانون البنك المركزي المنظم لعمله، تلك المادة تنص علي عدم جواز قبول مساهمة غير المسلمين، وعدم جواز نقل ملكية أسهم البنك إلا للمسلمين
"
Islamic Fayssal Bank was established in Egypt in 1977, and was registered as a commercial bank with Al Bank Al Markazy Al Massry (The Egyptian Central Bank), and it (Fayssal Bank) is supposed to be governed by the same regulations as the Central bank. However, Fayssal bank succeeded in enforcing a part of its own regulatons...the part which states refusal of non Muslim shareholders.

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This was also reported by alarabiya.net...but nevermind the actual report, as always the readers comments are more shocking.


2 - النصاري في مصر واخدين حقهم وكفايه اللي هم ما بيدفعوش الجزية
محمد بلال من مصر 18/12/2006 م، 08:20 مساء (السـعودية) 05:20 مساء (جرينيتش) النصاري في مصر واخدين حقهم وزيادة

Mohammad Bilal-Egypt
The Christians in Egypt have their rights. It's bad enough they aren't paying "jizya" (the Islamic tax forced on the non-Muslim inhabitants of the lands invaded by the Arabs)


5 - بنك فيصل الاسلامى
احمد على احمد 18/12/2006 م، 08:25 مساء (السـعودية) 05:25 مساء (جرينيتش) هذا اسمه والمسلمين يقوموا بلايداع فيه بعيد عن البنوك الاخرى حتى يبتعدوا عن شبهة الربا وهذا ما يجدونه فى هذا البنك وبالطبع اذا تم بيع اسهمه لغير مسلم سوف يقوم عدد كبير من المسلمين بانهاء تعاملاتهم مع البنك وهذا يكون خطرا عليه. وشكرأ والسلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته.

Ahmad Ali Ahmad
This is an Islamic bank...Muslims deal with it to get away from other non Islamic banks. If the shareholders are not Muslim..Muslims won't put their money there and this will harm the bank's interests! Thank you and Assalam alaykom wa rahmatu Allah wa barakato (the Islamic greeting)

and many more that I honestly felt too sick with disgust from their mentality to have to force myself to translate...

Although to be fair there were great comments also from Muslim readers who said this was attrocious and reaffirmed their belief in equal rights for all Egyptians and no discrimination based on faith.

Yet, such fair and tolerant Muslim mentalities seem to be a minority in the midst of the raging hatred and ignorance.


This isn't my Egypt! This can't be my Egypt!