November 2025

 In 2011, pro-democracy protests swept through the Middle East and North Africa, marking what came to be known as the Arab Spring. In Egypt, a decades-long military dictatorship was ousted only to be reinstated shortly after in 2014. Since then, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and his government regularly speak positively about Egypt’s historical Christian community and continue in efforts to create one Egyptian identity, including Muslims and Christians. 

 Christians are by far the largest religious minority in the country, with approximately 10 million followers accounting for 10% of the total population. The largest church tradition is the Coptic Orthodox Church, making up more than 90% of the Christian population, but there are also established Coptic Catholic and Protestant denominations throughout the country. Christians have been largely tolerated by the Sunni Muslim majority, which makes up around 90% of the total population, because of their historical presence and significant size. However, the historical Christian community, the non-traditional Christian communities, and Christian converts all face a significant amount of persecution.

Among other hardships, historical Christian communities are regularly targeted by surrounding Muslim neighborhoods. For instance, accusations of a building being turned into a church or speculation of a relationship between a Christian man and a Muslim woman often leads to acts of violence, usually perpetrated by mobs of vigilantes. Mixed communities are constantly watched by security agencies to make sure Christians do not disrespect Islamic principles by evangelizing or fomenting sectarian conflict. Converts to Christianity encounter comparable hardships, often at the hands of family members or security services who punish converts for abandoning the Islamic faith, usually by means of beatings or expulsion from the family home. 

 The areas where Christians face the most difficulties tend to be in the southern part of the country (Upper Egypt), which is known to be more conservative and radical than the north. Most incidents and mob attacks take place in this region, though Christians in the economically disadvantaged rural areas in the north experience a similar degree of oppression by extremist Muslims, especially in the Nile Delta villages and towns. 

In general, Islamic culture sustains a view whereby Christians are regarded as second-class citizens, and in Egypt, it is no different. Christians face discrimination in their local neighborhoods and at work, with little to no defense from the state. Furthermore, Islamic oppression has also fomented several violent attacks by militant Islamic groups targeting Christians in the past decade, although in recent years, they were mainly carried out by individual radicalized Muslims targeting individual Christians. 

Even as Christians face large amounts of social ostracism and violence, the government does little to protect them, as mentioned earlier. Part of the problem is that as Christians are viewed as inferior to Muslims, it creates an environment in which the government is reluctant to respect and enforce the fundamental rights of Christians. Furthermore, in light of huge economic, political, social and security challenges, the state regards basic human rights and democratic pluralism as a low priority. In this context, religious freedom for Christians is never fully guaranteed, especially for converts. 

In Egypt, conversion from Islam to Christianity is not officially forbidden by law. However, a key ruling by the Cairo Administrative Court in 2008 stated that the freedom to practice one’s religion is subject to certain limitations. It also affirmed that conversion from Islam to another faith is a violation of the principles of Islam and therefore not allowed. Converts are regularly detained, mistreated and forced into silence by security services and are viewed as outcasts in society, as conversion is seen as a shame to the honour of the family. 

Non-traditional Christian communities (Evangelicals, Pentecostals) struggle with similar circumstances, though sadly, they face pressure from the Coptic Orthodox Church in addition to the surrounding Muslim society. Especially in Upper Egypt and the Delta region, the Orthodox Church acts strongly against other denominations. Some members of Orthodox congregations have been warned by their clergy not to have contact with other church traditions, especially Evangelical groups. There have also been cases in which families depending on financial and social services from the Orthodox Church have been deprived of them after attending a non-Orthodox church or meeting with a pastor from a different congregation. 

Unfortunately, gender-specific religious persecution persists, affecting both men and women. Egypt has had a regrettable reputation for having relatively high rates of sexual harassment and violence within the Middle East. In fact, almost 90% of women in Egypt report experiencing some form of sexual harassment, though most women and girls refrain from reporting incidents out of fear of retaliation and the stigma attached to sexual abuse. For Christian women, the situation is worse. Many young Christian women living in Egypt’s rural areas can be targets for grooming and sexual harassment by men influenced by extremist Islamic teaching. This creates an environment whereby many women live in fear and feel as though they cannot leave the house by themselves. 

Christian men also face widespread inequity, specifically in the area of employment. It is hard for young Christian men to find a job, particularly in rural areas. Unemployment may be exploited to coerce young men away from Christianity with financial incentives. There have also been instances of Christian men experiencing discrimination simply due to their Christian names. As men are often the main financial providers, such economic pressure hinders their ability to support their family and provide for their livelihood. 

Furthermore, church leaders (most of whom are male) are particularly vulnerable to rights violations, in part as they are often easily identifiable as Christians. Common harassment of church leaders and their families has evoked feelings of fear and helplessness in the Christian community and has been a factor in emigration spikes. While uncommon, the killing of clergy does occur; for instance, in April 2022 an Orthodox priest in Alexandria was stabbed to death. Unfortunately, any who protest against these injustices may be immediately targeted by men influenced by radical Islamic teaching and little progress is made. 

Looking ahead, Egypt will continue to be susceptible to the influence of extremist Islam. Both the nationalist and the Islamist views of the Egyptian state have offered Christians little by way of rights and security and they are often caught in the middle of political crossfire. Furthermore, the high level of illiteracy, economic stagnation and demographic pressure also mean that regardless of the political dispensation in the country - Egypt will be susceptible to the influence of the most radical and intolerant versions of Islam that are particularly appealing to the youth and the poor. Because of this, Christians will remain vulnerable throughout the country. The sexual harassment of women remains common and sectarian violence and religious discrimination continues to be problematic, especially in upper Egypt, in rural areas, and in economically disadvantaged urban locations. Without proper protection from the state, the non-violent forms of rights violations that are prevalent in various spheres of life are likely to continue without much change for the better. 

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IIRF-V Fellows undertake research on religious freedom in the state of Egypt.  For more information, see Open Doors' World Watch List entry on Egypt.

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