42Egypt

In Egypt, most religious freedom violations happen at the community level. These include harassment of Christian women and mobs expelling Christians after alleged blasphemy. Incidents such as these take place primarily in rural areas of Upper Egypt and in some economically disadvantaged urban areas, especially when Islamic extremists are present.

Egypt’s president speaks positively about the country’s historical Christian community, but weak law enforcement leaves believers vulnerable to attack. Despite promises from the president that a church will be built in every new neighbourhood, the construction of new churches remains restricted.

Christians with a Muslim background face enormous pressure from their families to return to Islam. Security services maintain a strong grip on converts to Christianity, regularly detaining and abusing them and forcing them into isolation. The state also makes it impossible for conversions to be officially recognised.

Meet Adam

“[My father] called us infidels, traitors. I had never seen him so filled with anger and hatred. He even said we deserved to be killed and threatened us with harm if we stayed in the village.”

Adam* (name changed), a convert from Islam.

What does Open Doors do to help?

Through partner ministries and churches, Open Doors supports the Church in Egypt through programmes such as Christian discipleship, leadership development, literacy training, medical outreach, widows’ ministry, and more. These continue over the long term to help strengthen God’s people.