President Mohamed Morsy did not ask church leaders to prevent Copts from participating in the planned 24 August protests against the Muslim Brotherhood, said church officials on Thursday, a day after their meeting.
“The president showed he understood our demands and stressed the principle of citizenship,” said Reverend Morcos, bishop of Shubra. “He concentrated on the Renaissance Project, and did not talk about appointing a Coptic vice president.”
Former MPs Mohamed Abou Hamed and Mostafa Bakry, as well as media host Tawfiq Okasha, have called for protests outside the Muslim Brotherhood's headquarters in Moqattam and in front of the presidential palace in Heliopolis. The protests demand Morsy’s overthrow and the termination of what they call the Brotherhood's domination of the state.
Reverend Refaat Saeed, head of the Evangelical Synod’s media council, said every Egyptian is free to join or boycott those demonstrations.
“The Evangelical Church does not interfere in personal freedoms,” he said.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
