The head of Egypt’s Protestant Church said in April that he urges clergy not to take part in ‘reconciliation sessions’ that aim to resolve community conflicts without the involvement of the police and legal system.
The Rev Dr Andrea Zaki said he ‘strongly’ opposed the scheme because it renders the law ‘absent’.
The reconciliation scheme is often used to resolve tensions such as conflict between Copts and Muslims over the building of new churches, but it has been criticised by some Christian leaders. The scheme aims to restore good community relations without needing to involve law enforcement officials. However, some Christians, especially in small towns, have complained that they are pressured to simply drop their complaints.
