Brotherhood attempts to block landmark conference on religious discrimination in Egypt

Egyptians Against Religious Discrimination (EARD) held its first national conference last week to address growing levels of religious discrimination and sectarian violence, Watani News reported Sunday.

The two-day event aimed to define religious discrimination and develop solutions to combat it. Additionally, EARD sought to expose the actual scale and scope of the problem to both the Egyptian general public and those in power, while emphasizing the importance of unifying the Egyptian populace through consolidated work by the NGO community. It also called on NGOs and the government to quell discrimination in public domains such as sports.

The conference was jeopardized as the result of a last minute venue change. Originally to be held at the downtown premises of the Journalists Syndicate, the event was moved to the Tagammu party headquarters when club-wielding Muslim Brotherhood members representing the group’s Syndicate current barred attendees from entering the Syndicate building. They said they objected to the conference’s defense of the Baha’i faith, which they deem counter to Islam. The Brotherhood hung banners outside the building expressing these anti-Baha’i sentiments, as well as others denouncing Coptic Christians.

According to the Coptic Assembly of America (CAA), the head of the Syndicate was beaten up when he tried to speak with Brotherhood members.

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For CAA’s report, click here.