EDITORIAL: Coptic Christians facing more persecution

Christianity’s holiest week got off to a horrific start with word that nearly four dozen Coptic Christians in Egypt had been slaughtered in a pair of bombing attacks on churches.

Their crime? Worshiping together on Palm Sunday.

Egyptian officials said a bomb inside St. George’s Church in Tanta killed 28 people. Seventeen died and 125 others were injured in a suicide bombing outside St. Mark’s Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in Alexandria. ISIS claimed responsibility for the deadly assaults.

The Egyptian churches are Coptic Christian Orthodox, which traces its history to the 1st century and St. Mark. The Coptic Christian church is often referred to as “the Church of Martyrs,” because of the number of people who have died because of their faith. In December, more than two dozen Coptic Christians were killed in an attack on a church in Cairo.

Now, there are 45 more.

Comprising only 10 percent of the Egyptian population, Coptic Christians have long been the target of discrimination and persecution, even more so since the Mubarak government was knocked from power six years ago. Arsonists have set their homes and churches on fire, and vandals have destroyed and looted their property.

While the Egyptian president has declared a state of emergency that is expected to be approved by the nation’s Parliament, more threats are imminent amid complaints that security around the churches is lax. ISIS has said more attacks will come, and one might expect them to come this week as Christians look forward to Easter.

Persecution is nothing new to Christians. The persecution of Christ that resulted in his crucifixion will be remembered Friday. Coptic Christians, perhaps more than any other Christian group, know the dangers of following their faith.

The Palm Sunday massacres at the Egyptian churches evoke outrage against the murderers who are responsible, along with sorrow and empathy for the victims and their families. Our hearts go out to them.

It’s certainly a sobering reminder for those in America who consider themselves Christians. We live in a world that, unfortunately, is deeply flawed in certain areas when it comes to basic human rights, such as freedom of religion. In many places, as we saw Sunday, practicing one’s faith brings with it great personal danger.

The ability to freely follow whatever religion we like — or to not believe in any kind of higher power at all — is something we in America often take for granted, a right guaranteed us in our Bill of Rights. We have not lived in a time when it was otherwise. It’s easy for an American citizen to forget that those in other countries who might share his or her particular faith does not necessarily share that same protection.

It is something we should keep in mind, especially at this time, and something we must guard against losing.