9th Annual Conference 

 Egypt's Copts: Faces of Persecution 

  June 21 & 22, 2018,  9:30 AM 

 

 

 

Atfih village church after mob attack. Photo source: www.alarabiya.net  December 24, 2017

Join us for the premiere policy event for Copts!

The many “jihadi” attacks on Egypt’s Christians, the Copts, which in recent years have left hundreds dead, are just the tip of a much more troubling iceberg. The average Copt suffers every day from systematic forms of persecution and institutionalized discrimination emanating from all levels and segments of Muslim society:  from the pro-Islamic, anti-Christian curricula that prevails in all levels of education, from kindergarten to Al Azhar; from the hate preaching of highly decorated Islamic clerics; from wild mob uprisings on rumors that a Copt violated Sharia (typically by “blaspheming” against Islam, attempting to renovate or build churches, or dating a Muslim woman); from criminal elements that target Copts—for theft, extortion, abduction and rape—because they know police will not bother to vindicate the “infidels”; and from every branch of the government.   

Any attempt to address this issue is at best met with denial by Egyptian media and government; more typically it leads to even more persecution—as those Copts drawing attention to these injustices are portrayed as treasonous agitators out to tarnish Egypt’s image. 

By any measure, even the most minor forms of discrimination that Copts experience daily violate the most basic forms of human rights.  But because they are not spectacular like their terroristic counterparts that always leave much Christian carnage in their wake, they are highly underreported and virtually unknown in the West. 

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Confirmed Speakers

Ambassador Michael Kozak - Senior Advisor and Senior Bureau Official, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor
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H.E. Ambassador László Szabó, MD - Hungarian Ambassador to US
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Keynote Speaker for Gala Dinner  - June 22
Mr. Azbej Tristan - Hungarian Deputy State Secretary for the Aid of Persecuted Christians
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Rt. Hon. Lord David Alton - Member UK House of Lords
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Ms. Kristina Arriaga de Bucholz - Vice Chair, US Commission on International Religious Freedom
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Mr. Garnett Genuis - MP for Sherwood Park - Fort Saskatchewan, Canada House of Commons
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U.S. Legislators
Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R - FL)
Rep. French Hill (R - AR)
Rep. Randy Hultgren (R - IL)
Rep. Jim McGovern (D - MA)
Rep. Brad Sherman ( D -CA)
Rep. Albio Sires (D - NJ)
Rep. Dave Trott (R - MI)
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Dr. Hamed Abdel-Samad - German-Egyptian political scientist and author
Dr. Jonathan Adly, PharmD - Writer and producer of the History of the Copts Podcast 
Mr. Mansour Al-Hadj​ - Director Reform Project, Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI)
Ann Buwalda, Esq - Executive Director of Jubilee Campaign USA; Founder and Owner of Just Law International PC
Mr. Edward Clancy - Director of Outreach, Aid to the Church in Need
Dr. Robert A. Destro - Professor of Law & Director at Institute for Policy Research & Catholic Studies, The Catholic University of America
Dr. Mark Eid MD - Board Member, Coptic Solidarity
Dr. George Gurguis MD - President, Coptic Solidarity; Associate Professor UT Southwestern Medical School
Dr. Robert Herman -Senior Advisor for Policy, Freedom House
Mr. Raymond Ibrahim - Author, Public Speaker, and Middle East and Islam Specialist
Dr. Salim Mansur - Associate Professor, Political Science - Western University 
Ms. Marianne Melleka-Boules, MPP - Editor-in-Chief, Coptic Voice
Mr. Andrew Miller - Deputy Director for Policy, Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED)
Dr. Henry Srebrnik - Professor Political Science, University of Prince Edward Island 
Rev. Fr. Philemon Patitsas - Holy Metropolis of Atlanta, St. Katherine Greek Orthodox Church,& Christian Rights and Freedom Institute
Ms. Raheel Raza - President, Muslims Facing Tomorrow
Dr. Raymond Stock - Shillman/Ginsburg Writing Fellow, Middle East Forum and Instructor of Arabic, Louisiana State University
Dr. Wafa Sultan - Author and Expert in Islamic Terrorism
Mr. Nathan Wineinger - Director of Policy Relations, 21st Century Wilberforce Initiative

 

 

Policy Day June 21  - Capitol Hill Visitor Center-  Room 201 
First St NE, Washington, DC 2051

9:00 AM     Registration 

9:30 AM      Welcome and introductory remarks - Dr. George Gurguis, MD – President,
                        Coptic Solidarity
 
9:40 AM    Session: ‘Forms of Persecution’    
Moderator – Mr. Adel Labib - Executive Committee Member

• Mr. Edward Clancy - Director of Outreach, Aid to the Church in Need
• Rev. Fr. Philemon Patitsas -  Holy Metropolis of Atlanta, St. Katherine Greek Orthodox Church, & Christian Rights and Freedom Institute
• Dr. Henry Srebrnik -  Professor Political Science, University of Prince Edward Island 

10:45 AM      Screening of “FaithKeepers” - Documentary about the persecution of Christians and other minorities in the Middle East produced by Clarion Project, a non-profit educational organization.

11:00 AM    US Senators and Representatives share remarks
Annual Leadership Award Recipient - Rep. French Hill (R – AR)

12:15 PM:    Lunch

1:00 PM     Session: International Legal Definitions of Persecution 
Moderator – Dr. George Gurguis, MD - President, Coptic Solidarity 

• Lord David Alton - UK House of Lords
• Dr. Robert A. Destro - Professor of Law & Director at Institute for Policy Research & Catholic Studies, The Catholic University of America
• Mr. Knox Thames - Special Advisor for Religious Minorities in the Near East and South/Central Asia
  
  2:15 PM     Session: ‘International Response and responsibilities towards the persecuted’

Moderator – Professor Ryan Mauro - Director of the Clarion Intelligence Network and national security analyst for the Clarion Project, a non-profit educational organization that produced "Faithkeepers"

• Ms. Kristina Arriaga – US Commission on International Religious Freedom, Vice Chairwoman
• MP Garnett Genuis – Canada House of Commons 
• H.E. Ambassador László Szabó, MD - Hungarian Ambassador to US

3:30 PM    Guest Speaker - Mr. Hamed Abdel-Samad: ‘An Insider’s Look at Christians’ and Other Minorities’ Persecution in Egypt’

4:00 PM    US Senators and Representatives share remarks

4:55 PM     Closing remarks

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Day 2:  June 22 - Holiday Inn National Airport/Crystal City
2650 Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington, Virginia 22202

9:00AM     Session: ‘Our Responsibility Towards our Family in Egypt: Engaging Young Copts in the Diaspora’   
Moderator – Ms. Ghada Melek - Rights Activist Canada

• Dr. Jonathan Adly, PharmD - Writer and Producer, History of the Copts Podcast   
• Mark Eid, MD – Coptic Solidarity Executive Committee Member 
• Ms. Marianne Melleka-Boules, MPP - Editor-in-Chief, Coptic Voice

10:30 AM     Session: ‘Government, Media and Societal Denial and Deception’ 
Moderator (and speaker) – Mr. Raymond Ibrahim - Author, Public Speaker, 
and Middle East and Islam Specialist

• Mr. Mansour al-Hadj - Director Reform Project, Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI)
• Dr. Robert Herman - Senior Advisor for Policy, Freedom House
• Mr. Andrew Miller - Deputy Director for Policy, Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED) 

11:45 AM     Coptic Solidarity Annual Activity Review – Mrs. Lindsay Griffin, Director of Development & Advocacy, Coptic Solidarity

12:00 PM     Lunch

1:15 PM    Guest Speaker: Ms. Raheel Raza - President, Muslims Facing Tomorrow

2:00 PM    Session: Forms of Minority Persecution and Marginalization
Moderator -  Ms. Lindsay Griffin – Coptic Solidarity

• Ann Buwalda, Esq - Executive Director of Jubilee Campaign USA; Founder and Owner of Just Law International PC
•  Raymond Stock - Instructor of Arabic, Louisiana State University 
• Mr. Nathan Weinenger - Director of Policy and Coalitions, 21 Wilberforce

3:00 PM    Guest Speaker: Salim Mansur, PhD - Political Science, Western University, London, Ontario

3:30 PM      Session: Islamic Extremism and Coptic Persecution
Moderator (and speaker) – Mr. Magdi Khalil - Executive Committee Member

• Dr. Hamed Abdel Samed - German-Egyptian political scientist and author
• Dr. Wafa Sultan – Author and Expert in Islamic Terrorism

Master of Ceremonies
- Mrs. Ghada Malek, Rights Activist Canada 
- Dr. Michael Rizk, Coptic Solidarity EC Member and Secretary

Gala Dinner - Holiday Inn National Airport/Crystal City
2650 Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington, Virginia 22202

Keynote Speaker: Mr. Azbej Tristan - Hungary's State Secretary for the Aid of Persecuted Christians

5:30 PM    Reception

6:30 PM    Dinner

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Day 3: June 23 - Holiday Inn National Airport Crystal City
2650 Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington, Virginia 22202

General Assembly (Coptic Solidarity Members Only)
9:00 AM - 10:45 AM

Coptic Solidarity Executive and Advisory Board Meeting
11:00 AM - 1:00 PM

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Conference Registration = $50
 Registration fee is for both days of the conference and includes lunch on first day, and coffee & light snacks on second day.

Gala Dinner tickets = $125
Gala dinner with keynote speaker will be hosted on June 22 at 6 PM at the Holiday Inn National Airport Crystal City Hotel.
 

Coptic Solidarity
P.O.Box 1450
Centreville, VA 20122

Get in touch!  coptadvocacy@copticsolidarity.org or 801-512-1713