Highlights
– Egyptian authorities order widespread pig cull in response to the spread of the swine flu
– Government policy and public reactions highlight religious tensions in Egypt
– Possibility that renewed violence against Coptic Christians on the rise
In response to fears of a widespread pandemic caused by the swine flu, Egyptian authorities ordered the slaughter of the country’s approximately 300,000 pigs. Even though there have been no cases of the swine flu in Egypt and the World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations (UN) have called the pig cull a drastic over reaction, the Egyptian government refuses to change the policy of offering $105 in compensation per animal.
Pig farmers, mostly members of Egypt’s minority Christian population, say this compensation is inadequate and the slaughter of their pigs is destroying their livelihood. Egypt’s Ministry of Agriculture said that the farmers will be permitted to raise pigs in two years at specially constructed farms in the countryside using newly imported animals.
The mandatory pig cull has raised tensions in the slums of Cairo where many of the pigs are raised. In early May, hundreds of people protested against the policy by throwing stones and other debris at Egyptian police who responded with tear gas and rubber bullets. (This policy has even spilled over into the realm of pop culture with controversial Egyptian singer, Sha’ban Abd al-Rahim, releasing the hit new song “If you come across a pig or a sow, you need to quickly get the hell out of there.”
Egypt’s policy is likely in response to accusations that the Egyptian government did not respond quickly enough to the spread of avian flu in 2006. Despite slaughtering some 25 million birds, avian flu resulted in the death of at least 22 Egyptian citizens.
Renewed Violence
Nearly two weeks after the policy was enacted, Coptic Christians were the target of a terrorist attack.
• On May 10, 2009, a small bomb, which caused no casualties, exploded near a Coptic church in Cairo. A second bomb was found and detonated by police in the same area near the church.
Although no group or individual has claimed responsibility for the primitive bombs, it is appears that both were targeting Christians and were designed to intimidate the population.
The targeting of Christians is reminiscent of the riots that occurred in October 2005 in Alexandria and has invoked fears that religiously motivated violence will resurge in Egypt. Though concern over swine flu appears to be on the decline, violence nevertheless appears to be on the rise, highlighting the likelihood that religious tensions, not health concerns, are the root of the problem.
Religious Tensions in Egypt
The Egyptian policy has highlighted the religious tensions in Egypt between the country’s Muslim majority and the Coptic Christian population, comprising between 10-15 percent of the population – nearly all of the pig farmers are Christian.
The Coptic population in Egypt has regularly complained of harassment, discrimination, and forced conversions at the hands of members of the Muslim population. The culling, which appears to target one disparate minority in Cairo, will cause many Coptics to add this new policy to their ever-growing list of grievances.
Many Coptics contend that the Muslim population is merely using the fear of a pandemic to finally rid Egypt of pigs, which are considered unclean and have always been unpopular in Muslim eyes. We remain concerned that the situation it will worsen religious tensions in Egypt in the near-term.
In the past few months, Egypt has experienced a resurgence of religious and political violence. Although the level of violence does not compare with that of previous periods of intense religious clashes, it does raise international awareness of the increasingly repressed minority Christians in Egypt. If the fears of a global swine flu pandemic persist, or a case of swine flu emerges in Egypt, it could prompt increased violent backlash against the Christian population in the near to medium-term.