Earlier this month, a young Coptic woman from Shosha, in the Minya province of Egypt, reappeared in her village after a two-month disappearance. But she returned in a different state: Married to a Muslim man and pregnant with his child. Muslim celebrations over her newfound conversion, marriage, and pregnancy devolved into riots, house burnings, and attacks on her Christian family and community. This was no accident: The woman and her new husband were brought back during the celebration of Eid, when tensions between Muslims and Coptic Christians are high. In reality, this incident was part of an intentional campaign of persecution against the largest Christian community left in the Middle East.
Local reports suggest this young woman’s case was yet another example in a horrific trend of forced conversions. Though Copts in Minya and other regions face various threats of violence, Coptic women in particular are vulnerable to abduction and forced marriage to Muslim attackers — who subject them to rape, blackmail, and slavery. Such “conversions” create a tragedy for both the victims and the loved ones they are forced to abandon. Families face increased targeting by attackers, and those kidnapped cannot legally convert back to their chosen religion, leaving them isolated from their communities.
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