Christian TV hits Egypt's airwaves

Aghapy TV, the first completely Christian, Egyptian-run television channel, is hitting the airwaves at a particularly delicate time.

Aimed at promoting the teachings of the Coptic Christian faith around the world, the station made its debut last month with 24-hour programming that will eventually include church services, documentaries on saints, and family programs, all in several languages. Funded by donations from around the world and owned by the Coptic Church, it airs on a US-operated satellite network.

Aghapy TV's executive director, Father Bishoy Al-Antony, says the channel's goal is to foster better relations between Copts, who make up about 10 percent of Egypt's population, and the Muslim majority. "Our aim is to get Christians and Muslims closer together," he says. "God is love, and we will show them our God and our love."

But the effort comes amid growing tensions between Christians and Muslims. Just weeks before Aghapy's debut, sectarian riots broke out in Alexandria, killing three people. Parliamentary elections, which end Thursday, are giving surprise victories to the fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood.

Copts and Muslims trade insults in Internet chat rooms and Islamic satellite programs criticize Christianity, while non-Egyptian Christian satellite stations target Islam. Analysts worry that a station like Aghapy could deepen the sectarian divide.

"I am against Christians having one TV station and Muslims having another," says democracy activist Negad Al-Borai. "This is part of the problem, not the solution."

Copts and Muslims talk nostalgically about a time when religious affiliation mattered far less. That was before the 1970s, when former Egyptian President Anwar Al-Sadat began supporting Islamic groups in a bid to counter leftist groups. Sadat announced that he was a Muslim president for a Muslim nation, and made Islamic law Egypt's main source of legislation.

While Egypt's constitution provides religious freedoms for citizens, the Hamayonic Decree, a remnant from Ottoman law, remains in force, requiring a presidential permit to build, renovate, or even make minor repairs to churches.

Discrimination prevents Copts from serving in senior government posts, the police, and military. No Copts are governors or public university deans. Earlier this month, US lawmakers warned that their support for US aid to Egypt will depend on greater governmental protection for Copts.

"Why not let a Copt work in government?" says Bassem, a Coptic accountant, who had aspired to be a diplomat. "In our universities you can't enter certain colleges. It's clear: You're a Copt, you can't enter."

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