Copts say Egypt regime change trumps Islamist fears

Tue Feb 1, 2011 10:01pm GMT

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* Mubarak has portrayed self as bulwark against Islamism

* Some Copts still worry Islamists could gain more power

By Alexander Dziadosz

CAIRO, Feb 1 (Reuters) - For Rafik, a member of Egypt's Coptic Christian minority, the myth that President Hosni Mubarak is the community's best defence against Islamist militants was shattered by an Alexandria church bombing on New Year's Day.

He and other Copts continued to demonstrate alongside at least 1 million Egyptians on Tuesday, saying their desire to end Mubarak's three-decade rule was for now more pressing than any fears that a change of power might empower Islamist groups.

"After (the Alexandria) bombing the Copts for the first time started to demonstrate against Mubarak. He was telling us that 'When I'm in power, you're safe.' Well, obviously, when he's in power, we're not safe," the 33-year-old dentist said as he stood amid thousands of protesters in Cairo's Tahrir Square.

Mubarak, whose government battled a violent Islamist insurgency in the 1990s, has sold himself to Western allies as their safest bet against militancy.

Authorities have also kept the popular Muslim Brotherhood, which has foresworn violence, on a tight leash under his watch. Continued...

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