Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood to Coptic Christians: Convert to Islam or Pay Tax

Religion Today | Updated: Sep 12, 2013

Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood to Coptic Christians: Convert to Islam or Pay Tax

The Muslim Brotherhood and its supporters have began forcing the roughly 15,000 Christian Copts of Dalga village in Egypt to pay a jizya tax as indicated in Koran 9:29, the Washington Times reports. Jizya is the money, or tribute, "that conquered non-Muslims historically had to pay to their Islamic overlords 'with willing submission and while feeling themselves subdued' to safeguard their existence," according to author and translator Raymond Ibrahim. According to Fr. Yunis Shawqi, all Copts in the village of Dalga, "without exception," are being forced to pay the tax. "[The] value of the tribute and method of payment differ from one place to another in the village, so that, some are being expected to pay 200 Egyptian pounds per day, others 500 Egyptian pounds per day," Shawqi said. In some cases, families not able to pay have been attacked. As many as 40 Christian families have now fled Dalga, Ibrahim reported.



Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood to Coptic Christians: Convert to Islam or Pay Tax