Discrimination against Christian students in Egypt is systemic and, at times, extreme.

They often discriminate against Christian students in Egypt because of their faith, which goes against Egyptian law. The country’s constitution permits teaching all religions equally in school, and it’s against the law to promote one religion as superior. Despite these protections, teachers and parents say they often violate the rights of Christians. 

Dr. Nady Atef, a Christian teacher in Cairo, shared with Global Christian Relief the forms of discrimination he regularly witnesses. He says that from a young age, Islam heavily influences students’ education, and Christian students are overlooked in school curricula. Texts of the Quran and hadiths are used to teach Arabic and are expected to be memorized, while they exclude entirely words or expressions that reference the Bible in any way. The educational curriculum ignores Egypt’s long period of Coptic history, and some schools host religious competitions in which Christians cannot take part.

Samaan Moussa, a Christian living in Cairo, shared an example of the bias and religious pressure on young students.

“I have a ten-year-old son, a fourth-grade student,” Moussa said. “He is good at making announcements in the morning loudspeaker, repeating wisdom and news to the students in the school courtyard before entering their classes. One day, the Arabic language teacher surprised him with a request he did not understand, but it hurt him. While in class, his teacher asked him to read Quranic verses from a book with her. My son was shocked, and it showed on his face.

Before he could speak, the teacher commanded, ‘You will read the Qur’an tomorrow in the morning school announcements.’ My son replied to her, ‘I am a Christian. Can you choose someone else?’ She responded, ‘You are the one who will read the Qur’an, not anyone else.” When my son told her he could not do that, she insulted him and hit him. When my son returned home from school, he told me what happened. I met with the school principal the following day, who had no choice but to apologize to us. Thankfully, he addressed the problem adequately.”

There are also reports of teachers encouraging students not to mix with their unveiled classmates. Nashaat Tawfiq*, a Christian resident of Upper Egypt, has a twelve-year-old son. 

“My son is in sixth grade,” Tawfiq said. “The Islamic religion teacher at his school is known for extremism. One of my son’s Muslim classmates is a close friend, and I told him that when the Christian students leave the classroom so the teacher can begin Islam class, as is customary, the teacher instructs the students not to interact with their Christian classmates. He said not to befriend any Christians, as they are infidels and considered defiled. The teacher also shared that their religion commands them to avoid contact with Christian students.”

Dr. Atef explained the disparity in the education system. “Christian students face discrimination in government education, from elementary to graduate studies,” he said.

“The Egyptian government often chooses employees only from certain prestigious Muslim universities and does not recognize the Christian College of Theology. This is part of why very few Christians are in influential government positions. In addition, there is a deficit of university jobs for Christians, as it is rare for there to be a Christian head of a university department, university professor, or university director in any public university. There are few Christian principals in public schools, as well.”

Christians are demanding that the school ensure the curriculum does not insult their religion. We want schools to encourage students to accept and respect others. We also recommend introducing compulsory subjects in government schools to teach human rights. They should teach our Christian history and culture in the Egyptian schools where our children study.”

*names changed for security

GCR is the leading watchdog group in America dedicated to helping persecuted Christians globally. GCR helps the Western church advocate and pray for persecuted Christians while also protecting and encouraging those facing discrimination and violence in restrictive countries.