- 63 -the governorates of Lower Egypt and more than 300 percent in the governorate of Assiut. The issue is fraught with difficulties, and we will only carry the spirit of leniency, justice, and service. The majority cannot be just, and minorities cannot escape the general misfortunes and calamities that accompany them. The minority must be characterized by reason and wisdom. Some of the Copts thought that their interests were not receiving sufficient attention, so they requested that the Copts in each governorate be given their proportional share of the allocated funds to be spent on schools they manage themselves. Some councils accepted this request, and others did not. I do not believe that the request is in the interest of the Copts in the centers where their presence is limited, which is most of the country's centers. And I, out of concern for the interests of the Copts themselves, propose any system that increases the distance between Copts and Muslims. The treatment that the Copts have received so far has varied according to the governorates. There is no doubt that the spirit of the new law requires giving local councils a great deal of freedom in all matters of education, but there is no reason to believe that the Muslim majority intends to deal with them without a spirit of leniency and justice. It is strange that most of the Copts' dissatisfaction was in Assiut, where two Coptic members were elected to the governorate council. The new law has not been in effect long enough to critique the data that the councils have previously submitted. This data is still in its infancy. In general, the councils have adopted the following principles as the basis for their plan in this regard: that all their schools are open to Copts and Muslims alike. As for religious education, the general plan followed in government schools has been adopted. If a certain number of Copts request to learn the principles of their religion and a qualified teacher is available, they will be taught by that teacher. If such a teacher is not available in the school, the priests will be allowed to provide religious education during private hours. As for primary education in Arabic, each kuttab originally has the usual classes for studying the Quran, and Coptic students may attend these classes or be exempted from them, according to their choice. The Quran is the basis of the Arabic language in this country, and its study is almost indispensable for anyone who wants to study its literature. It should not be forgotten that the kuttabs are originally Islamic schools where students only learn to read and memorize the Quran, and their transformation into general primary education schools is a recent development. The general rule is not to teach the principles of the Christian religion in the kuttabs.