The party affiliated with the powerful Muslim Brotherhood is poised to make huge gains in Egypt's parliamentary elections, and the expected landslide has many Coptic Christians in the country nervous. Some observers and NBC News report that supporters of the Brotherhood-aligned Party of Freedom and Justice (FJP) may not have followed election rules to the letter, though, passing out leaflets to people waiting in line to vote and possibly exploiting widespread voter confusion to garner more votes. Coptic Christians, who comprise about 10 percent of Egypt's population, have largely thrown their weight behind secular party the Egyptian Bloc, a coalition of pro-business parties, socialists and others, The New York Times reported. “We picked the Egyptian Bloc because it’s the most liberal group and because they are against religious parties," said one Cairo priest. Although Egyptian Christians practice freely now, they are nervous about what an FJP majority in parliament could spell.
