Amr Nabil / AP file

Egyptian Muslim women hold a cross in support of Christians during a memorial march in Cairo for Christians who were killed during deadly clashes with Muslims in April.

CAIRO – Thousands of Egypt’s Coptic Christians are fleeing to Europe, the United States and elsewhere rather than face mounting discrimination at home.

Copts, Egypt’s ancient Christian community, are the country’s largest minority, making up nearly 10 percent of its 85 million people. 

But clashes between Christians and Muslims have become more frequent since the ouster of longtime authoritarian ruler Hosni Mubarak in the 2011 uprising – some say due to a breakdown of government security. Many Copts feel Egypt's Islamist-led government is not doing enough to protect them from religious hate crimes and inflammatory rhetoric – so many are leaving.

“My sister in California wanted a better life for her and her two daughters,” explained Marianne Aziz, a 25-year-old pharmacist. “There was a big fight between us and our Muslim neighbors over our parking place ... . They cut my brother-in-law’s face with a knife.”

Aziz said that after that incident, “My sister felt she was no longer safe anymore. She got a hospital report on her husband’s injuries and a police report and when they went to the U.S., she immediately [applied for] asylum.” 

Egyptian now ranks as the second highest nationality to receive asylum in the United States – although it is uncertain how many are Copts because immigration statistics do not include religious affiliation, many of the asylum seekers are believed to be Christian.

The number of Egyptians receiving asylum in the U.S. has jumped more than five-fold in recent years. In 2010, the year before the revolution, just 531 Egyptians received asylum in the U.S.; in 2012, that number jumped to 2,882, according to the Department of Homeland Security’s statistical data for 2012. 

Georgia, the former Soviet republic, has also become a popular destination for Egyptians because it’s relatively easy to obtain residence. A Georgian consular officer said that about 150 Egyptians apply for asylum every week.

And the Netherlands has made it easier for Copts to claim asylum by no longer demanding proof that asylum seekers have sought official protection from persecution. The Dutch ambassador said in a TV interview that his government was prompted to make the process easier because of reports of persecution of Copts and a lack of adequate government protection.

Eight people were killed in sectarian violence between Christians and Muslims in April, including attacks on Cairo’s St. Mark’s Cathedral, prompting rare criticism of President Mohammed Morsi by the Coptic Pope Tawadros II for not protecting the church.

Khaled Elfiqi / EPA file

Pope Tawadros II, head of the Egyptian Coptic Orthodox Church, leads the Easter Mass at the Coptic Cathedral of Saint Marcos in Cairo on May 4.

Heba Morayef, Regional Human Rights Watch director, worries that extremists are now free to encourage discrimination on TV. “It’s very scary because of the sudden uptick in violence, compounded by the fact that the Muslim Brotherhood has in no way tried to reign it back and has at times participated.”

Controversy ensued earlier this year after the Muslim Brotherhood’s leading cleric advised Muslims to refrain from wishing Christians a Happy Easter, saying the holiday is un-Islamic.

Brotherhood leaders have also continued to be promoted in the government, despite clearly anti-Coptic rhetoric.   

“You share this country with us,” Brotherhood stalwart Safwat Hegazi threatened Copts after anti-Morsi demonstrations turned violent last December. “But there are red lines, and one red line is the legitimacy of Dr. Morsi. Whoever splashes water on that, we will spill his blood.”

Despite his provocative language, Hegazi was recently appointed to Egypt’s National Council on Human Rights.

The government has also halted any spread of Christianity. Only the president has the right to grant permits to build churches in Egypt, yet Morsi has given permission for just one new church to be built during in his first year in office. By comparison, in 2010, former President Hosni Mubarak allowed 16 new churches to be built. 

Ishaq Ibrahim researches religious freedom for the well-respected Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights organization. He warned of a growing trend where Christians are brought to trial for insulting Islam because there is a lack of clarity around the laws. As a result, he pointed out, “There were 36 cases during 2011 and 2012: 35 for insulting Islam and one for insulting Christianity.”   

The latest U.S. Report on Religious Freedom admonished the government for failing to provide security to Copts. 

“While…religious minorities mostly worshiped without harassment, the government generally failed to prevent, investigate or prosecute crimes against members of religious minority groups, especially Coptic Christians.” 

Marianne Aziz has drawn the same conclusion. She looks forward to the day when she can join her sister in the California. Aziz turned down a good job with a pharmaceutical company because it would have required travel to remote areas and she feared kidnapping, a growing phenomenon according to Coptic activists.

“If I had to work in a far-away place, I might not come home again. I can’t live in a country that is not safe,” Aziz said.

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• Full Egypt coverage from NBC News

CAIRO -- In a controversial move seemingly aimed at shoring up his grip on power, Egypt President Mohamed Morsi appointed 17 new governors, including seven members of his own Muslim Brotherhood party and a member of the radical Islamist Group.  

The appointments mean that the Brotherhood controls the governorships in 10 out of the country's 27 provinces. 

Residents responded angrily to the move across the Nile Delta on Monday. In Fayoum, a hundred people were reportedly injured when Islamists marching in support of the new governor fought with opposition. A Muslim Brotherhood office was torched in Dakhaliya. Angry citizens in four other provinces barricaded and chained entrances to public offices, barring new governors from entering.  

But it was the naming of Adel Al-Khayyat as governor of Luxor that was the most controversial appointment. 

Al-Khayyat was a member of the formerly militant Gamaa Islamiya -- Islamic Group -- and is now a member of the group’s political arm, the Building and Construction Party. The Islamic Group, which has since renounced violence, took credit for the 1997 massacre in Luxor in which six gunmen killed 58 tourists and four Egyptians in front of a famous Pharonic temple on Luxor’s West Bank. 

Although news reports say that Al-Khayyat was jailed for a year as a minor suspect in President Anwar Sadat’s assassination and the killing of Egyptian security forces, he was not implicated in the Luxor attack.  

The distinction was lost on those who work in Luxor’s tourist industry. Residents started gathering in front of the governorate Monday morning to stop Al-Khayyat from taking up residence. 

“You know he is a terrorist!” exclaimed Yohanna Solyan, owner of a Luxor travel agency.  “We need help. There are no tourists here. I had to close my company.”  

His wife, Jacqueline Purki, a tour guide, now works one day a month compared to the six days a week she used to work before the revolution. 

“We are very angry,” she said. “The few people who are coming to Luxor will stop coming.”  

Some extremists have threatened to destroy antiquities or statues they consider idolatrous. Amre Moussa, opposition leader and former Arab League chief, tweeted  “Appointing … a member of the Islamic Group whose leaders ban tourism and call for destroying antiquities … is a wrong decision.” 

Islamic Group is a top ally of Morsi. It’s leaders have threatened an "Islamic revolution" if liberals try to unseat the Islamist president. 

“This was done to satisfy all the Islamic currents, groups and parties, to give them a piece of the cake. It didn’t come to mind that Al Khayyat is a delegate for the image of tourism,”  said Gen. Sameh Seif al Yazal, an intelligence analyst. Al Yazal said the move is a measure of Morsi’s fear of upcoming protests, widely expected to be massive and violent, calling on Morsi to hold early elections.

Morsi's appointments come before the June 30 anniversary of his taking office, when the liberal and secular Egyptian opposition plans demonstrations to demand his ouster.

“He wants to have loyalists in the position of governor at this point in time … . It indicates the Muslim Brotherhood is sticking to the same strategy of consolidating their rule,” said American University of Cairo political science professor Gamal Abdul Gawad. By appointing Al-Khayyat, reasoned Abdul Gawad, Morsi aimed to please Islamic Group and strengthen the coalition between his party and theirs.  

Neither the president’s office nor the Ministry of Tourism have responded to calls for comment.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Charlene Gubash / NBC News

Hany Sayed, 40, and his wife Layla Ali, 30, sit with four of their five children in the two-room windowless shack they were forced to move into after he lost his job as a carpenter's assistant.

CAIRO, Egypt — Egypt’s revolution has not been kind to Hany Sayed and his family. 

When Sayed lost his job as a carpenter’s assistant in the capital six months ago, he, his wife and their five children were forced out of their three-bedroom home and into a two-room shed used to store saddles and tack.

Together the couple earn $143 a month, most of which is spent on food. Still, the children, aged 2 to 13, rarely eat meat or chicken. A doctor at a free clinic told them that the children were calcium and iron deficient and needed extra vitamins, which Sayed said he cannot afford. 

Even the youngest children don’t drink milk, only water and tea, he said.

“Sometimes when we watch them sleep, we just cry,” said the 40-year-old, who now works mucking out stables.  “We see there is no food and we don’t know what to do.”  

Slideshow: Egypt's revolution and the fall of Mubarak

Ahmed Youssef / EPA

Eighteen days of popular protest culminated in the downfall of Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak on Feb. 11, 2011.

Launch slideshow

Sayed and his family would be forgiven for expecting better. When the Arab world's most populous country rose up to depose President Hosni Mubarak two years ago, the desire for change went beyond the political – hopes ran high that a new regime would usher in a revitalized economic era.

Protesters that helped bring down the old government adopted the slogan: “Bread, freedom and social justice!”  

So when Mohammed Morsi came to power in June on promises of economic and political reform, as well as and help for the poorest, many thought their lot would improve.

But instead of getting better, the economy has stagnated, the country’s currency lost much of its value and inflation bumped up food prices.

While the government subsidizes basic types of bread, other staples are becoming more expensive: Kidney bean prices grew by nearly 24 percent in the year to March, onions were up 12 percent,  and tomatoes 10.1 percent, according to Egypt Independent newspaper. 

Dr. Nadia Belhaj Hassine, of the International Development Research Centre, a Canadian organization that supports researchers and experts in the developing world, cited a slew of issues that help ensure families like the Sayeds are stuck in crushing poverty. They include the global downturn, regional turmoil and Islamist rhetoric frightening away international investors.

But she also blamed the “huge problem of inexperienced government.”

“They are not aware of what has been done in the past and what should be done,” she said.  “They don’t have any vision about what kind of economic reforms to undertake in the short and long term and how to improve the investment environment.”

Officials at Egypt’s planning and finance ministries did not respond to requests for comment.

Some hope a $4.8-billion International Monetary Fund loan will help stabilize the economy, but the deal has not been signed. Foreign reserves, which were $36 billion in 2011, now stand at $13.5 billion, just enough for three months of such crucial imports as wheat and gas.  

Slideshow: Elections in Egypt

Ahmed Ali / AP

Egypt holds its first elections since the fall of Hosni Mubarak.

Launch slideshow

Meanwhile, the Egyptian pound has lost 13 percent of its value against the dollar in the past year.  This makes essentials more expensive, which hits families like the Sayeds directly.

Life is difficult, and looks to getting worse for many, according to Gian Pietro Bordignon, World Food Program country director.  

Around a quarter of the population lives below the poverty line, with another 20 percent hovering just above it. And while there are no statistics for the period 2012/2013, indications are that malnutrition rates of around 30 percent are also on the increase, he said.

Poverty and malnutrition has visible and long-term effects, he added.

“Without essential nutrients, minerals, vitamins, children cannot grow their brain potential. They have a lower academic performance,” he said. “Malnutrition is not only a personal problem of human suffering but impacts the nation as a whole.” 

It isn’t only meat, milk and new clothes that have disappeared from the Sayeds’ lives. The chance of a better future is also fading: All five children stopped going to school when even the meager expenses needed for free education became too much.  

“I feel sad when I see my friends go to school,” daughter Fatma, 13, said.

Her father has darker thoughts: “Sometimes, I even think of selling my kidney to live.”

Related:

Egyptians fear wave of vigilantism

Egypt's Mubarak ordered back to prison ahead of retrial

Full Egypt coverage from NBC News

Daniel Berehulak / Getty Images

A man holds up a Quran as supporters of Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi and members of the Muslim Brotherhood chant slogans during a rally on Friday in Cairo, Egypt.

News analysis

CAIRO -- On Saturday, millions of Egyptians are expected to vote in the first round of a national referendum to determine whether the country adapts a new and controversial constitution.

The voting will take place over two days, Dec. 15 and Dec. 22. Ten out of the country's 27 governorates, comprising 26 million voters, will be allowed to vote on Saturday. The remaining 17 governorates and their 25 million voters will be allowed to vote the following Saturday.

Egyptians grapple with political future in controversial vote

Seven thousand judges will supervise the more than 6,000 polling stations on each voting day. The government was required to split the voting over two days because thousands of other judges boycotted supervising the referendum. Officials say voting will also be supervised by observers from civil society, human rights organizations and foreign and domestic media. The U.S.-based Carter Center, however, says it was not able to send an observer to witness the voting process because the regulations required by the Egyptian government were not clarified ahead of the vote. 

Why does the referendum matter to Egypt, the region and the world?
If approved, the referendum would pave the way for a new social contract between the Egyptian state and its citizens. It would replace Egypt's 1971 constitution that had been amended by previous Egyptian presidents to bolster the authoritarian rule that devastated citizens' individual rights.

Keeping options open: Egypt's military maintains watchful eye on politics

Some, however, say the draft constitution changes nothing to curb the powers of the state, and instead opens the door for Shariah law to be strictly imposed. Others say this constitution is groundbreaking because it curbs the powers of the president, limiting his time in office to two terms and upholding the spirit of the 2011 revolution.

Egypt is the largest country in the Arab world, with a population of more than 80 million and great clout over the region. At the same time, Egypt is a vital U.S. ally. The Suez Canal, one of the world's most strategic waterways that connects Asia and East Africa to Europe, lies in Egypt, a country that is also essential to regional stability and is one of only two Arab countries that has a peace treaty with Israel. 

Here's what is at stake in the referendum and what Egypt's draft constitution says about some of the most pressing issues facing the country:

On Islamic law and the role of religion
Egypt's draft constitution states that Islam is the official religion of the state. Supporters of the constitution say the draft allows for the freedom of religion. Article 43 states: "The State shall guarantee the freedom to practice religious rites and to establish places of worship for the divine religions."

Egypt is rapidly approaching its own 'cliff'

Supporters also argue that for the first time, cannons for Christians and Jews will serve as the principals for their personal laws. Opponents of the constitution say the document curbs the rights of religious minorities, including believers of non-monotheistic religions, because it states that the "principles of Shariah Law are the principal source of legislation."

The constitution then proceeds to narrowly define Shariah law as the exclusive interpretation of religious scholars belonging to Al Azhar University, the center of religious and academic learning for Sunnis in the Islamic world. Opponents are also worried about excerpts such as Article 11, which states: "The State shall safeguard ethics, public morality and public order and foster a high level of education and of religious and patriotic values." Critics say that opens the door for a religious take over of civil society and social affairs. 

On the role of the military
The proposed constitution has not changed much in terms of the military's role and function in society. The constitution preserves the role of the Minister of Defense as the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, and maintains that the position be filled from within the institution's officer ranks.

Google+ Hangout from Cairo with NBC News' Ayman Mohyeldin

As such, Egypt's military is headed by a military officer, rather than a civilian. Critics warn this will allow the military to remain powerful and shielded from civilian oversight. The president is the supreme commander of the armed forces, but he heads the National Defense Council. The military's budget remains a state secret and there are no stipulations to force the military to disclose its vast economic empire. Perhaps most troubling, critics say, is that the military would still be allowed to try civilians in military trials. 

On the role of the president
Unlike previous presidents who served for decades at a time, Article 133 in the proposed constitution stipulates that the president will serve for a four-year term with a limit of two terms. Critics contend the new draft constitution preserves "dictatorial powers" for the president, including the ability to appoint judges.

PhotoBlog: Egypt vote sparks violent clashes between Islamists and opponents

The president is also not required by the constitution to appoint a vice-president, which makes the issue of succession somewhat vague. The new draft also prohibits the president from holding any "partisan position" for the duration of the presidency, which supporters say means that once an individual is elected, he must resign from any political party they belonged to.

On women
In the preamble, the draft constitution states that, "equality and equal opportunities are established for all citizens, men and women, without discrimination or nepotism or preferential treatment, in both rights and duties." Supporters of the constitution say the draft gives women new benefits, including support from the state for "widows and breadwinners" and will "ensure maternal and child health services free of charge."

'Men don't have to worry about being caught': Sex mobs target Egypt's women

Critics, however, contend that women's rights are too narrowly defined within the framework of religion and family affairs. They also argue that the strict interpretation of Islamic law could pave the way for limiting the rights of women. 

Other issues stipulated in the draft constitution have also polarized the country, including articles that deal with the freedoms of speech, association and the media.

Supporters and opponents of the constitution have launched massive public awareness campaigns to persuade voters, but come Saturday, it will be the people who will have the final say. 

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Amr Abdallah Dalsh / Reuters

Supporters of Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi and members of the Muslim Brotherhood chant pro-Morsi slogans during a rally in Cairo on Friday in the runup to Saturday's vote on a draft constitution.

Updated at 9:31 a.m. ET: Egyptians voted on Saturday on a constitution promoted by its Islamist backers as the way out of a prolonged political crisis and rejected by opponents as a recipe for further divisions in the Arab world's biggest nation.

Lines formed outside polling stations in Cairo and other cities and soldiers joined police to secure the referendum process after deadly protests during the build-up. Street brawls again erupted on Friday in Alexandria, Egypt's second city.  

ANALYSIS: As Egypt votes, what is at stake?

The opposition says the constitution is too Islamist and tramples on minority rights. Morsi's supporters say the charter is needed if progress is to be made toward democracy nearly two years after the fall of military strongman Hosni Mubarak.

Highlighting the tension in the run-up to the vote, nearly 120,000 army troops were deployed on Saturday to protect polling stations. Clashes between Morsi's supporters and opponents over the past three weeks have left at least 10 people dead and about 1,000 wounded.

"The times of silence are over," bank employee Essam el-Guindy said as he waited to cast his ballot in Cairo's upscale Zamalek district. "I am not OK with the constitution. Morsi should not have let the country split like this."

El-Guindy was one of about 20 men standing in line. A separate women's line had twice as many people. Elsewhere in the city, hundreds of voters waited outside polling stations for nearly two hours before stations opened at 8 a.m.

PhotoBlog: Egyptians vote on divisive constitution

"I read parts of the constitution and saw no reason to vote against it," said Rania Wafik as she held her newborn baby while waiting in line. "We need to move on and I just see no reason to vote against the constitution."

In Alexandria on Friday, tensions boiled over into a street brawl between rival factions armed with clubs, knives and swords. Several cars were set on fire and a Muslim preacher who had urged people to vote "yes" to the constitution was trapped inside his mosque by angry opposition supporters.

In the capital, Cairo, both sides made low-key final efforts to rally supporters.

Flag-waving Islamists gathered peacefully at one of the main mosques, some shouting "Islam, Islam'' and "We've come here to say 'yes' to the constitution."

Opposition supporters — who have been urged to vote "no" by their leaders — assembled outside the presidential palace.

The building remains ringed with police, soldiers and tanks after street clashes caused at least eight deaths earlier this month in violence prompted by Morsi's decision to award himself sweeping powers in order to ram through the new charter.

ANALYSIS: Egypt's military maintains watchful eye on politics

The referendum will be held on two days — this Saturday and next — because there are not enough judges willing to monitor all polling stations after some in the judiciary said they would boycott the vote.

Egyptians are being asked to accept or reject a constitution that must be in place before a parliamentary election can be held next year — an event many hope can steer the country toward stability.

The measure is generally expected to pass, given the well-organized Muslim Brotherhood's record of winning elections since the fall of Mubarak. Many Egyptians, tired of turmoil, may simply fall in line and vote "yes."

If the constitution is voted down, a new assembly will have to be formed to draft a revised version, a process that could take up to nine months.

ANALYSIS: Egypt is rapidly approaching its own 'cliff'

Just over half of Egypt's electorate of 51 million will vote in the first round in Cairo and other cities. Polling stations opened at 8 a.m. (0600 GMT) and will close 12 hours later.

Official results will not be announced until after the second round, though it is likely that details will emerge after the first round that will give an idea of the overall trend.

The charter has been criticised by some overseas bodies.

The International Council of Jurists, a Geneva-based human rights group, said it falls short of international standards on the accountability of the armed forces, the independence of the judiciary, and recognition of human rights.

'Men don't have to worry about being caught': Sex mobs target Egypt's women

United Nations human rights experts said the draft should be reviewed to ensure that Egypt meets its obligations under international law on equality and women's rights.

To provide security for the vote, the army has deployed about 120,000 troops and 6,000 tanks and armoured vehicles to protect polling stations and other government buildings. While the military backed Mubarak and his predecessors, it has not intervened on either side in the present crisis.

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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