It was a relatively brief exchange, but the reference to a well-known country’s name caught my attention. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was on Capitol Hill testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and unsurprisingly Russia and Ukraine were at the top of mind for many. Strategies to deal with powers like China and Iran were also expected conversation points. But one senator spent time pressing Blinken on a nation that has played an important role in world affairs for millennia — Egypt.

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) focused on what he believed to be a “curious proposal” in Biden budget documents that would delink certain military aid funds from human rights requirements. Pointing to the attack on Ukraine as a reason to take care in consistency in words and action on human rights, Murphy said, “I worry about the message that this would send to Sisi but also the world. They have made tepid progress, even when presented with fairly minimalist requests for reforms.”

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This is not the first time Murphy, chair of the panel’s Near East subcommittee, has been critical of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi or the Biden team’s interactions with him. In fact, last fall Murphy criticized the administration’s “half-hearted” attention to human rights when it sent certain sums to Egypt despite growing concerns of political repression. In fairness, he also welcomed a more recent decision by the State Department this winter to reprogram funds after Egypt failed to take corrective action.

“It sends the important message abroad that we will back up our commitment to human rights with action and gone are the days where dictators receive blank checks from America,” he said in January.

But Murphy’s latest exchange with Blinken at the committee hearing indicates the debate is not over. And it comes after the State Department’s own human rights report released earlier in April indicated “credible reports” of unlawful killings, forced disappearances, torture, arbitrary detentions, restrictions on free expression, and more by the Egyptian government or its agents.

Another key report released the day before Blinken’s hearing gives additional reasons for concern. The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) focused far more on major problem areas like Afghanistan, Russia, and Nigeria when it released its annual publication. But again Egypt was mentioned as a country the State Department should place on a statutorily mandated Special Watch List for perpetrating or tolerating religious liberty violations. In the text of its report USCIRF did highlight President Sisi’s words and symbolic actions to promote religious tolerance, particularly of Coptic Christians. However, the watchdog agency faulted Egypt for using the criminal justice system against religious minorities and failing to counter other ongoing discrimination.

For its part Open Doors USA ranks Egypt as #20 on its World Watch List of most dangerous places for Christians. Noting that the peril is most pronounced in Upper Egypt and rural areas in the country’s north, Open Doors states:

Christians are typically treated as second-class citizens. While Egypt’s government speaks positively about the Christian community, the lack of serious law enforcement and the unwillingness of local authorities to protect Christians leave them vulnerable to all kinds of attacks. The dictatorial nature of the regime means Christians feel unable to speak out against these practices.

All of these evidences do not paint Egypt well. So why would Blinken defend the request to lift human rights conditions from some military assistance funds? Why would he also call Egypt a “vital partner” and suggest that his diplomatic team needed “maximum flexibility” — presumably without a statutory restriction — to deal with that nation on human rights?

Well, like so many relationships in the Middle East, this one is complicated. Israel knows this well. Its 20th century wars with Egypt cannot be far from many minds there, but it is also true that the two nations have maintained an important peace for more than four decades. In addition, they have cooperated in battling terrorists in the Sinai and the region has benefited from Egypt’s influence in de-escalating recent violent confrontations between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

And then there is the global power game. One former member of the Israeli Knesset recently highlighted that the U.S. is not the only world power interacting with Egypt. Russia and China are competing for influence with their own investments as well.

So how do we pray in this situation? I believe our executive and legislative branch leaders need God’s wisdom for how to navigate these complications with wisdom and boldness. A desire for flexibility is understandable, but so is the reminder in the wake of the Ukraine war that we cannot neglect clarity about commitments to life and liberty — values at the core of why America was established.

We can also pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ in Egypt. May government agents and community leaders treat them with the respect they deserve. And may the light of Christ shine brightly in that land that has been and surely will be a key nation over the ages.

How are you praying for the Christians in Egypt? Share your prayers in the comments.

Aaron Mercer is a Contributing Writer with two decades of experience in Washington, D.C.’s public policy arena. Photo Credit: Tienko Dima on Unsplash