I noticed that the tourist attractions in Coptic Cairo--which include several Coptic churches, the Coptic Museum, the Ben Ezra Synagogue, and the remains of some Rome fortifications--were being renovated in part with funds from USAID, whereas the reconstruction of mosques and Ottoman houses of Islamic Cairo was assisted by funds from the European Union. Indeed, as I mentioned below, Al Azhar Mosque's muezzin gave America the thumbs down because he said we didn't contribute to the rebuilding of the district after the 1992 earthquake. Granted, the US has given over 25 billions dollars in aid to the Egyptian government, but this seems like a missed opportunity.

UPDATE [9/28/04/ 12:40 PM] by praktike: I should add that Coptic Christians do face persecution in Egypt, as documented here. I had tea, briefly, at the home of an elderly Coptic couple whose arms were tattoed with their date of birth and the Coptic cross. I still haven't figured out if this is some sort of government policy, but it is clear that there is a great deal of discrimation against them. About 1.5 million Egyptian Copts now live in the United States.