The leaflets claimed that a number of political Egyptian figures repeatedly insulted Islam in statements and speeches. It accused activist George Isaac of saying, “June 30 will be the end of Islam”, Bishop Moussa of saying, “Wake up from your dream of Islamic caliphate” and political activist Hazem Abdel Azim of stating, “We will vanquish political Islam in Egypt.”
Gamaat Islamiyya and the Salafi Building and Development Party distributed leaflets inciting against a number of public figures and symbols of the Egyptian Church, in Assiut Governorate, accusing them of insulting Islam.
The leaflets claimed that a number of political Egyptian figures repeatedly insulted Islam in statements and speeches. It accused activist George Isaac of saying, “June 30 will be the end of Islam”, Bishop Moussa of saying, “Wake up from your dream of Islamic caliphate” and political activist Hazem Abdel Azim of stating, “We will vanquish political Islam in Egypt.”
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Criminals have threatened to seize a piece of land owned by Fayez Demian Hermina, a Coptic resident in the village of Saksaka in Tema, Sohag, Upper Egypt. A. D., the daughter of Fayez’s brother, told MCN that on Monday, her uncle received threats from the Mekki family to pay 70,000 EGP as a royalty to avoid an attack on the family and its agricultural land. “Members of the Mekki family originally gave him 15 days to pay a royalty of 50,000 pounds, or else they would come back and seize the land again. This was two weeks ago. Yesterday, we were surprised when they raised the royalty from 50,000 to 70,000 EGP, an amount that we must pay within three months. They did not give any reasons for increasing the royalty,” she added. Interior Ministry Denies Responsibility for Restoring Guidance Sessions, Holds Azhar Responsible6/4/2013 Member of Egypt’s Shura Council Faridi el-Bayadi said he met with Egypt’s Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim to brief him on the phenomenon of the increased disappearance of Coptic girls threatening the security of the Christian families. Bayadi said he called on the interior minister to restore the sessions of advice and guidance that were held for those people who convert from Christianity to Islam, clarifying that former Minister of Interior Habib el-Adli cancelled these sessions. He added that the Egyptian security official stressed that it is not the role of the ministry, and that converting to Islam is the role of Azhar. An astounding 100,000 Christians are killed each year because of their faith, the Vatican reports. “Credible research has reached the shocking conclusion that an estimate of more than 100,000 Christians are violently killed because of some relation to their faith every year,” Vatican spokesman Monsieur Silvano Maria Tomassi said Tuesday in a radio address to the United Nations Human Rights Council. “Other Christians and other believers are subjected to forced displacement, to the destruction of their places of worship, to rape and to the abduction of their leaders, as it recently happened in the case of Bishops Yohanna Ibrahim and Boulos Yaziji, in Aleppo [Syria],” he added. A march has been launched from Cairo’s neighborhood of Shubra to the Radio and Television Building in Maspero to mourn the victims of the attacks against Khosos and St. Mark Cathedral and to mark the 40th day since the victims' death. The Coptic Youth Front and Copts Coalition organized the march with a number of martyrs' families. They held up pictures of the martyrs, crosses and Egyptian flags. The participants divided themselves to two marches: the first moved from Tahrir Square after prayers, while the other march waited until 4:00 pm, heading to Maspero. The US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) latest annual report, once again includes Egypt as a 'Country of Particular Concern,' or CPC for ongoing, systematic, and egregious violations of religious freedom. The overall situation for religious minorities in Egypt further deteriorated under the Morsi administration. There have been a large and sustained number of attacks against Coptic Christians and their properties perpetrated with virtual impunity. The situation impacts all members of minority faiths. The US State Department has not demonstrated real commitment to defending women, religious minorities and political dissidents in Egypt through continued verbal and financial support of the Morsi government. “It is permissible to kill some Christians today,” said Mohamed Abu Samra, secretary-general of the Islamic Jihad Party, the political arm of the jihad organization. He justified this announcement by saying, “Those who came out with weapons, their blood is allowed for us [to spill], as a fighter is not considered dhimmi.” Dhimma is the Islamic law right of non-Muslims to have protected residence within the Islamic state in exchange for taxes. The British Foreign and Commonwealth Office noted in their 2012 report, Case study: Egypt – post-revolution, that though there were a number of improvements in the human rights situation in Egypt throughout 2012, “issues of concern remain.” The most significant improvement noted was the handover of power from the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) to the democratically elected president, Mohamed Morsi, after presidential elections took place in June. Topping the list of concerns were women’s rights, freedom of religion and freedom of expression. Luxor’s Educational Directorate investigated a Coptic Social Studies teacher in Sheikh Sultan School based on accusations charging her with insulting Islam and proselytizing her Muslim students. Monsef Ayad, a teacher, said, “Luxor’s Educational Directorate received a memorandum signed by a number of parents from the chairman of the board of trustees of the Sheikh Sultan School of Hagez el-Toud. In response, investigators traveled to the school to question the Egyptian teacher, accusing her of insulting Islam and urging her students to convert to Christianity.” The Arab Center for Integrity and Transparency (ACIT) said the Muslim Brotherhood is trying to ignite sedition among Egyptians to distract the people and control the joints of the state. The center expressed solidarity with the Coptic journalist Hanan Fekri, who is accused of contempt of Islam. The center members watched the video with the alleged charges and did not find contempt of any religion, and said the word used by the journalist is used in a normal context and can be uttered by any Muslim in the same context. |
Walter Blackwood
Associate Pastor with The Bridge Community of Faith in Kelowna BC Canada. Archives
May 2017
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