Egypt’s Coptic Christians boycott constitutional panel over Islamist influence

The Arab Spring has led to a dismantling of the Egyptian government and fears over minority rights in the Middle Eastern nation. Shortly after the initial protests that led to former President Hosni Mubarak ouster, Coptic Christians had deadly run-ins with military leaders.

Recently, The Blaze highlighted the ongoing assault against Christians in detail. Now, with Islamists taking control of the Egyptian parliament and with an impending presidential election, the Coptic Orthodox church is taking a stand.

(Related: Muslim Brotherhood Reverses Course, Will Run Its Own Candidate for President in Egypt)

According to AFP, the church will boycott an Islamist-dominated panel that has been tasked with putting together the nation’s future constitution. The current commission has 100 members who were selected by the parliament to examine the issue. The parliament, of course, is predominantly made up of Islamists from the Muslim Brotherhood and Salafists.

Rather than keeping its two church members on the committee, the Holy Synod has decided, unanimously, to remove them from the discussions. According to a report from the MENA news agency, the church believes that it’s “inappropriate to continue to be represented given the reservations of various political forces on how the constitutional commission was composed.”

These withdrawals come as some individuals are claiming that they are being used, AFP reports, as “collateral” for Islamists seeking to infuse the new constitution with their political ideology. The Christians’ decision comes following Pope Shenouda III’s death. Shenouda, the leader of the Coptic church, often acted to protect the religious minority.

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Egypt’s massacre of Christians

Western media coverage of the recent massacre of Coptic Christians in Cairo, Egypt—in which the military killed dozens of Christians and injured some 300—was, as discussed earlier, deplorable. It merely repeated the false propaganda of the complicit state-run media, without checking facts. Since then, further proofs of the lies and brutality surrounding the massacre have emerged; they are compiled in the following report which consists of facts and videos from Arabic sources—many of which have not appeared in the Western media.

This report documents: 1) the activities of the Supreme Military Council of Egypt and de facto ruler; 2) the lies and duplicitous tactics of both the Military Council and its media mouthpiece, Egyptian TV; and 3) the anti-Christian sentiment pervading all aspects of this incident.


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Another genocide in the Middle East

It is very hard to believe that -at the 21st century- security and equality for Christians in Egypt is still a dream!! The Copts are the largest minority in the world without rights! Christians of Egypt are facing a campaign of ethnic cleansing carried out by the Fanatic Muslims supported and blessed by the authorities!

Although Coptic Christians in Egypt have the right for a special treatment to compensate for centuries of discrimination and persecution, at present, they are only asking for equality and human dignity.

In 1979, after kissing the hands of the Americans, former Egyptian president Anwar- El-Sadat felt adopted by his new masters who were so eager to see some semblance of the peace in the strategic area of the Middle East. They all lavished him with praise, approval and funds to keep him committed and loyal to the peace deal with Israel. But this was Sadat’s game plan; if he acts in a sycophant manner with the Americans, they will close their eyes about Egypt’s dismal record on human rights and he can continue with his plan to eliminate Christianity from Egypt. Both MUHAMMAD Anwar El-Sadat and Zul Fiqar Ali Bhutto sponsored the secret resolutions of the second Islamic summit which called for the elimination of Christians and Christianity from the Middle East by the year 2000. But God had other plans than his. Both he and Bhutto had their lives ended in the most disgraceful way. After his return to Pakistan General Zia Ul-Haq overthow Bhutto and ignoring international appeals to spare his life, he had him hanged in the early hours of the day shackled in chains and led barefooted to the gallows.  Later on Sadat was fatally shot by the hands of the people he trained to kill the Christians.

The Copts face real extermination steps since the events of Khanka, through al-Zawiah al-Hamra, KOSHEH, Assiut, Al-Muharraq monastery, and Alexandria... Etc. They are now hitting monks! They have been killing Copts and looting of their property and oppressing them. The Egyptian authorities are keen to mention such barbaric actions as individual events. While Copts live in fear, they are supporting the criminals and offenders and enable them to escape without any punishment.

Fridays became night-mares for Christians as the assailants -prodded along by the imam's fanatic address- decide to take the law in their own hands and attack the Copts, believing they are thus doing Islam the greatest favor ever! Being inflamed by the Imam of the mosque after Fridays' prayers, the mob start chanting anti-Christian and anti-Jewish slogans and hurling rocks and fire at the places of worship, stores, cars and houses of the Christians! They raid the churches, attack and kill the innocent prayers using the swords! Although they are the original natives of Egypt, Copts gradually became dispensable second-class citizens since the Islamic invasion of the seventh century. Copts became a minority although their number may exceed sixteen millions, which is about 20% of Egypt's population in honest census that they are denied to have. This has been the result of forced conversion to Islam, paying the costly tribute or facing martyrdom!

Copts who are converted to Islam through the many oppressive ways are not allowed to return to Christianity as the officials deny issuing Identification cards that have their original names and religion. To convert to Islam, the government makes it the easiest and sweetest trip. Copts are humiliated every second through the state owned media that are paid for by the tax-payers money where Copts pay most of it. Besides the intensifying cultural, educational, religious, social, judicial and economic hardships made Copts immigrate and leave their home-land. Above seven million Copts left Egypt since the last fifty years. More than one million settled in USA and became very successful as this is the land of equal opportunity. That shows the cultural effect on achievement. In short, Copts in Egypt are persecuted. They can not even dare to say that, otherwise they will face the terrible fate. Can you speak up for them? Proverbs 31:8-9 says "Speak up for those who can't speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the right of the poor and needy

Our Christian brothers and sisters in Egypt are humiliated, tortured, persecuted, and even killed. Security agencies go into coma as long as the victims were Copts. Truly, it is the policy of eliminating Christianity in Egypt. Monks in monasteries have suffered all kinds of torment and humiliation. They were kidnapped and the assailants asked them to spit on the Cross and become Muslims! Can you believe that the governor of Minya, told Abu Fana monks to pay Gizia to the criminal Arab offenders to live in safety? Do you imagine that in the twenty-first century, the aggressors hold modern weapons and the State protect them and protect their weapons as long as they are directed against the Christians?

In the latest "cycle of violence", Egyptian security forces joined in with a Muslim mob bringing terror and death to group of Coptic protesters who were ironically demonstrating against the terror and death Muslim mobs have been bringing to Copts.

Crimes against humanity are committed from Alexandria to Minya. This happens only because they are Christians, and the Muslim believes that the Christian blood and money are permitted and halal for Muslims.

Of course, this is not entirely a new phenomenon. The ethnic cleansing of Christians in Egypt has been going on since 639 AD, when Muslims first invaded the country. This is only the final stage in the attempted extermination of a people -- one that has already been repeated many times across the Middle East.

The attack is still ongoing upon underage girls and forced Islamization is still happening through the encouragement of authorities. The suffering of the monks, the atrocities of our brothers and sisters, the on-going physical liquidation of the Coptic Christians in general must be stopped.

Christianity is positive not negative, Christianity is work, not slump, Christianity is love not hate! The Christian appeal and cooperation are not selfish. Christianity does not accept injustice or humiliation! The Christian crown over our heads mandates us to show that we deserve it. Our voices have to go to the sky carried by the angels and moving them to the Glory of Jesus Christ. Your voices have to be heard .The defenseless must be defended. We need to speak for those who do not have the right to speak.

Egypt: Christian student murdered for refusing to remove crucifix

AINA

Ayman Nabil Labib, a 17-year-old Coptic Christian student, was murdered by Muslim classmates after refusing to remove a crucifix he was wearing, the Assyrian International News Agency is reporting.

The murder, which took place on October 16 in the central Egyptian town of Mallawi, took place after a teacher asked Labib to cover up a tattooed cross on his wrist. Labib refused, instead uncovering a cross necklace.

“The teacher nearly choked my son, and some Muslim students joined in the beating,” said Labib’s father.

“They beat my son so much in the classroom that he fled to the lavatory on the ground floor, but they followed him and continued their assault,” the victim’s mother added. “When one of the supervisors took him to his room, Ayman was still breathing. The ambulance transported him from there dead, one hour later.”

Coptic Christians protect monastery from Egyptian army assault

Hundreds of Coptic Christians mobilized on Tuesday in front of the Monastery of the Virgin and St. John the Beloved, located on the Desert Road from Cairo to Ismailia. Although the Monastery has the necessary permits, the army had sent a message to the monastery that they would come on the next day, October 25, to demolish its fence, which guards it from unauthorized visits and criminals.

The official website of the Monastery warned of threats of a " new massacre" by the Egyptian Armed Forces, and the removal of its fence, pointing out that the Monastery was built in 2002 and is under the supervision of the secretariat of H.H. Pope Shenouda.

When the Army vehicles with demolishing equipment arrived at the monastery, they were met by priests, monks, deacons and Copts all dressed up in white for mass, holding wooden crosses, praying and singing hymns.

Other Copts flocked to the Monastery, which lies 80 miles from Cairo, on hearing of the news.

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Coptic Christians Need Protection -- Will the U.S. Help Them?

CONCERNEDWOMENFORAMERICA (CWA)

As the Coliseum in Rome deteriorates with every passing day, the thoughts of Christian martyrdom and persecution that happened there also seem ages away.

But as surprising as it may sound, it still happens. Instead of Christians being eaten by lions, they are being bombed during protests. Instead of being burned at the stake, their churches are being set on fire.

Coptic Christians in Egypt, the largest contingent of Christians in the country, are under severe attack — so much so that the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom announced just recently that Egypt made the list of “Countries of Particular Concern.”

That's not really a list anyone wants to be on: countries put on this list are some of the worst violators of religious freedom. But it’s not enough. Calling a country out will not necessarily force them to change their behavior. A bully doesn’t work like that.

Leonard Leo, chairman of the Commission, told reporters that the final straw was the massacre on the day Coptic Christians celebrated their Christmas Eve services. Since January of this year, 400 Christians have been murdered, hundreds more injured, and multiple churches have been burned, including a massacre on New Year’s Day, where a bomb at a church in Alexandria killed 20 Christians.

The Coptic Christians have been begging for protection from the new Egyptian government without any results. Last Saturday, while Christians were being attacked with gasoline bombs and rocks in Cairo, riot police did not immediately respond; and when they did respond, they looked on for a full hour and did nothing. Soldiers had to be brought in to contain the violence.

The U.S. has directed its own military to help provide protection and apparently has attempted to put diplomatic pressure on the new government for protection. But more has to be done. The Egyptian government is filled with cowards bent on letting Christians suffer at the hands of the majority religion of Islam.

There are 10 million Coptic Christians in the Middle East, where they are overshadowed predominately by the Muslim culture and Islam, President Obama’s fabled “religion of peace.” In fact, it is the radicals, who call themselves Muslim, who are using rape, violence, and church-burnings to persecute this minority religion of Christianity in Egypt.

Persecution is nothing new for Christians (at Concerned Women for America we recently interviewed some local Coptic Christians for an upcoming event on Sharia Law, and the stories they told were stark). The Coptic Christians in Egypt aren’t backing down, nor are they intimidated, but they do want protection.

When is enough violence enough? Maybe much hasn’t changed since centuries ago when early Christians were persecuted and martyred.

Bottom line: If we don’t work with the new Egyptian government to ask them to protect this minority, we could see significant religious cleansing in Egypt. And if that happens, then shame on us.

Copts demand return of missing Christian girls

ALMASRYALYOUM

Dozens of Copts staged a protest on Thursday in front of Egypt’s High Court, demanding the return of a number of Christian girls they describe as “disappeared".

A number of Coptic lawyers have submitted a report to the attorney general requesting that the minister of interior, Mansour al-Essawy, establish the location of eleven Christian girls who they say have disappeared since the 25 January revolution.

Demonstrators, including the families of the missing girls, also demanded that the head of the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, help locate the girls.

A statement by a Coptic group called the Maspero Youth Union denounced the “kidnapping" of Christian girls, giving the names of some of the lost females.

According to the statement, they include Heba Iskandar, who disappeared from Maadi along with her children, Heba Adel, who has been lost since 6 April after driving her son to school, and Maryam George Boqtor, who was lost with her children while buying them clothes before Easter celebrations.

Feuds have been raging between Egypt’s Muslims and Copts over the past few years concerning converts on both sides, with each camp accusing the other of forcing people, particularly females, to change their faith.

The latest case of this type was that of Kamilia Shehata, the wife of a priest in Minya, Upper Egypt, whose disappearance in July 2010 enraged the Coptic community. Many Copts believe that she was kidnapped and forced to convert to Islam.

Many Muslims, meanwhile, believe that Shehata is now being held against her will by the Coptic Church as a punishment for converting, and have staged several protests demanding her release.

Muslim gang leader terrorizing Christians in Egyptian village

AINA

Ten human rights organization staged a rally on March 30 in front of Attorney General’s offices to bring to public attention the tragedy of some nine thousand Coptic villagers living in terror since the end of January in the Upper Egyptian villages of Badraman and Nazlet Badraman in Deir Mawas, Minya.
rights activists and Badraman villagers were joined by attorney activist Peter elNaggar, who filed a complaint with the Attorney General against 34-year-old Muslim police informer Ali Hussein, nicknamed “Holaku” after the ruthless Mongol leader.

AINA said Hussein was accused of terrorizing the Copts, raping their wives, kidnaping their children for ransom and extortion. Attorney elNaggar said that if proven, these charges are punishable by the death penalty.

Security forces were informed last January of the incidents in both villages, "but they just turned a blind eye," said Coptic activist Nader Shoukry, who publicized the story last week after registering all crimes against the Coptic villagers.

AINA said the terror started on Jan. 28, when Ali Hussein assaulted Copt Khalil Suweiha and his family. Suweiha filed a report with the police in Deir Mawas but was forced to drop the charges after being threatened with death by Hussein and his 200-man armed gang.

AINA said Hussein then started extorting money from Copts and attacking their homes. They all had to retract the police reports they filed against him after being threatened.

On Jan. 29, Hussein, broke into the house of another Copt (name withheld), and raped his wife and mother after being restrained by Hussein's men. AINA said according to activist Mariam Ragy, he was too frightened to report the crime to the police after being threatened that his children would be killed.

AINA said Alaa Yusuf Iskandar, 30, was kidnaped and his family paid a ransom of 200,000 Egyptian pounds to Hussein to set him free. Although the family reported the kidnaping to the police, no action was taken.

In addition, AINA said, Hanna Samuel had his 12-year old son kidnaped on March 8; the well to do Coptic family paid a ransom of nearly 500,000 Egyptian pounds to free their child.

According to Shoukry, AINA said, “Ali Hussein has set himself up as governor of the two villages despite the presence of two village mayors. He is practicing injustice and tyranny only against the Copts in the villages. He walks between Christian homes, carrying a weapon on his shoulder, followed by his brothers and cousins and more than fifty armed thugs from outside the villages.”

He added that Hussein and his gang declared that they are the government of the Copts.

The incidents of extortion, looting, crop destruction and kidnaping children for ransom have become so prevalent many families have left the villages as they have no more money to give him.

“His despotism and tyranny reached the extent of imposing a curfew on the Copts from six o'clock in the evening to seven o'clock in the morning. Any Copt daring to break the curfew is beaten up and terrorized,” AINA reported Shoukry said.

On April 2, AINA said, Ali Hussein forced 23 Coptic villagers to go with him to Cairo to the offices of the Attorney General to withdraw their complaints against him, which they had filed on March 30. He detained their children to make sure they would follow his orders.

When they arrived in Cairo the offices of the Attorney General were closed, so Hussein brought the Copts to several newspapers to say the Copts and Muslims live in harmony on Badraman. Only the semi-official newspaper Al-Ahram published his story.

AINA said on the morning of April 3, police and army forces stormed the village to arrest Hussein and his gang, but he was tipped off and he and most of his gang fled beforehand. Only a few members of his gang were arrested. The police stayed only three hours in the villages before withdrawing, leaving the Coptic villagers again at the mercy of a furious Ali Hussein.

Since then, AINA said, Hussein has been assaulting the Copts in the villages to force the army to release the members of his gang who were arrested on Sunday.

On April 4 the villagers appealed to Field Marshal Mohammed Tantawi to urgently rescue them from the oppression of Ali Hussein, who is holding them as hostages in the village until the release of his men.

Another rally was scheduled to be held on April 6 by the villagers of Badraman, joined by human rights organizations, in front of the offices of the Attorney General in Cairo. After the rally the villagers planned to meet with the Attorney General to submit a report about the latest incidents, and to demand quick action to save them from the oppression they are experiencing at the hands of Ali Hussein and his gang.

Christian-Muslim clashes in Egypt kill 11

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Muslim-Christian clashes in the Egyptian capital Cairo have killed 11 people and wounded more than 90, security and hospital officials said on Wednesday.

The clashes broke out Tuesday night when a Muslim mob attacked thousands of Christians protesting against the burning of a Cairo church last week. Muslims torched the church amid an escalation of tensions between the two religious groups over a love affair between a Muslim and a Christian that set off a violent feud between the couple's families.

The officials said Wednesday that the killed were six Christians and five Muslims, all died from gunshot wounds. They said 94 people were wounded - 73 Muslims and 21 Christians.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

The clashes added to a sense of ongoing chaos in Egypt after the momentous 18-day democracy uprising that toppled longtime leader Hosni Mubarak on Feb. 11. The uprising left a security vacuum when police have pulled out from Cairo and several other cities three days into the uprising.

The police have yet to fully take back the streets, something that has left space for a wave of violent crime and lawlessness in some parts of the nation.

The Christian protesters on Tuesday blocked a vital highway, burning tires and pelting cars with rocks. An angry crowd of Muslims set upon the Christians and the two sides fought pitched battles for about four hours.

Kill all the Christians, local imam tells villagers

COMPASSDIRECT

Islamic Mob Burns Down Church in Egypt

A Muslim mob in a village south of Cairo last weekend attacked a church building and burned it down, almost killing the parish priest after an imam issued a call to "Kill all the Christians," according to local sources.

The attack started on Friday evening (March 4) in the village of Sool, located in the city of Helwan 35 kilometers (22 miles) from Cairo, and lasted through most of Saturday. A local imam, Sheik Ahmed Abu Al-Dahab, issued the call during Friday afternoon prayers, telling area Muslims to kill the Christians because they had "no right" to live in the village. The attack started several hours later.

The Rev. Hoshea Abd Al-Missieh, a parish priest who narrowly escaped death in the fire, said the clamor of the church being torn apart sounded like "hatred."

"I was in the attack, but I can’t describe it," he said. "The sound of the church being destroyed that I heard – I can’t describe it, how horrible it was."

According to villagers, the mob broke into the Church of the Two Martyrs St. George and St. Mina, and as they chanted "Allahu Akbar [God is greater]," looted it, demolished the walls with sledgehammers and set a fire that burned itself out the next morning. Looters removed anything valuable, including several containers holding the remains of venerated Copts – most of whom were killed in other waves of persecution – then stomped and kicked the containers like soccer balls, witnesses said.

After the fire went out, the mob tore down what little remained of the church structure. The group of Muslims then held prayers at the site and began collecting money to build a mosque where the church building once stood, said the assistant bishop of Giza the Rev. Balamoun Youaqeem.

"They destroyed the church completely," he said. "All that was left is a few columns and things like that. As a building, it’s all gone."

Egypt – Democracy for whom?

CHRISTIAN POST

In a recent column, Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times proclaimed that “today we are all Egyptians!” Well, hyperbole aside, it’s easy to be inspired, even carried away by the images coming from Cairo. And images are all most Americans have to go by.

After all, who isn’t for democracy? What well-meaning person wouldn’t prefer to see an autocrat and his family leave power?

Unfortunately, those aren’t the only considerations. It’s far from certain that what follows the reign of soon-to-be ex-president Mubarak will be democratic in any sense you or I would recognize.

As we have learned the hard way in places like Iraq and Afghanistan, deposing a dictatorship is a lot easier than creating a democracy. Places that have no tradition or experience of democratic rule often wind up replacing one kind of despotism for another. Or, the brutal order of tyranny is replaced with the tyranny of chaos and disorder.

While Egypt, thanks to its military, may not descend into Iraq-like chaos and mass killings, it has no history of the kind of traditions we associate with democracy--traditions that themselves spring from Western Christendom and the Christian worldview.

Democracy is about more than elections: as Yale law professor Amy Chua described in her book World on Fire, elections in many countries are a preface for oppression. The majority, finally getting a chance at running things, decides that the first order of business is to persecute and deprive a despised minority.

In Egypt, that despised minority are Coptic Christians. For the Copts, whose ancestors debated the Trinity long before ours even heard of Christ, discrimination and harassment are the best they can reasonably expect from the Muslim majority.

The sad truth is that while Mubarak can’t be called a “friend” of the Copts, he at least tried to reign in his and their common enemy: the Muslim Brotherhood. The Brotherhood is the original and still most influential Islamist group in the world. Its progeny include al-Qaeda and Hamas.

While the Brotherhood has participated in the electoral process, it’s with an eye to creating an Islamic republic at the center of the Arab world. To call the Brotherhood a force for democracy is insane-and dangerous.

In its vision of a society where the Qur’an is the “sole reference point” for the ordering of family and social life, there is no room for the Copts. The Brotherhood has been implicated in the burning of churches, seminaries and Copt-owned businesses, as well as the murder of Coptic Christians.

All of this makes talk about “democracy” in Egypt and “everyone being an Egyptian” a bit premature. It’s not at all clear whether Copts, whose ancestors have lived there since time immemorial, would be recognized as “Egyptians” in a new government.

This isn’t to say Mubarak ought to be propped up. As Johns Hopkins’ Fouad Ajami put it, Mubarak is a pharaoh whose time is over.

The real question is, who and what will replace him? As Christians, we ought to pray for peace in Egypt and for a transition to true democracy-as difficult as that is, it’s a transition that indeed, requires divine intervention.

Egyptian train shooter yelled "Allahu akbar!" as he fired

ASIANEWS

A gunman shouting "Allahu akbar" and checking wrists for Coptic cross tattoos will tend to raise questions like that. "Cairo protests against the Vatican. Another Christian killed and five wounded," from AsiaNews, January 12:
The very day Egypt recalls its ambassador to the Holy See over the Pope's declarations of solidarity with Copts, another attack, in all likelihood inspired by Islamic fundamentalism, has resulted in on Christian dead and five people wounded in the land of the Pyramids. Yesterday Cairo recalled its ambassador for consultations. The spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Hossam Zaki, said that the recall is the result of "new statements by the Vatican that affect the internal affairs of Egypt, and that Egypt considers an unacceptable interference in its internal affairs." A Vatican source told Agence France Presse that the move "does not constitute a break in diplomatic relations."

He called for the protection of the Copts. Egypt has certainly paid lip service to doing just that, so he has not called for anything they don't claim to be doing. All he did was dare to state the obvious: that all is not well.

In a statement, the Vatican said it "fully supports" the will of the Egyptian government to "avoid an escalation of tensions for religious reasons ... and appreciates the governments efforts in this direction." The statement follows a meeting between the Vatican's "foreign minister", Msgr. Dominique Mamberti, and the Egyptian ambassador, Lamia Aly Hamada Mekhemar, who in turn said she was "expressing the concerns of his government in this difficult time." The Vatican press release concludes by saying that during his meeting with Msgr. Mamberti Mrs. Mekhemar "receive dinformation and gather necessary details to be able to report the Pope's recent intervention, particularly on religious freedom and protection of Christians in the Middle East, properly."

Meanwhile, another serious incident occurred on the railway line linking Cairo to Assiut. A police officer, Amer Abdel Zaher Ashur, took the train to Salamut, about 200 km south of Cairo, and opened fire with his police weapon. He killed a 71 year old Coptic Christian, Fathi Said Ebeid, and wounded his wife of 61 and four others. Medical sources say that all the wounded, two of them in serious condition, are Christians. A police officer who was not in uniform tried to flee but was arrested in the station. He was questioned about the motives for his attack, but the investigators are maintaining secrecy on the outcome of the interview. Ayman Mohyeldin, Cairo correspondent for Al Jazeera, said that the authorities do not seem eager to disclose the reasons for the attack. "The bombing of Alexandria is on everyone's mind. There will be many questions whether the Salamut attack has religious roots. "

Bishop Morcos, bishop of the Coptic Church in Salamut, claims to have spoken to some witnesses of the attack. "This madman went back and forth on the train looking for Christians. Seeing a group of women and girls who were not wearing a veil, he thought they were Christian and fired, shouting 'Allahu Akbar' (God is great). " Following a few hundred Copts gathered in front of the Good Shepherd Hospital in Salamut, where the injured are hospitalized, and clashed with police, who responded with tear gas.

Online petition for the Christians of Egypt

A letter to the World Leaders. Please sign and help us get 500 thousand more signatures. After we achieve a large number of signatures, the letter will be printed with all signatures and sent to each Effective Leader in the Western World. For example, in Canada, it will be addressed to the Prime Minister, in the U.S . to the President Obama and Congressional leaders and it will be hand delivered by one of our representatives.

For: The Blood of the Christians of Egypt (the Copts)
To: The International Community, The U.N. Seceratary General, World Leaders

For 27 years, the current regime has used religion to further its grip on power. As puppeteers, our government is pining Muslims (85% of the population) against Christians. While talented and educated, Christians and Muslims have not been able to realize their full potential. As a result, recent years have witnessed radical islamic movements escalate the tension, to the point of calling for “Jihad” against non-Muslims in the world in general (recall the 911 attacks on US soil), and against Christians in Egypt.

The recent heinous attacks on the churches in Iraq (57 dead), Naga-Hammadi (7 dead), and Alexandria (23 dead), just to mention a few, are undeniable facts that radical Islamic militants are on the rise and corrupt regime give them breeding ground.

We are now standing together, shoulder to shoulder, Muslims and Christians alike, and ask for your help. We are asking that the International Community, the U.N, the U.S. Congress, the European Union, and all other freedom loving nations exert pressure on the Egyptian President Mubarak to take the following actions:

1- Allow for an investigation that is monitored by an international organization of the Alexandria Church attack to find out who the actual perpetrators are, and bring them to justice. Please note that immediately after the attack, and without any fact gathering efforts, members of the Egyptian government pointed fingers to ‘foreign elements’.

2- The immediate arrest and trial of Mohamed Salim El Awaa who has been documented to propagate and incite hatred and violence all over Egyptian media which resulted in the latest attacks on Coptic Churches.

3- The immediate firing of the Minister of Interior who not only failed to protect Christians, but also is responsible for the killing of two protestors in Al Umraniah three weeks prior. Under his watch security forces have beaten protesters, attacked and assaulted women, and rigged elections.

4- The passing of, and without delay, the “Unified Law for Building Places of Worship” so Christians can build badly needed places of worship.

5- The immediate arrest and trial of those security forces responsible for the killing of Copts in Al Umraniah, as well as those responsible for the killing of Copts in Naga-Hammadi, El Kosheh, Abu Kurkas and many other areas where Christians fell victims to religious violence.

6- The passing of, and without delay, the “Anti Discrimination Law” and making it a crime to discriminate based on religion, color, gender, race/ethnicity, national origin, disability, or age.

7- Changing the elections laws so that parliamentary elections are ran by ‘A List’ rather than the current system to allow all Egyptians to have representations of their parliament, instead of the current one party system.

8- Modifying all public education material including the removal of all mandated Islamic texts for non-Muslims, and religious hatred and incitement against Christians, Jews, Bahaiis, or any other sects, and replacing this material with topics that teach children the values of democracy, human rights, religious freedom, openness, and diversity.

9- In accordance to the constitution the above will not be possible to enforce in the Egyptian courts without, modifying the second article of the Egyptian constitution which contradicts the civil liberty and rights of all non-Muslims in Egypt.

In short we are asking for basic human rights, equality, and prosperity for all Egyptians living side by side in a democratic and free country. We are confident that if Egypt becomes a democratic and fair country, the entire world will benefit from what the Egyptians can offer.


Click here to sign the petition

Pope Shenouda mulls canceling Christmas celebrations

Pope Shenouda ended his spiritual mediation at St. Bishoy Monastery in Wadi Notroun to go back to the Cathedral's headquarters in Abbasiya on Sunday, meanwhile mulling whether or not to cancel Coptic Christmas celebrations.

Some church leaders requested that the Jan. 7 Coptic Christmas celebrations be cancelled after the bombing of a church in Alexandria that left 21 dead and 97 injured.

The Pope met on Sunday the Grand Sheikh of Al-Azhar Ahmed Al-Tayeb, the Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa and Minister of Religious Endowments Hamdy Zaqzouq.

The Pope has not yet made a final decision regarding Christmas celebrations, while some church leaders think it is necessary to hold the celebration on time.

"The Pope will meet with church officials to address the incident and to reach a final decision regarding the cancellation of the celebrations," the sources added.

Bishop Basanti of Helwan and Maasara told Daily News Egypt that there is a disagreement among church leaders over the possible cancellation.

"The Pope is investigating the matter, and he will take the final decision."

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Egyptian security guards withdrew one hour before Church blast

AINA

The car explosion that went off in front of Saints Coptic Orthodox Church in Alexandria killed 21 and injured 96 parishioners who were attending a New Year's Eve Mass. According to church officials and eyewitnesses, there are many more victims that are still unidentified and whose body parts were strewn all over the street outside the church. The body parts were covered with newspapers until they were brought inside the church after some Muslims started stepping on them and chanting Jihadi chants (video showing dead bodies and limbs covered with newspapers in the street).

According to eyewitnesses, a green Skoda car pull up outside the church shortly after midnight. Two men got out , one of them talked shortly on his mobile phone, and the explosion occurred almost immediately after they left the scene. On the back of the Skoda was a sticker with the words "the rest is coming" (video of car explosion and Muslims shouting "Allah Akbar").

It was reported that the bomb, locally made, had 100KG of explosives in addition to having nails, glass and iron balls inside. The strength of it not only caused glass panes to be shattered in all the neighborhood, but also made body parts fly into the building's fourth floor, and to the mosque facing the church.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility but officials hastily blamed either Al-Qaida or the Israeli Mousad of being behind the blast, but none of them mentioned the Egyptian state security which is viewed by Copts as the real culprit.

To clear his security forces of negligence, the Minister of Interior said that the blast was an "individual" case, caused by a single suicide terrorist detonating his vest, and has nothing to do with an exploding car. The governor of Alexandria claimed the attack as being aimed at Muslims and Christians alike.

After the blast, traumatized Copts were angered by chants of "Allah Akbar" from Muslims and began hurling stones at the mosque. Immediately security forces which were absent during the car blast and the ensuing events, appeared and starting shooting tear gas at the Copts, and they in turn hurled stones at them, said an eyewitness. Fifteen Copts were rounded up from their homes by the authorities....

Eyewitnesses confirmed that security forces guarding the church withdrew nearly one hour before the blast, leaving only four policemen and an officer to guard such a big church and nearly 2000 people attending the midnight mass. "Normally they would have waited until the mass was over," said el-Gezeiry. He also commented on the Muslim's schadenfreude at the massacre at the church, who were heard chanting "Allah Akbar."...

On January 6 2010, just before the Christmas Eve Massacre in Nag Hammadi, security withdrew its forces from guarding the church a couple of hours before the shooting of the Coptic congregation took place.

Attorney Mamdouh Nakhla, Head of Al-Kalema Human Rights Center, wondered if state security is an accomplice or just too cowardly to confront the Islamists in Egypt who carried out the Church massacre. "The crime is local and those who committed it are known, in addition there was a demonstration on the same day using the same rhetoric like al-Qaida. The Al Mujahedeen website threatens to repeat the attack in more churches. The site has addresses of churches and even how to make a bomb. Does security not know about it?"

"Anyone who says that it was a foreign or Israeli plot is trying to play down the crime and is trying to clear those murderers of this massacre, and I consider them their accomplices," said Nakhla.

Nakhla said that he was preparing a complaint to be presented to President Mubarak asking for the resignation of Interior Minister Habib el Adly for failing in his duty of protecting the Copts, and for not telling the truth by saying that it was a suicide attack by one individual, when everyone could see the detonated car, just to clear his security personnel of the responsibility of letting the Skoda park in front of the church. "This 100KG bomb could not have been transported by one individual as the Interior Minister wants us to believe."...

Endless Islamic suppression and humiliation of Egyptian Christians. Call for Ethiopian solidarity

In a sinister, provocative and vile act that further highlights the bigotry of the lawless land of Egypt under the rule of Mubarak, the Islamists swine converted a four storey dwelling into a mosque directly opposite the Church of St. Mary and St. Michaels in Talbiya. This is the same church that the Egyptian security force attacked in a military style offensive on 24 November resulting in the murder of four Copts by the Egyptian security force. A licence to Kill and murder Copts.

The Giza Governorate in their pathetic discriminatory fashion did not raise an eye brow when the Islamists converted "overnight" a house facing the church into a mosque. If you are wondering, no the local governor did not send an army to treat the Islamists the same way they treated the Christians of Egypt. This new Mosque, proves beyond any doubt that the church was attacked because islamic neighbours do NOT want a church in that area, despite there been 1 million copts with no place of worship.

The new so-called "Ekhlass" mosque was converted secretly Thursday evening when a cloth sign was hastily hung outside a 4 story house. It was then used on Friday morning, when over 3000 Muslims prayed there, despite the presence of a large mosque on the other side of the bridge, not far from the new mosque. Apparently the owner of the house, which is still under construction, donated it.
The Governor under the Mubarak Regime did not say a word, and because they are Islamic swine, they did not need a permit the same way the Christians are forced to wait years for a presidential approval to build a Mosque.

"Of course the new mosque did not have to get a building license, local council or state security permission, as is the case with churches," said Coptic activist Mark Ebeid.

This perverted act was designed to prevent the Coptic church ever been approved, due to the minimum distance required by law between a church and a mosque, Copts view this conversion of the house into a new mosque "as a trick on the part of the government to make the completion and use of St. Mary's Church an impossibility."

"We are devastated," said a local Copt. "This church cost the poor people 7 million Egyptian pounds, which we collected by having to go without a lot in our homes, and there comes the governor and state security, angry because we built a dome and destroy it, kill our children, leave others maimed and the rest in prison for a very long time."

There is no doubt that Mubarak is a toothless tiger and allows this blatant discrimination to occur while he sleeps peacefully.

The radical bigoted Islamists dogs need to realise there is indeed a GOD. Whilst they perversely attack the Copts in every possible way under the false premise that they are untouchable, I warn them to be very careful, for the wrath of god has no boundaries. No one is beyond the reach of GOD and nothing will save you when God Almighty unleashes his vengeance upon you. Vengeance is mine said the lord.

President Mubarak with the greatest of respect and sympathy we are aware that you have already felt the pain and anguish of loosing a loved one, when your grandson passed away in May 2009. After having experienced such pain, “How In Gods Holy name can you allow a security force to inflict such pain on other families over the construction of a place of worship? (May God Have mercy upon the soul of your grandson and grant him eternal peace)

To add to the ridicule, pain, anguish and discrimination you sit by and allow the islamists to convert a house in to a mosque, where is the equal treatment. Where is the security force enforcing the rule of law?

The world at large is witnessing the Islamists abuse towards non Muslims. While the Coptic Christians may appear weak and defenceless to the Islamists, beware Jesus is there shepherd and guardian, and in his own time he will make Egypt aware of his benevolent existence. The Pharaoh treated Moses in the same way that your regime is treating the Christians, and we all now the end result of that belligerence. The world thought the Muslim Brotherhood were the greatest threat to non Muslims, how wrong we were. Your regime and it its bigoted attitude towards non Muslims is the venomous threat towards non Muslims.

The so-called Islamic republic of Egypt has only 1678 churches, but over 77674 mosques.

Christian Churches: 1678
Muslim Mosques: 77674

In addition Egypt is the country with the most number of mosque in the entire world.

Are the Islamists that desperate to prevent the construction of a church, that they can circumvent laws and erect or convert a Mosque at whim with no regard for laws and no action by your GOVERNMENT?

The Egyptian Government is proving itself to be a disgraceful entity intent on annihilation of the Copts. The Copts do not fear you or your Islamic government. We fear God almighty, and no one can circumvent God.

President Mubarak, Copts and Christians worldwide implore your immediate and personal intervention in this disgraceful and abusive conduct by your government officials. The ball is in your court. You are the leader and President, show some leadership and take control of the country that you have been entrusted with in your twilight years.

“Church building in Egypt is still partly governed by the Haayoni Decree of 1856, when Egypt was under Ottoman rule. After gaining independence in 1922, Egypt abolished all laws except for the Hamayouni Decree, which required the permission of the king or the president to build a church. In addition, in 1934 the Interior Minister, Al-Ezaby Pacha, issued a decree that stipulated 10 conditions that must be met prior to issuance of a presidential decree permitting the construction of a church. The conditions include the requirement that the distance between a church and a mosque be not less than 100 meters and the approval of the neighboring Muslim community.

Additional considerations or conditions are the number of Christians in the area and whether or not the proposed church is near the Nile, public utility or a railway.

The new Coptic Church of St. Mary and St. Michael's, in Talbiya, Giza, was the scene on November 24 of security forces fire and using tear gas on women, children and youth who were present at the church, in order to halt construction of the church and demolish the building (video). The clashes between security and the Copts resulted in the death of three Coptic men from bullet wounds and a four year old child from a tear gas being thrown inside the chapel. More than 79 Copts were wounded, some severely, and 157 people including women and children, were all charged, with premeditated murder of a police officer, assaulting security officers, rioting, theft and destruction of public property” (AINA 11-30-2010). Sounds exactly like the conduct of Mohammed their so called prophet.

Our Heart Felt appreciation to AINA and Mary Abdelmasih for alerting the world to the disgraceful conduct of Islam towards the Copts.

Let the actions of Egypt serve as a warning to every Non Muslim Land in the world.

Beware of the Perversion and abuse of Islam.

Maybe the entire world should Ban any construction of any new mosques until such time islamic countries like egypt can prove they will treat non muslims equally and equitably, otherwise for the love of sanity, spare yourselves the pain and suppress islam in your homelands.

To Ethiopia: Learn from Egypt, do what your brave forefathers used to do: Ethiopia should start dismantling all the Mosques built in Addis Ababa after 1989

To the USA: do not be fools, say absolutely NO to the ground zero Mosque and wake up to yourselves.

Enough is enough, we are sick of the bullshit that Islam is a peaceful religion, who the hell are you kidding.

If any of you actually believe the crap we are been pedalled and actually think islam is peaceful, PLEASE go live in egypt and get a reality check.

Christian protester killed in clashes in Egypt

CNN

A Christian protester was killed and dozens others were wounded Wednesday in violent clashes with police that erupted over permission to build a church here.

Egyptian police fired tear gas. The 150 demonstrators answered with Molotov cocktails.

In the aftermath of the melee, the ground in front of a government building in suburban Giza was littered with rocks and knocked-over potted plants.

An Interior Ministry spokesman said 93 people were arrested.

Tensions have been running high between Egypt's Muslim majority and minority Christians who make up about 9 percent of the people.

Copts, who are adherents of an Egyptian sect of Christianity, complain of discrimination, including the lack of freedom to build houses of worship. The government denies those accusations.

However, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom has expressed concern that the Egyptian government and media have deliberately promoted sectarian friction ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled for December.

"We've seen a clear uptick in recent weeks of incitement coming from media outlets and clerics espousing sectarian hatred and violence," said Leonard Leo, chairman of the independent, bi-partisan commission. "This kind of rhetoric goes too far and stokes the fire of extremists looking for ammunition to justify violent acts against religious minorities."

The commission said that earlier this month, ten Coptic Christian homes and several businesses were burned and looted in Qena province in southern Egypt following rumors of a romantic relationship between a Christian man and Muslim woman.

Security officials imposed a curfew and arrested several Muslims, the commission said.

"Sure! We get killed because we want to build a church in their land BUT, they have the balls to build a mosque where they killed all those people and be animal enough to ask for 911 money. What a mentality these idots have!"

MORE

Muslims torch Christian homes in Southern Egypt

Muslims set fire overnight to at least 10 houses belonging to Coptic Christians in a village in southern Egypt over rumors that a Christian resident had an affair with a Muslim girl, security officials said Tuesday.

The officials said security forces have sealed off the village of al-Nawahid in Qena province, some 290 miles south of Cairo, to prevent the violence from spreading to neighboring towns. They said several people were arrested.

The attacks started after locals spotted a young Copt and a Muslim girl together at night inside the village cemetery, the officials said. They added that both were put under police custody as authorities investigate.

MORE

Egyptian security attempts to stop construction of Church

AINA

Thousands of Copts staged a sit-in inside and outside the Church of the St. Mary in Talbiya, in the Pyramids area, since the morning of November 11, to protest the storming of the church premises by dozens of security forces to stop construction work and demolish stairs and toilets inside the church, despite the church having obtained the necessary permits.

As soon as news of the arrival of security forces at the church became known, hundreds of Copts arrived to congregate. The angry protesters vowed to remain in the church, having heard that security is waiting for them to leave the premises so as to come back and seal it off. They said they are adamant that this is their church and no one is going to stop them from praying there. “Even if President Mubarak himself comes, the church building will go on,” said Mansour el-Sharkawy in the interview. “They are just finding excuses to put their foot in, then start demolishing the church.”

More than one million Copts live in the Talbiya area, without a single church to serve them, having to travel for miles every Sunday with their children to the nearest church. The protesters pointed out that the area is full of mosques without licenses, but when it comes to the Copts, they toil for years to obtain a permit for a church, then security comes out with some sort of excuse to stop them from praying there.

The standoff started on Thursday morning, when the Omrania local authorities committee came under the pretext of completing the papers for the construction works and found that builders were building a second staircase, as well as toilets, which they considered to be in violation of the permit granted. “It was the Civil Defense authorities who asked the church to erect a second staircase to relieve congestion inside the church in case of emergencies and the necessary permit amendments were made,” said Shehata, adding that “if a fire broke out, how do you get hundreds of people out of church with just one staircase, and if women and children want to use the toilets, where should they go?”

After the local authorities left the church, five priests and the contractor went to the local authorities to solve the problem, but were unsuccessful. After their return, security forces arrived with their vehicles.

According to Shehata they were in church when the security forces arrived in huge numbers, to force them to stop construction. “As a means of intimidation, the forces tried to break the church door down, arrest the builders and take away the children as young as seven years old who were present at church. One of the children, a 7 year-old girl named Marina, was terrorized by officers and their rifles. She sobbed and begged one officer, saying “I beg of you uncle, let us live, We don’t want to die, for God’s sake.” A ten-year-old Coptic boy, a nephew of the church contractor, was on his way to church, but was detained and asked by security to get into their car. He was later released.

“They wanted to get the women out of the building, so that they can arrest the builders and church youth who were helping them,” Shehata said. “They are just finding excuses to prevent the building of the church; but the builders are still working and nothing will stop them.” Land for the church was bought over 20 years ago, but the necessary permit to build the Church was granted only six years ago, but it was stopped by the security authorities. This year President Mubarak was approached and he granted another decree to build the church.

“I would like to know what wrong have we committed, we are just asking for our rights to have a place of worship,” said Shehata to Coptic activist Miriam Ragey. “The moment the Muslims saw the Church domes being built, they went mad,” she added.

It was said that when Muslims learned of the construction of the church, they started dumping rubbish on the land to be used for the church.

On September 15, 2010, an Islamic Jihadist Forum called Islamic Atahadi (Challenge) Network, which is said to be an affiliate of Al-Qaida, published on its website under the title “Images of the Church under construction in the Pyramids and how to demolish it, in retaliation for Camelia.” Camelia is the priest’s wife, falsely rumored by Muslims to have converted to Islam and subsequently “abducted” by the Coptic Church.

The Forum told its members showing photos of the church’s construction and instructions on how to demolish the St. Mary’s Church in Talbiya, Pyramids: “An easy and affordable way for the demolition of the church before its completion, no need for demonstrations, no need for the use of weapons or explosives, you only need to introduce certain quantities of sugar, yes normal sugar.” They went on to explain how to introduce reasonable quantities of sugar inside the forms prepared for pouring the columns, “Because sugar affects concrete and cancels the chemical reaction which makes the sand and gravel hold together with the cement.” They advised in their the step by step instructions that timing was very important in the process; the best time being immediately before pouring the roof”.

On the morning of November 12 it was reported that security prevented the entry of bricks and sand to the Church site. The congregation, who were still guarding the church, said they got threats published on the Internet, that their girls will be abducted, and to keep them indoors. Priests at St. Mary’s Church refused to make any statements, in order to avoid a clash with security and on the instructions of Bishop Theodosius of Giza, who is expected to return from Germany this evening, to resolve the Church crisis.

Coptic Christians Voicing Frustration With White House As Persecution Widens in Egypt

Ethiopia is probably the only nation that could stop this madness by showing strong solidarity of noteworthy with the suffering brothers and sisters of Egypt. Ethiopia should stop allowing new mosques to be built in its territories, unless there is some sort of reciprocity on the part of moslem states. This is a very serious issue!


THE NEW YORK SUN

The leaders of Coptic Christians, whose community is facing growing persecution in Egypt, say they have been unsuccessful in efforts to gain a hearing from the White House or other parts of the Obama administration.

Heightened persecution of Egypt’s 12 million Christians coupled with growing power and prestige of their Coptic Diaspora in America and Australia is leading to new political efforts here. Educated and skilled Egyptian Copts who migrated in large numbers in recent decades are talking to Congress, organizing lobbies, and making other efforts to be heard.

They say they are frustrated by the current administration in Washington, particularly after President Obama’s overture to the Muslim world via a speech at Cairo. In the speech Mr. Obama President apologized for America’s misdeeds to Muslims, stating that he came “to seek a new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world.” Coptic leaders say that even while reaching out to Muslims the administration has turned a deaf ear to the pleas Arab Christian minority in the very country where he delivered his apology to Muslims.

“The Obama administration’s benign neglect of Arab Christians, is putting freedoms and human rights in the whole Middle East at risk,” is the way it was put in an interview with the Sun by the president of the U.S. Copts Association, Michael Meunier, who is headquartered in Washington “Friendships with Muslims has been the Obama Administration’s opening theme from his first day in office and in that famed Cairo speech in which he extended a hand to all Muslims in partnership.”

Mr. Meunier added that that the president’s failure to speak as extensively about the persecution of Arab Christians was a departure from American policy and a grave error. “We have no problems with American friendships with Islam and Muslims, but it cannot be accomplished at the expense of our rights as Egyptian Christians and Arab Christians, and as the very lives of our people there are endangered,” Mr. Meunier told the Sun.

One area of complaint by the Copt community is a law banning the repair or construction of churches without a “presidential decree.” The measure, known as the Hamayuni Law, is based on an 1856 Ottoman decree but was rarely enforced in Egypt under the monarchial dynasty overthrown by army officers in 1952.

Indeed, until the coup that put Gamal Abdel Nasser in power in 1952, Christian communities in Egypt  — including Catholics, Protestants, Armenians, Greeks and Italians in addition to the Copts —  enjoyed a climate of moderate Islam as the country westernized itself.

Because Christianity in Egypt is so ancient, preceding Islam by seven centuries, the country is a repository of multiple centuries-old churches, part of its international cultural heritage. As attractions for tourists, they rival the Pharos heritage.  Those churches benefit somewhat as tourist sites, getting a measure of protection by the state. Elsewhere in Egypt, smaller, ordinary churches are burning. Because of the Hamayuni Law, the churches that are attacked or burned down remain gone.

Copts say they are down to 2,524 churches now, down from more than 3,000 churches in the early 1950s. The bigger problem is not only that of systematic destruction of churches but the inability to replace the losses and build more to keep up with the normal growth of the Christian population.

The squeeze has become bad enough that Copts have often have to travel far distances outside of their towns for religious services for baptism, marriage, funerals, and regular mass.

Since 1971 only 37  “presidential decrees” were issued to build new churches and a further 34 decrees for menial repairs or refurbishments, including absurd things like replacing broken windows, across all of Egypt.

Both the regimes of Presidents Al Sadat and Mubarak revived the Hamayuni Law, refusing or ignoring applications by Christians to repair, rebuild or erect  churches. Egypt’s parliament, which is led by Mr. Mubarak’s National Party, has refused multiple proposals to write off the law or cancel it. Christian landowners need official permits to build a church. Muslims, by contrast, need no such permissions from the state, the presidency, or the government to build mosques anywhere in Egypt.

As a result, thousands new mosques, some starting as nothing more than storefront shops, have been established over the past 30 years. Most were funded with Saudi money. As the expansion of Islamic houses of prayer proceeds in Egypt , Christians there remain frozen in place.

Sectarian outbursts, which always end up in attacks on churches, are diminishing their numbers. Nagaa Hamadi is close to Luxor the fabled capital of ancient Egypt where several dynasties of Pharos ruled, a place replete with splendid ancient sites and a region of the Deep Nile Valley South, where millions of Coptic Christians live and work as merchants, landowners and businessmen.

Attacks on those Coptic Christians and their shops in Luxor, as well as in major cities like Cairo and Alexandria, are now monthly occurrences. Their employees are mugged, robbed, stabbed, and occasionally shot and killed, while their establishments are damaged or destroyed. The Islamists’ objective is to drive Copts out of the business of tourism and commerce,

That objective is voiced openly by advocates of the Moslem Brotherhood, who voice the ambition in weekly sermons, as well as over the airwaves by such broadcasters as the Qatari Al Jazeera and the Suadi Al Arabia television networks. Both networks keep a large contingent of reporters in Cairo and carry a stream of anti-Christian speeches and news programming. Anti-Christian exhortations are far from discreet; they are made openly on loud speakers in mosques on Fridays across Egypt, even in Christian neighborhoods.

Imams routinely urge Muslims to boycott Christians in business and social gatherings, cross the street to avoid mingling with them, refrain from shaking hands with them, or joining them in business ventures.

Much of this is reported and written about in the press, including in the government owned Al Ahram, the largest Arab daily newspaper, which has a contingent of liberal writers. The Coptic church routinely files complaints to the police. Yet to date, such complaints have been largely ignored. The government has been either unable, or unwilling, to challenge, stop, or question radical imams.

Luxor itself came to the world’s attention in November 1997, but only when Islamists massacred 62 Swiss tourists in a bloody attack. The ongoing dispossession and massacres of thousands of Egyptian Christians in and around the rest of Egypt, has yet to receive much attention, while the government dismisses each attack as an “individual incident.