Morsi Appoints Governor Linked to Terror in Egypt

Egypt and Ethiopia agree to bridge dam divide

Ethiopia and Egypt have agreed to hold further talks on the impact of a huge Ethiopian dam project to quell tensions between the two countries over water-sharing.

“We agreed that we will start immediately on consultations at both the technical level… and the political level,” Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr told reporters after meeting in Addis Ababa with his Ethiopian counterpart Tedros Adhanom on Tuesday.

The countries have been embroiled in a heated dispute after Ethiopia began diverting the Blue Nile River last month for the construction of the 6,000 megawatt Grand Renaissance Dam.

The Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi had said earlier that “all options are open” over construction of the dam because of concerns about the impact on downstream water levels.

But Amr and Tedros said relations between the two countries remained ”brotherly” and that they would continue engaging on the impact of the dam.

Amr said previous statements had been made “in the heat of the moment”.

‘Swim together’

“Both ministers stressed the need to continue the dialogue and communication with each other,” they said in a joint statement.

We have two options, either to swim or sink together. I think Ethiopia chooses, and so does Egypt, to swim together.

Tedros Adhanom, Ethiopia FM

“We have two options, either to swim or sink together. I think Ethiopia chooses, and so does Egypt, to swim together,” Tedros said.

An international panel has issued a report outlining the dam’s impact on water levels.

The report has not been made public, but Ethiopia has said the report confirms that the impact on water levels are minimal.

Both nations agreed to “ask for further studies to ascertain the effects of the dam, not only the safety of the dam, the environmental effects, but also
the effects of the dam on the downstream countries,” Amr said, adding that
consultations involve Sudan as well as Ethiopia and Egypt.

About 86 percent of Nile water flowing to Egypt originates from the Blue
Nile out of Ethiopia, and Cairo has said the construction of the dam is a
security concern.

Ethiopia’s parliament ratified a controversial treaty last week ensuring its access to Nile water resources, replacing a colonial-era agreement that granted Egypt and Sudan the majority of water rights.

Biggest hydroelectric dam

The new deal allows upstream countries to implement irrigation and hydropower projects without first seeking Egypt’s approval.

Ethiopia is building the $ 4.2bn Grand Renaissance Dam in order to generate electricity for export to neighbouring countries, including Kenya and Djibouti.

The Blue Nile joins the White Nile in the Sudanese capital Khartoum to form the Nile, which then flows through Egypt.

Politics over Nile waters are complex, with its basin including 11 countries with the river travelling about 6,695 km from headwaters in Rwanda and Burundi to the Mediterranean, according to the regional Nile Basin Initiative (NBI).

Ministers from the 10-nation NBI are due to meet on Thursday in the South Sudanese capital Juba for annual talks “on the status of the Nile cooperation and how to move it forward”, according to a statement from the organisation.

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Syria and Egypt Can’t Be Fixed

Syria and Egypt are dying. They were dying before the Syrian civil war broke out and before the Muslim Brotherhood took power in Cairo. Syria has an insoluble civil war and Egypt has an insoluble crisis because they are dying. They are dying because they chose not to do what China did: move the better part of a billion people from rural backwardness to a modern urban economy within a generation. Mexico would have died as well, without the option to send its rural poor – fully one-fifth of its population – to the United States.

It was obvious to anyone who troubled to examine the data that Egypt could not maintain a bottomless pit in its balance of payments, created by a 50% dependency on imported food, not to mention an energy bill fed by subsidies that consumed a quarter of the national budget. It was obvious to Israeli analysts that the Syrian regime’s belated attempt to modernize its agricultural sector would create a crisis as hundreds of thousands of displaced farmers gathered in slums on the outskirts of its cities. These facts were in evidence early in 2011 when Hosni Mubarak fell and the Syrian rebellion broke out. Paul Rivlin of Israel’s Moshe Dayan Center published a devastating profile of Syria’s economic failure in April 2011. [1]

Sometimes countries dig themselves into a hole from which they cannot extricate themselves. Third World dictators typically keep their rural population poor, isolated and illiterate, the better to maintain control. That was the policy of Mexico’s Institutional Revolutionary Party from the 1930s, which warehoused the rural poor in Stalin-modeled collective farms called ejidos occupying most of the national territory. That was also the intent of the Arab nationalist dictatorships in Egypt and Syria. The policy worked until it didn’t. In Mexico, it stopped working during the debt crisis of the early 1980s, and Mexico’s poor became America’s problem. In Egypt and Syria, it stopped working in 2011. There is nowhere for Egyptians and Syrians to go.

It is cheap to assuage Western consciences by sending some surplus arms to the Syrian Sunnis. No-one has proposed a way to find the more than US$ 20 billion a year that Egypt requires to stay afloat. In June 2011, then French president Nicholas Sarkozy talked about a Group of Eight support program of that order of magnitude. No Western (or Gulf State) government, though, is willing to pour that sort of money down an Egyptian sinkhole.

Egypt remains a pre-modern society, with nearly 50% illiteracy, a 30% rate of consanguineal marriage, a 90% rate of female genital mutilation, and an un- or underemployment rate over 40%. Syria has neither enough oil nor water to maintain the bazaar economy dominated by the Assad family.

Both were disasters waiting to happen. Economics, to be sure, set the stage but did not give the cues: Syria’s radical Sunnis revolted in part out of enthusiasm for the ascendancy of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and partly in fear of Iran’s ambition to foster Shi’ite ascendancy in the region.

It took nearly two years for the chattering classes to take stock of Egypt’s economic disaster. The New York Times’ Thomas Friedman, the benchmark for liberal opinion on foreign policy, gushed like an adolescent about the tech-savvy activists of Tahrir Square in early 2011. Last week he visited a Cairo bakery and watched the Egyptian poor jostling for subsidized bread. Some left hungry. [2] As malnutrition afflicts roughly a quarter of Egyptians in the World Health Organization’s estimate, and the Muslim Brotherhood government waits for a bumper wheat crop that never will come, Egypt is slowly dying. Emergency loans from Qatar and Libya slowed the national necrosis but did not stop it.

This background lends an air of absurdity to the present debate over whether the West should arm Syria’s Sunni rebels. American hawks like Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham, to be sure, argue for sending arms to the Sunnis because they think it politically unwise to propose an attack on the Assad regime’s master, namely Iran. The Obama administration has agreed to arm the Sunnis because it costs nothing to pre-empt Republican criticism. We have a repetition of the “dumb and dumber” consensus that prevailed during early 2011, when the Republican hawks called for intervention in Libya and the Obama administration obliged. Call it the foreign policy version of the sequel, “Dumb and Dumberer”.

Even if the Sunnis could eject the Assad family from Damascus and establish a new government – which I doubt – the best case scenario would be another Egypt: a Muslim Brotherhood government presiding over a collapsed economy and sliding inevitably towards state failure. It is too late even for this kind of arrangement. Equalizing the military position of the two sides will merely increase the body count. The only humane thing to do is to partition the country on the Yugoslav model, but that does not appear to be on the agenda of any government.

By David P Goldman
http://www.atimes.com

Notes:

1. See Israel the winner in the Arab revolts, Asia Times Online, April 12, 2011.

2. Egypt’s Perilous Drift, New York Times, June 15, 2013.

David P Goldman’s book How Civilizations Die (and why Islam is Dying, Too) was published by Regnery Press in September 2011. A volume of his essays on culture, religion and economics, It’s Not the End of the World – It’s Just the End of You, also appeared this fall, from Van Praag Press.

Syria Condemns Egypt for Cutting Diplomatic Relations

(BBC) — Syria has condemned Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi for cutting off diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Mr Morsi had joined a “choir of conspiracy and incitement led by America”, an “official source” told the state-run Sana news agency.

Mr Morsi also demanded that the Lebanese Shia movement Hezbollah withdraw from the fighting in Syria.

Some Sunni Muslim clerics have urged support for rebels in Syria.

Addressing a rally in support of the Syrian opposition on Saturday, Mr Morsi said that Syria’s embassy in Cairo would be shut and Egypt’s representative withdrawn from Damascus.

He also called on the international community to impose a no-fly zone over the country.

Syria said the move was “irresponsible” and was part of an attempt to “implement a Muslim Brotherhood agenda” designed to deflect attention from Egypt’s internal problems.

Sunni clerics from several Arab countries issued a statement after a meeting in Cairo on Thursday calling for “jihad to help our brothers in Syria by sending them money and arms”.

“The flagrant aggression of the Iranian regime, of Hezbollah and of their sectarian allies in Syria amounts to a declaration of war against Islam and Muslims,” the statement went on.

Also on Sunday, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad congratulated Hassan Rouhani on his election as president of Iran.

Mr Assad reiterated Syrian’s “willingness to continue improving friendly relations between the two countries”, Sana reported.

The UK’s Independent newspaper reported that Iranian officials had decided to send 4,000 troops to back Mr Assad’s forces in Syria. Iran has been one of Mr Assad’s key international backers.

A recent report from a US think tank said Iran had been providing training in internal security and counter-insurgency operations to the Syrian government, as well as providing material supplies. Russian anger

Hezbollah’s involvement in the conflict in Syria was also condemned by the Arab League and the UN Human Rights Council after the Lebanese movement’s role in the retaking of the key town of Qusair from rebel forces earlier this month.

Syrian pro-government media have reported that the military is preparing for a major offensive on the northern city of Aleppo after recapturing Qusair.

On Saturday the US announced it would keep Patriot missiles and F-16 fighter jets in Jordan after a military exercise, angering Russia.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned that any attempt to use the F-16s to impose a no-fly zone over Syria would violate international law.

Moscow and Washington are attempting to persuade the government and opposition to attend an international conference to find a political solution to the two-year-old conflict which the UN says has left more than 93,000 people dead.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is due to meet UK Prime Minister David Cameron on Sunday before holding talks with US President Barack Obama at a G8 conference in Northern Ireland on Monday.

The leaders are expected to discuss Syria, including the US decision this week to begin sending weapons to rebel forces.

Egypt cuts diplomatic ties with Syria

Mohamed Morsi, Egypt’s president, has announced that Egypt is cutting off diplomatic relations with Syria and has ordered that Damascus Embassy in Cairo to be closed.

Morsi told thousands of supporters in a rally held on Saturday that his government is also withdrawing the Egyptian charge d’affaires from Damascus.

Morsi also called on Lebanon’s Hezbollah armed group to leave Syria, where the group has been fighting alongside troops loyal to embattled President Bashar al-Assad against the rebel forces.

“We stand against Hezbollah in its aggression against the Syrian people,” Morsi said. “Hezbollah must leave Syria – these are serious words. There is no space or place for Hezbollah in Syria.”

The Egyptian president also called on the international community to implement a no-fly zone over Syria, where the UN says that more than 93,000 people have been killed since a popular uprising escalated into civil war more than two years ago.

The rally that Morsi addressed on Saturday was called for by hardline Islamists loyal to the Egyptian president to show solidarity with the people of Syria. However, Morsi also used the occasion to warn his opponents at home against the use of violence in mass protests planned for June 30, the anniversary of his assumption to power.

Morsi repeated the allegation that Egyptians loyal to the now-ousted regime of autocrat Hosni Mubarak were behind the planned protests and that they were working against the January 2011 uprising that toppled Mubarak.

“Some who are delusionary want to pounce on the January revolution and think that they can undermine the stability that is growing daily or undermine the resolve that people have clearly forged with their will,” he said.

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Coptic Christians Flee From Egypt to Georgia

In Egypt, violent clashes between Copts and Muslims have been on the rise since the 2011 ouster of former President Hosni Mubarak, with many Christians reportedly preferring to leave than experience continuing harassment and discrimination. Earlier this month, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom announced that Egypt “is failing to meet international religious-freedom standards.”

Copts, who classify themselves as an Orthodox Christian denomination, say that Georgia’s strong Orthodox Christian heritage — Eastern Christianity took root here in the 4th century — motivated them to make the move. The country’s relative proximity (Tbilisi is roughly a two-and-a-half-hour flight from Cairo) and reputation for relatively lax business and visa regulations also played a role.

Around 2,500 Coptic Egyptians currently live in Georgia, according to the Ministry of Justice’s Public Service Development Agency, which manages residence data. Most arrived this year and live in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi; a few hundred have settled a few hours’ drive to the west in the parliamentary seat of Kutaisi.

The focal point for the Coptic community has become a Catholic church in downtown Tbilisi that allows the Copts to use its sanctuary. Each Wednesday morning, hundreds gather for a two-and-a-half-hour mass, rich with the smell of incense, the sound of cymbals and the haunting melody of songs in Coptic and Arabic.

“We came here because in Egypt there were a lot of commercials saying ‘Welcome [to] Georgia,’” explained Samir, a young father of two, who moved to Tbilisi from Alexandria four months ago. “As it is also an Orthodox country, we thought it was the right decision to move here.”

Many more Coptic Egyptians may opt for Georgia in the near future, predicted Father Johan, a priest from Egypt’s Saint Anthony Monastery who came to Georgia in May. Land has been purchased on the outskirts of Tbilisi for a Coptic Orthodox Church, he added.

But not everything has proven to be easy.

First, there are matters spiritual. While the Copts consider themselves to be an Orthodox denomination, the leaders of the Georgian Orthodox Church do not. Theological differences separate the two, explained Father Iakob Tchitchilidze, a professor at the Georgian Orthodox Church’s Spiritual Academy. “That’s why they can’t even pray in our churches,” he elaborated, adding that the Church has “nothing against” the Copts themselves.

No doubt aware of that point of view, the Copts nevertheless want Georgian Patriarch Ilia II to bless their intended church building, according to Father Johan. As yet, the issue has not been decided. The Georgian Orthodox Church generally has not extended such blessings to other Christian denominations; in 2011, it initially strongly opposed allowing religious minorities to be registered as legal organizations.

Father Johan, though, projected that the head of the Coptic Orthodox Church, Pope Tawadros II, could pay a visit to Tbilisi to discuss the opening of a Coptic church with the patriarch.

But even if common ground can be found on doctrinal issues, there are secular matters also causing friction. Justice Minister Tea Tsulukiani has announced that the government plans to review Georgia’s liberal visa regime. While country quotas do not exist, “we are already more inclined to deny visas to people from some countries,” said Levan Samadashvili, chairperson of the Public Service Development Agency. The Ministry of Internal Affairs, which is giving a security advisory for each long-term visa demand, “has set the standards’ bar higher,” he said.

So far in 2013, Georgia had granted over 1,740 visas to Egyptian citizens, more than a seven-fold increase over the 222 visas given to Egyptians during all of 2012. Some 280 permanent residence permits so far also have been given out; 740 Egyptians already had one.

Denials also are noticeable; 290 visa and 300 residence-permit requests have been rejected so far this year. Samir, who operates a small restaurant in Tbilisi, says that he and his family are among those recently denied one-year visas. “Why? I don’t know,” he complained. “They said ‘Welcome in Georgia,’ and now they don’t renew our visas. … They are playing with our lives.”

Kyrillo, a young businessman from Alexandria who runs a household-goods store in the shabby-chic Tbilisi neighborhood of Sololaki, says the same. “So, I’m already searching on [the] Internet [for] another country where we could go,” he said. “Moreover, business doesn’t work here. People are poor.”

Many Copts come to Georgia just for a few weeks, to figure out how to open a business and to see if they can bring their family here.

Many are traders, who complain about the size of the Georgian market. At roughly 4.6 million people, Georgia is not much bigger than Egypt’s second largest city of Alexandria. Annual per capita incomes in Georgia and Egypt, however, are similar — $ 5,900 compared with $ 6,600, according to the Central Intelligence Agency World Factbook.

While those Copts interviewed by EurasiaNet.org say that they appreciate the ease with which businesses can be set up in Georgia and the lack of corruption, most claim that they hardly make any money.

“A lot are losing their savings here, so they have to go back to Egypt,” commented one young man from Cairo who has opened a car-rental company in Tbilisi.

But others are willing to wait on Georgia despite the difficulties. “I see that there are a lot of problems for us here, but, still, this is a Christian country and I hope we’ll always be welcome,” said Samuel, who runs a telecom business in the Alexandria region.

http://www.valuewalk.com

Egypt Court Fines Coptic Christian Teacher for ‘Insulting Islam’

An Egyptian court has fined a Coptic Christian teacher 100,000 pounds ($ 14,300) for insulting Islam and proselytizing at a primary school in Upper Egypt.

The case of Demiana Ebeid Abdel-Nour will be referred to the designated court, Luxor Misdemeanors Court said in a faxed statement today. The case against her is based on a complaint lodged by the parents alleging that she insulted Islam during a class, court said. Abdel-Nour was released last month on 20,000 pounds bail pending further investigation.

Romani Mourad, a Coptic Christian lawyer, was sentenced on June 1 to one year in prison in absentia and fined 10,000 pounds, also for insulting Islam and the Koran. Two days later, several human-rights groups issued a statement condemning “the rise in numbers of cases” where Copts stood accused of insulting religion. These “strongly indicate that such cases have become a weapon for religious discrimination and oppression of religious minorities, the groups said.

Egypt’s constitution, approved in a December referendum, has sparked a wave of criticism from activists and human-rights groups, arguing the charter fails to protect human rights. Article 44 in the draft prohibits insulting any prophet.

By Salma El Wardany
Bloomberg

US Waives ‘Conditional Human Rights’ in $1.3B to Egypt: National Security Cited

The Obama Administration has decided to give the Egyptian regime a pass on any human rights conditions in the latest $ 1,300,000,000 foreign aid grant, as reported by the Associated Press on June 7, 2013.

In a letter from the American Secretary of State John Kerry to the US Congress, Kerry cited national security concerns as the reason for the human rights waiver, which Congress put in place in 2011 after the overthrow of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

As mandated by Congress two years ago, any foreign aid to Egypt must be in conjunction with the nation making positive steps forward towards both truly democratic reforms and the fundamental human rights of all Egyptians.

Kerry’s rationale and examples of American national security concerns waived include:

Egyptian military’s long partnership in promoting Mideast peace.
American military aid helps protects both Egypt’s borders and the Suez Canal,
Egypt military is essential to Israeli security against extremists in Gaza and the Sinai Peninsula.

The Case Of The Copts…

Since the extremist Muslim Brotherhood (MB) has dominated the Egyptian government, the minority Coptic Christians, both the Orthodox and Catholic branches that comprise 10 percent of the population, have decried what they perceive as the Obama Administration ignoring their markedly increased persecution by Muslims.

With the MB’s slogan of “Islam is the Solution,” the Copts accuse at the hands of Mohamed Morsi’s MB government not only turning a blind eye to Muslim attacks on them, but actually having Egyptian military and police join in on the mob violence.

The Copts, who were the dominant Faith in Egypt until the Muslim conquest in 639 which eventually resulted in becoming a persecuted minority, include examples of the recent wave of violence against them:

A car bomb exploded in front of an Alexandria Coptic Orthodox Church killing at least 21 and injuring at least 79.
The worst sectarian violence occurred in 2011, when the army killed at least 24 Copts in what became known as the “Maspero Massacre.” Army vehicles charged at the protesters and reports of at least 6 protesters being crushed under armored vehicles, including one with a crushed skull, has emerged. In addition, witnesses have confirmed that military personnel were seen firing live ammunition into the protesters, an estimated 36 to 50 were reported killed, and upwards of 322 wounded.
The government response to the Maspero Massacre, Egyptian national television urged “honest Egyptians” to take to the streets to “protect the military” from Christian protesters. As a result, hundreds of people were seen wielding clubs and machetes alongside riot police chanting “the people want to bring down the Christians”, and later “Islamic, Islamic.”

Examiner.com has also covered a number of cases widely ignored by the Western media, to include:

$ 2,400,000 worth of American tear gas arrived to the MB dominated government while thousands of Copts were attacked at St. Mark’s Cathedral by troops and a Muslim mob in Cairo.
3,000 Copts were attacked and many of their homes and shops were burned over a rumored cell phone “intimate picture” of an unnamed Muslim woman.
A pregnant Coptic woman close to her delivery date was beaten by a Muslim who was angry over a new church bell recently installed in a local parish church. As Christian man came to her rescue, a riot ensued. When the police finally quelled the fisticuffs, only Christians were arrested.
Last year, a number of F-16 fighter jets and 200 M1A1 Abrams tanks were shipped to Egypt. In that single shipment, the MB government was given more M1A1 tanks than the entire US Marine Corps has in its active duty inventory.

http://www.examiner.com

Egypt jail terms for foreign NGO workers

An Egyptian court has convicted 43 non-governmental organisation (NGO) workers, including at least 16 Americans, of illegally using foreign funds to foment unrest in the country, sentencing them to up to five years in jail.

Tuesday’s verdict also ordered the closure and seizure of the offices and assets in Egypt belonging to US non-profit groups for which many of the defendants worked, including the International Republican Institute, the National Democratic Institute and Freedom House.

Most of the Americans had left the country. They include Sam LaHood, son of the US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. He received a five-year jail term.

Of the 43 defendants, 27 received five-year jail terms. Another five received two years and 11 got one year. Defendants tried in absentia typically are convicted and receive the maximum sentence but also get an automatic retrial.

The case began in early 2012 during the nearly 17 months of military rule that followed the ouster in the previous year of US ally Hosni Mubarak.

The case led to a period of tension in US-Egyptian relations, with Washington warning that, unless resolved, the case could lead to the loss of American aid.

Last week, the New York-based Human Rights Watch and 40 Egyptian rights groups said an Egyptian draft law regulating non-governmental organisations would restrict the funding and operation of independent groups.

The contentious bill, proposed by President Mohammed Morsi and currently under debate by the country’s interim legislature, would allow the state to control nonprofits’ activities as well as their domestic and international funding, HRW said.

The current form of the bill is a serious regression from earlier versions, it added.

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Egypt court rules Senate invalid

Egypt’s top court has ruled that the Islamist-dominated Senate and the panel which drew up the country’s constitution are invalid.

The Supreme Constitutional Court (SCC) on Sunday delivered its judgment on the legitimacy of the Shura Council, historically a powerless upper house which was given legislative powers last year after parliament was dissolved.

However, judicial sources told Reuters that the Shura Council would not be dissolved until a new parliament was in place.

A date has yet to be set for the elections. President Mohamed Mursi had said they could begin in October.

The court also ruled against the Islamist-dominated panel that drafted the constitution adopted by a popular referendum in December.

The case against the Shura Council is based on several challenges by lawyers of the law that governed the election of its members.

Both the upper and lower houses were elected under the same electoral law, which the SCC last year deemed invalid, prompting the dissolution of parliament.

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http://global.christianpost.com

Muslim Abducton of Young Coptic Girls in Egypt Showcased to Western Journalists

The disappearance of young Coptic girls in Egypt has been highlighted in several meetings with Western journalists by the Association of Victims of Abduction and Forced Disappearance (AVAFD).

The meetings aimed to bring the issue to the forefront of the international media and send reports to various international human rights organizations.

“The association has filed 45 complaints with the Prosecutor General and a memorandum to the military junta during its rule of the transition period, in addition to memorandums to most of the ministers of interior. It held meetings with Hossam Ghiryani, president of the National Council for Human Rights, a number of the council’s members, and a number of members of the Shura Council,” Ibraam Lewis, founder of the association, said in a statement.

Lewis noted that the association was able to register about 500 cases of Coptic girls being abducted after the revolution.

“The Association has agreed to organize a meeting with the girl returned after kidnapping in one of the provinces of Upper Egypt and the French journalist talked with her about the abduction period, which lasted for 60 days. He saw the removal of the cross from her hand,” he added.

The association met on Thursday evening with Dr. Mohamed Mohi el-Din, professor at the University of Menofiya, who is now conducting research on the status of religious minorities in Egypt that would be submitted to the European Union.

The association intends to prepare a documentary that will be produced by the BBC after receiving a call from the editors of the channel in London.

In Brotherhood’s Egypt, Blasphemy Charges Against Christians Surge Ahead

A blasphemy trial against a Christian teacher in this Egyptian city renowned for its Pharaonic monuments is among a wave of cases that have Egyptian Christians worried they can be jailed for insulting Islam on the flimsiest of evidence.

Dozens of lawyers crowded a small, hot courtroom yesterday, eager to participate in the case against Dimyana Abdel Nour, a primary school teacher from a village near Luxor. Three students accused her of insulting Islam while teaching a social studies class last month. Such blasphemy cases have become much more frequent since the 2011 uprising that brought Islamists to power in Egypt.

Ms. Abdel Nour is now in hiding, and did not attend the court hearing. Her lawyers and local activists say the case is unjust, and local Christians are watching the proceedings with worry. They say the Islamists’ rise to power, including the election of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Mohamed Morsi, has encouraged extremists to discriminate against Egyptian Christians, known as Copts, who make up around 10 percent of the population.

To them, Abdel Nour’s case is an example of an increasingly grim reality.

“This case is not just about Dimyana,” says Sarabamon El Shayeb, head of the All Saints Monastery in the village of Tud, near Abdel Nour’s family home. “It’s about organized repression of the Copts. The Islamists are giving out the accusations of blasphemy generously and openly, mostly against Christians.” Editor’s note: This paragraph has been edited to correct Sarabamon El Shayeb’s title.

Blasphemy cases occurred under former president Hosni Mubarak too, but they have increased since the uprising that toppled him. Egypt’s new constitution, drafted last year by an Islamist-led committee, criminalizes blasphemy, bolstering a pre-existing law against insulting religions. Rights groups say blasphemy laws restrict freedom of expression and are often used against minorities, but most Egyptians support such laws.

From 2011 to 2012, the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) tallied 36 accusations of blasphemy that were dealt with extra-legally, sometimes with village residents forcing the accused Christians to leave their village. In Cairo, several cases against prominent figures ended in acquittals. But in southern Egypt, where Luxor is located, all recent cases that have gone to trial have ended in convictions, according to EIPR. Throughout Egypt, most cases are brought against Christians.

EIPR’s Ishak Ibrahim says there were six blasphemy convictions in the last two years in Upper Egypt (as southern Egypt is called because of the direction the Nile flows). Last year a Coptic teacher in the city of Sohag was sentenced to six years in prison for insulting Islam and the president. During his trial, Islamist lawyers surrounded the courthouse, chanting and trying to block the defendant’s lawyers from entering. Fallout

Abdel Nour began working as a substitute teacher at the Naga El Sheikh Sultan primary school in April. Soon after she started, three students accused her of insulting Islam during a social studies lesson. They say she put her hands to her throat while mentioning Islam, as if she wanted to vomit, and then said that the late Coptic Orthodox Pope Shenouda III was better than the Prophet Mohamed.

Mostafa Mekki, the school principal, says he conducted an immediate investigation. According to his handwritten report, he questioned all students in her class, and all but the three who originally accused her denied the accusations.

Speaking in his home in the small village where the controversy began, Mr. Mekki calls the parents of all three children who accused her “extremists.” At least one of them is known for inciting sectarian strife in the past, he says. The principal said the parents were not happy with Abdel Nour, partly because she wore jeans instead of skirts, and didn’t cover her hair.

Mekki decided that the accusations against Abdel Nour were unfounded, but he canceled her temporary contract at the school anyway to calm tensions. He thought this would take care of the matter, he says. But the parents were not satisfied, and they complained to officials above Mekki. He was removed from his post as principal and transferred to an administrative job.

Mekki, who is Muslim, continues to defend Abdel Nour, despite losing his position and facing intense scrutiny himself. “If I wanted to please anyone, I would say she said it, and they would carry me on their shoulders,” he says. Local Christian activists said yesterday that he received threats because of his stance.

The public prosecutor soon filed charges against Abdel Nour for insulting Islam and inciting sectarian strife. She was imprisoned for nearly a week before she was released on $ 2,862 bail, which her lawyers say is an extravagant sum for this type of case. In a recent similar blasphemy case in Cairo, bail was set at less than $ 150. In that case, however, the defendant fled before he was convicted and sentenced.

Tharwat Bakhet Eysa, one of Abdel Nour’s lawyers, says the prosecutor questioned the three students who accused her, but did not question the 10 who denied the accusations. ‘Class-A sectarian case’

But where Abdel Nour’s lawyers see irregularities, those on the other side say the case is solid. One of the lawyers pressing the case against Abdel Nour is Abdel Hamid Senoussi, a Muslim Brotherhood leader in Luxor and former member of parliament with the Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party. He said Mekki’s investigation was flawed, and that the principal declared Abdel Nour innocent simply to end the crisis.

“The law says we should punish whoever commits blasphemy,” he says. The consequences of not taking such accusations to court are “fatal,” he adds. “It leads to tension within society. That creates dissatisfaction with the parents, which leads to violence.”

He is convinced of Abdel Nour’s guilt after reviewing the prosecutor’s investigation and talking to the families of the accusers, he said. “When the principal delayed the matter, the kids were crying because of it and because of the insult to the prophet,” he said. “Children do not lie. They don’t make up stories.”

Mr. Senoussi says he would prefer the case to end in reconciliation instead of punishment, with Abdel Nour admitting guilt and apologizing.

The father of one of the students who accused Abdel Nour of blasphemy, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, says he is also convinced that the accusations are true. He teaches at a school run by Al Azhar, the seat of Sunni Islamic learning, and also runs a small institute teaching Quranic memorization.

Speaking to the Monitor yesterday, he said that the day after the alleged blasphemy, the children were upset about the incident, calling Abdel Nour “Dabbana,” which means “fly,” in a play on her given name Dimyana.

He and Senoussi say the case has nothing to do with tensions between Christians and Muslims. “We have good relations with Christians,” Senoussi says.

RECOMMENDED: How much do you know about Egypt? Take this quiz.

But Christians in Luxor and surrounding villages say otherwise. “All Coptic teachers are scared here now that any child who fights with them could accuse them of blasphemy and drag them to court,” says Safwat Samaan Yasaa, a local rights activist.

El Shayeb, the head of the All Saints Monastery, calls Abdel Nour’s trial a “class-A sectarian case.”

“It’s a huge mistake to take this out of its sectarian context,” he says.

The night before the trial, he wore the black robes and black embroidered cap of Coptic priests as he sat in the ancient monastery. A heavy silver cross hung on a chain around his neck. “Today, despite this repression, we can live. But tomorrow, what will we do? The coming days will be much worse.”

By Kristen Chick
Christian Science Monitor

Islamists in Egypt Threaten Copts and Judicial Integrity, Says Ex-Court Official

Morsi Sheikh, former head of the Appellate Court and director of the Center for Justice and Democracy of Human Rights, stated that Copts in Egypt face continual threats and violence from Islamists.

He was commenting on one of the fathers of the children accusing Coptic teacher Demiana Abdel Nour of insulting Islam after the child’s father threatened to kill thousands of people. Her case had been postponed, prompting the father’s outburst.

“The Muslim Brotherhood and Salafis do not want justice to run its course, by threatening them, and judges often succumb to the pressure,” Sheikh told Mideast Christian News.

He added that there are Islamic elements in the Egyptian judiciary who let their religious views affect the cases they oversee after witnessing such occurrences over his 20-year career in various levels of the Egyptian judiciary.

The Sheikh went on to reveal that the discrimination against Copts by judges is readily clear. He said it is the corruption of the judges themselves, and not the judiciary, that is affecting the integrity of the Egyptian court.

He maintains that it is judges who let personal convictions and prior allegiances cloud their judgment rather than truthfully upholding and interpreting the law– especially regarding cases involving religious minorities such as Christians.

Sheikh pointed out that Gamaat Islamiyya, an Islamic political party in Egypt, now target Copts through lawsuits, unjustly accusing them of contempt of Islam, as in the case of Luxor’s teacher Demiana Ebeid Abdel Nour.

“Islamic groups pressure the Egyptian judiciary via threats and demonstrations,” he said.

He pointed to the recent high profile case involving abu-Islam where he was sentenced to four days in prison, but was released after protests and pressure from the television star’s supporters. Sheikh believes that the future of the Egyptian judiciary hangs in the balance and regards fear as one of the driving forces behind the recent response to Islamists’ demands.

The Sheikh also added that the state of the Egyptian judiciary could be seen once the verdict in the Luxor’ teacher is reached, while he is optimistic the Sheikh does feel that an arbitrary verdict will be reached as a result of ongoing Islamist pressure.

By Myles Collier
Christian Post

Egypt sends more forces over Sinai kidnapping

Egypt’s army has sent reinforcements into the Sinai Peninsula after President Mohamed Morsi said there would be no talks with fighters who abducted seven members of the security forces last week.

An army official said on Monday that the decision followed a meeting between the military leadership and Morsi, who has said he will not submit to blackmail by the kidnappers, who are demanding the release of fellow fighters jailed over attacks in 2011.

The army has deployed at least five military helicopters to el-Arish, the largest city in North Sinai, where fighters kidnapped the troops, since last night after sending dozens of armoured vehicles and personnel carriers across the Suez Canal into North Sinai early on Monday.

The reinforcements came as unknown assailants attacked a police base on Monday.

The kidnapping of Egyptian troops has highlighted the lawlessness in the peninsula and enraged security forces, who have blocked border crossings into Israel and the Gaza Strip to pressure the government into helping free their colleagues.

Presidential spokesman Omar Amer said: “All options are on the table to free the kidnapped soldiers.”

The state-run Al-Ahram newspaper said on its website that shipping in the Suez Canal had been briefly halted as the reinforcements crossed the waterway.

“Our patience has run out,” Al-Ahram quoted a military official as saying.

Presidential pledge

Morsi has met with the the Grand Sheikh of al-Azhar, Ahmed al-Tayeb and, and the Grand Mufti of Egypt, Shawky Ibrahim Allam, to discuss developments in Sinai on Monday.

The president’s office vowed in a statement late on Sunday.that authorities would secure the release of those held captive swiftly and safely and in a manner that will maintain the state’s prestige.

The statement was released after Morsi met with the minister of defence, minister of interior, head of the general intelligence, chief of staff of the armed forces, chief of operations of the armed forces and other army officials.

Morsi also said there would be no talks with “the criminals”.

The kidnappers are demanding the release of fighters convicted last year of attacks that killed seven people, six of them members of the security forces.

A video posted online on Sunday showed seven blindfolded men with their hands bound above their heads, who said they were the hostages, begging Morsi to free political detainees in Sinai in exchange for their own release.

The video, which would be the first sign of the hostages since their kidnapping, could not be independently verified.

Al-Masry Al-Youm, an independent newspaper, reported that parents and friends of the seven men who appeared in the video had confirmed their identities.

No casualties

In Monday’s attack, fighters opened fire on the riot police facility in Al-Ahrash from a truck, security officials said.

Security forces shot back at the gunmen, they said. There were no casualties.

In August last year, 16 Egyptian border guards were killed in an attack blamed on armed groups who then hijacked an armoured vehicle that they smashed across the border into Israel, where they were killed by Israeli forces.

Armed groups have expanded into a security vacuum in Sinai that the state has struggled to fill since Hosni Mubarak was swept from power in 2011.

The groups have attacked targets in North Sinai and launched raids into Israel.

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Mob Attack Copts and Their Businesses in Northern Egypt

Coptic-owned businesses and pharmacies in Menbal village, Minya in northern Egypt were attacked by a mob, resulting in extensive damage and several injuries.

“The thugs attacked my shop, assaulting it with stones. Some of the contents were damaged … they destroyed a number of Coptic-owned shops and pharmacies,” Michael Sobhi, a witness from the village, told Mideast Christian News.

“The Copts of the village couldn’t confront the thugs, as their numbers increased. They had firearms and blades, so Copts tried to avoid fighting with them,” he added.

“The thugs began the attack by insulting Copts from the village entrance and car park,” Sobhi continued. “They threatened to expel them from the village.”

Sobhi said the mob attacked Coptic citizen Ibrahim Abdou, 48, and his wife as they were returning home. Abdou suffered a cut to the forehead from a blade and his wife sustained bruises.

The Copts of the village submitted a complaint to the Matai Police Station and security forces were sent out to difuse the situation and disperse the crowd.

Christian Post

Christians Uneasy in Morsi’s Egypt

CAIRO — Wasfi Amin Wassef used to buy and sell jewelry from his shop in Cairo’s vast Khan al-Khalili bazaar. Now he mostly buys it.

Well into a third year of economic malaise following the overthrow of President Hosni Mubarak, many ordinary Egyptians are selling their most cherished possessions, including heirloom jewelry, to raise cash for a ticket that will let them start a new life abroad. Official figures or estimates are not publicly available, but anecdotal evidence suggests emigration is rising.

“The number of people who sell us their gold since the revolution has increased three times,” Mr. Wassef said during an interview this month.

Some are Muslims but most are Christians, said Mr. Wassef, a member of Egypt’s ancient Coptic Orthodox Christian minority.

Since the ouster of Mr. Mubarak in February 2011, a growing number of Copts, including some of the most successful businessmen, have left Egypt or are preparing to do so, fearing persecution by an Islamist-controlled government as much as the stagnant economy that is smothering their industries.

Among the most prominent are the heads of the Sawiris family, who for several months have been running their enormous business empire from abroad.

“Every week I learn of 10 people who are leaving or who have already left,” Mr. Wassef said. “They know that what happened to the Sawiris’ can happen to them tomorrow.”

Coptic Christians, who account for an estimated 15 percent of Egypt’s 85 million people, predate the Muslim conquest by six centuries and represent the last tile in a former mosaic of Egyptian religions, sects and ethnicities.

Economically, Coptic business leaders have punched above their weight, dominating agriculture in the preindustrial age and in modern-era trade, finance and accounting. They have blended well into Egypt’s millennia-long tapestry of demographic change, which helps explain their resiliency. As Munir Fakhry Abdelnour, a prominent Copt who has worked in business, finance and politics, put it: “There is no Coptic quarter in Egypt.”

Like other Arab leaders, Mr. Mubarak made a point of protecting minority groups to nurture loyal constituencies and patronage systems that he could leverage against his Islamist rivals. Though secular tension sometimes turned violent during his 30 years in power, it was generally contained by the state security apparatus.

Since the election a year ago of a government dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood, however, attacks on Copts and their institutions have multiplied. In October 2011, for example, following the burning of a Coptic church in Upper Egypt, security forces clashed with Christian protesters: 28 people, mostly Copts, were killed. Last month, Muslim extremists laid siege to Egypt’s main Coptic Cathedral in Khusus, a small town north of Cairo. The assault, which according to witnesses and video footage the police did little to prevent, followed a funeral for five men who died days earlier in clashes with militants.

Critics blame President Mohamed Morsi and his government for failing to quell the violence. In an editorial last month, the state-owned Al-Ahram Weekly called the killings at Khosous “a symptom of irresponsibility in high places, of indifference that can lead the state to the verge of collapse,” while the Copts’ spiritual leader, Pope Tawadros II, accused Mr. Morsi of “delinquency” and “misjudgments.”

Mr. Morsi, a longstanding member of the Muslim Brotherhood who resigned from the group before taking office, issued a statement of regret following the attacks that struck many observers as perfunctory. Last week, he pointedly sent a low-level functionary as his representative to the Easter Mass led by the pope.

Mingled with the threat of physical violence is the fear among Coptic business leaders that they are being singled out for punitive enforcement of the tax code.

Orascom Construction Industries, the flagship in the Sawiris family business group and the largest publicly traded Egyptian company, is alleged by the finance minister to have failed to pay taxes on profit realized from its 2007 sale of a cement unit to the French cement maker Lafarge. The charge confounded analysts; Egypt has no capital gains tax, they point out, and O.C.I. took the cement company public two months before its sale precisely to benefit from tax incentives aimed at encouraging companies to list their shares.

Still, in April, O.C.I. announced that it would pay 7 billion Egyptian pounds, or $ 1 billion, to Cairo’s tax authority and prosecutors promptly lifted a travel ban on the company’s chairman, Nassef Sawiris, and his father, Onsi. O.C.I., meanwhile, is pursuing plans announced in January for a share swap with its Dutch unit, OCI NV, which would effectively shift trading in the company’s stock to Amsterdam.

The telecommunications tycoon Naguib Sawiris, the eldest and most outspoken of the Sawiris brothers, has all but liquidated his assets in Egypt. In October 2010, he signed a $ 6.5 billion deal that merged Orascom Telecom into the Amsterdam-based telecommunications company VimpelCom, which was controlled by the Russian investment firm Alfa Group. Hany Genena, the head of research at Pharos Capital, an Egyptian investment bank, said Mr. Sawiris was now selling most of his holdings in Orascom Telecom Media and Technology Holding, which was created as part of the merger with VimpelCom.

Cash rich, analysts say, he is in the United States seeking investment opportunities in the country’s emerging shale gas industry. Mr. Sawiris declined requests for an interview for this article.

To be sure, Coptic business leaders are not the only ones seemingly targeted by what they see as the selective interpretation of tax laws. Investors and businessmen regardless of faith complain of drift and inconsistency at the policy-planning level. Companies that were privatized during the twilight of the Mubarak years are now being considered for renationalization. A new tax law published in December has since been withdrawn. Plans to curb costly and wasteful subsidy systems have been postponed or watered down.

“Everything is being done on a whim,” Mr. Genena said. “We wonder how we can keep operating like this.”

But the burden of uncertainty rests heaviest on Coptic business leaders and investors who by numerous accounts are voting with their feet.

Rafik Beshay, the procurement director at a Coptic-owned steel mill, says he is having difficulty finding Christians to fill job openings created by the departures as he tries to maintain parity among Christian and Muslim employees. The Caucasus state of Georgia is offering citizenship papers to any Egyptian Copt prepared to directly invest $ 20,000 there, according to Mr. Wassef, the jeweler, while the U.S. government has made it easier for Copts fleeing religious persecution to settle in America, according to Rasha Samir, the head of publications at the investment bank EFG-Hermes in Cairo.

Requests for U.S. visas, she said, which ordinarily take months to process, are now finalized in just two weeks.

Steve Blando, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security which handles asylum requests, denied that there was a policy to fast-track the process for Egyptian Copts.

“The U.S. asylum system does not make decisions to grant asylum to individuals of a particular nationality,” Mr. Blando said. Each claim “is adjudicated on a case-by-case basis, and the applicant must meet each element of the asylum standard in order to establish eligibility for asylum.”

Still, in the U.S. fiscal year beginning Oct. 1, according to data from the department, the United States had thus far granted 1,417 requests for asylum from Egypt, compared with 1,867 for the whole of 2012 and 837 in 2011.

At 1,867, last year’s figure was nearly six times what it was in the year before Mr. Mubarak was overthrown.

By Stephen Glain
New York Times

Australian Coptic Christians Demand Answers From Egypt Ambassador

SYDNEY — The Australian Coptic Christian community has praised member of Parliament Laurie Ferguson for writing to the Australian Coptic Movement Association (ACM) and confirming that Minister of Foreign Affairs Bob Car has called in the Egyptian Ambassador to discuss and give information into what the group said were the “ongoing attacks on Copts in Egypt.”

“I appreciate the seriousness of calling in an Ambassador to indicate Australia’s concerns about particular issues. However, events in Egypt appear to demand such action,” Ferguson wrote to Carr.

“On April 14th I attended a sizeable rally in Sydney’s Martin Place with a significant number of NSW and Commonwealth parliamentarians in the aftermath of violent attacks on mourners at Cairo’s St Mark’s Cathedral.”

The Coptic community in Australia, long a stalwart advocate for Christian rights in Egypt, praised the move and said they welcomed an increasing of pressure on Egypt to treat Christians equally.

“The ACM welcomes Mr Ferguson’s stance and we look forward to a prompt response from the Senator Hon. Bob Carr. We also demand that the Australian Government immediately makes strong representations on this serious issue at the United Nations.

“It is quite clear that The Egyptian government has not only failed to take appropriate action to afford protection to Egypt’s vulnerable Coptic community but also directly participated in the persecution,” they said in a statement.

“We are also deeply concerned over the welfare of 24 year Demiana Nour. She has been held by Egyptian police in Luxor since 8 May 2013 under ‘defamation of religion’ charges. Demiana is a young teacher who was merely undertaking her teaching duties.

We demand that the Egyptian authorities immediately release Demiana and all Copts who have been have been charged under flimsy ‘defamation of religion’ charges,” the ACM added.

http://bikyanews.com

Arrests made in Egypt over embassy plot

Egypt’s interior minister has said that authorities have arrested three al-Qaeda-linked men suspected of planning to carry out suicide attacks on government buildings and an unspecified foreign embassy.

Mohammed Ibrahim on Saturday named the suspects as Amr Mohammed Abu al-Ela Aqida, Mohammed Abdel-Halim Hemaida Saleh and Mohammed Mostafa Mohammed Ibrahim Bayoumi. Two of the men were detained in the northern coastal city of Alexandria, while the third was arrested in Cairo.

He told a news conference that the men, one of whom received training in Pakistan and Iran, had been in contact with Dawood al-Assady, a leader of al-Qaeda in southeast Asian countries.

Ibrahim also said authorities captured the suspects with 10 kg of ammonium nitrate, a fertiliser and key ingredient in homemade explosives, and computer instructions on bomb-making.

He told reporters that the men were trying to take advantage of the country’s political turmoil to “target innocent civilians and attack foreign diplomatic missions”.

Security officials also discovered statements issued by al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, the group’s arm in North Africa, on one of the men’s computers with information on how to make bombs and rockets, and ways of collecting intelligence.

He said the suspects are also believed to have links with the so-called ”Nasr City terror cell”, which was broken up last year and its members arrested on accusations of plotting attacks against public figures in Egypt.

The interior minister denied that al-Qaeda is active in Egypt, but said the three men were in contact with al-Qaeda members abroad.

Egypt’s security has sharply deteriorated in the past two years, with Islamic fighters suspected of being behind cross-border assaults on Israel as well as a bold attack that killed 16 Egyptian soldiers in the northern Sinai Peninsula last year.

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Egyptian Christian Rights Groups Request EU Investigate Egypt

(AINA) — Acting on behalf of the European Union of Coptic Organizations for Human Rights (EUCOHR), The Coptic Dutch Association submitted yesterday an official memorandum to the European Parliament to open an international investigation into Dr. Mohamed Morsi, President of the Republic, and the Egyptian Interior Ministry because into the unlawful imprisonment of Christians.

This action was prompted by an Egyptian court in the Upper Egyptian town of Beba ordering the detention of the parents and cousin of a Coptic man, Ebram Andrawes, who allegedly disappeared with a 22-year-old Muslim girl, Rana El Shazly, at the end of February after she converted to Christianity, got married and fled to Turkey.

The El Shazly family, from El-Wasta town, 90 kilometers south of Cairo, first accused the Church in Wasta of subjecting Rana to “Black Magic” and converting her to Christianity (AINA 3-22-2013), then they organized three demonstrations with hundreds of Muslims against the local St. George’s church and its priest, hurling stones at Coptic homes and ordering Coptic businesses to close until the Muslim girl returned.

A hearing in the Egyptian Shura Council, asked Interpol to bring Rana back, after accusing her of theft. Failing this, El Shazly brought charges against Ebram’s family. Rana recently sent the third letter to her family in which she denies that she eloped with a young Copt. She affirmed that she is still a Muslim and is married to a Muslim man.

According to the Coptic Dutch Association’s memo, Ebram’s parents, Zaki Andrawes and his severely ill wife Souad Akhnoukh, as well as his nephew, Peter, were imprisoned for 15 more days following the initial 4 days, on fabricated charges that they are members of the American missionary Organization Joyce Meyer and are distributing its magazine, stressing that the charges against them were fabricated in order to put pressure on them to return Rana.

The Coptic Dutch Association pointed out that it has CD of the condition of the mother of the young man, currently jailed in Minya and is seriously ill and was not allowed to be transferred to a hospital as a punishment to her and her family. The CD was submitted to the European Parliament and the European Union.

“We requested the European Parliament to issue a statement of condemnation against what happened to the Copts in El-Wasta and the unjust imprisonment of the Coptic family,” said Bahaa Ramzy, president of Coptic Dutch Association. “We requested the immediate release of three Copts, to establish a fact-finding committee affiliated to human rights organizations of the EU because of the fabricated charges against Copts, and linking Egypt’s economic aid to the human rights of the Copts.”

“It is unacceptable what the Copts are going through in Egypt, and we protest that families are held captive by the authorities.” said Ramzy, “What have the parents to do with this? Why take them as captives? This is collective punishment for the whole family.”

By Mary Abdelmassih

Attacks on Christians in Egypt Are Part of a Broader Cultural War

What was originally dubbed as the Arab Spring has evolved into a series of deadly seasons, especially for the indigenous Christians of the Middle East.

The Islamic regimes that replaced the ousted dictators seem to be bent on clearing away the remaining Christians of the region.

In Egypt, Copts have been suffering the brunt of accelerating religious persecution for more than four decades. Even so, since the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak in February 2011, the chronic religious violence and accompanying government denial that marked his rule continues. Human Rights Watch has documented numerous massacres and atrocities where “groups of Muslims attacked members of this minority (i.e., Christians), their churches and property. Most of the attacks were either assaults on them for practising their religious rites or supposed collective retribution for real or imagined offences for which the Christian community at large is held responsible.”

Human Rights Watch also found that despite high-level promises to end impunity for sectarian violence, in some post-Mubarak court cases, public prosecutors did not question suspects – and in others, opted for informal reconciliation deals, rather than legal proceedings.

A recent incident showed a level of religious violence unprecedented in the modern history of Egypt. On April 7, as coffins were being carried out of a funeral service at Cairo’s St. Mark Cathedral for four victims of an attack on Copts in the village of Al Khosous, north of the capital, an Islamist mob attacked the mourners, killing two more Christians and wounding dozens. The mob also attacked the cathedral compound, which includes the headquarters of the Coptic Papacy. Police, as usual, took more than an hour to respond. And when they arrived, they did nothing except watch. The socio-political ramifications of these acts are alarming.

Throughout their history, Christian indigenous communities in the Middle East have contributed to the common good, and to the advancement of a rich cultural life in the region.

Today, the presence of these communities is seriously threatened. This threat, however, is also being directed to the rest of the world. It is part of a broader cultural war that included the events of, among other things, Sept. 11, 2001.

The Canadian government needs to speak out against the discrimination and violence faced by Christians in the Middle East and in doing so, demonstrate its commitment to religious freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law.

By Nabil A. Malek
http://www.montrealgazette.com

Nabil A. Malek is president of the Laval-based Canadian Egyptian Organization for Human Rights.

Violent Sectarian Strife Erupts Again in Egypt

The cathedral incidents are a result of a heated sectarian climate and the [Muslim] Brotherhood is settling their accounts with Sawaris family.

During the past few days, the incidents of sectarian strife between Muslims and Copts were reignited in front of Al Khosous church and cathedral. The church, along with Coptic leaders, blamed the president and minister of interior for not providing enough protection for Copts. Meanwhile, dozens of Christian families filled out immigration forms to Israel for the first time. Amidst this renewed sectarian strife, the Coptic thinker Gamal Assaad Abdel Malak gave a special interview to Azzaman and expressed his point of view regarding the current developments on the Egyptian political scene.

Azzaman: The cathedral has witnessed violent attacks in the past few days. Would you say these are the result of political or sectarian tensions?

Malak: I believe the acts of violence that the cathedral has witnessed are the result of a sectarian environment that had emerged by the end of the Sadat era. Then, there came the tension in the current political scene due to the acts of violence in Egypt and the way of dealing with the country from a tribal perspective. Unfortunately, the ruler behaves like he is the president of the Brotherhood and not the president of an entire people. He also panders to the pro-Brotherhood movements and works on toppling the state of law. However, the latest development in this regard was the attack on the cathedral amid a religious blockade devoid of acceptance for others. Consequently, extremist groups were encouraged to use violence, and their acts were justified.

Azzaman: What do you make of the way the government, especially the Ministry of Interior, dealt with the incidents of Al Khosous and the cathedral?

Malak: Since Jan. 28, 2011, the country has undergone a collapse in its security situation. Until this moment, it has not regained its powers. Unfortunately, everybody contributed to this. Some Islamist movements are settling their personal accounts with the security system because it acted as a tool for the oppression of Islamists under the former regime. Consequently, the issue became personal between both parties to the extent that a member of the local national council asked to incarcerate the officer who tortured him in the same cell where he was locked up. So, they have made matters personal and the “retribution” process began and culminated in people asking for an equivalent Ministry of Interior and for substitute public committees and militias. This, in fact, is the biggest danger that the country is facing.

Azzaman: What can you say about the statements of presidential adviser Essam al-Haddad in which he blamed the Copts for the incidents?

Malak: Essam al-Haddad’s situation in the presidential institution is out of place and reflects the image of the Brothers’ control over the government and presidency, which has become an unprofessional institution taken over by this party. Unfortunately, Haddad turned the minister of foreign affairs into a mere piece of decoration, giving out speeches, occasionally, that have nothing to do with politics.

Azzaman: But, some people think that what is happening currently is a result of a foreign conspiracy to spark internal strife and divide Egypt. What do you think?

Malak: Undoubtedly, there is a foreign conspiracy that was not fermented overnight, but that has extended over long years to weaken Egypt. However, this conspiracy does not give rise to problems. Instead, it exploits them. If political will were present, it could deal with those conspiracies and revoke them.

Azzaman: What can you tell Copts who are asking for foreign intervention?

Malak: Copts who are demanding foreign intervention are the ones exploiting the Coptic problem and benefitting from it financially and in the media. In their minds, they are heroes, and they claim that they are leaders in the eyes of Copts. They are not dealing with the problem politically from a national perspective, but with more sectarianism, thus aggravating it. Solving the problem does not necessitate foreign intervention, internationalization of the cause or demand for international protection. Those people are only exaggerating for the sake of profit. At the same time, they are connected to the foreign circles that want to make the case international to pave the way for a foreign presence in Egypt, under the tough circumstances the country is experiencing.

Azzaman: What can you tell Ashton who is calling for the intervention of the UN peacekeeping forces?

Malak: I can tell Ashton that I am against this call because history and reality both stand witness to the fact that foreign intervention to solve the Coptic problem in Egypt will only complicate matters further and ignite them. The problem cannot be solved except with the participation of all Egyptians on national and political grounds, not sectarian ones. If the Muslim citizen, first and foremost, is not convinced that there is a problem that he should contribute in solving, the status quo will persist. Neither the law alone nor the republic’s decisions can help in this regard. It is the political and public determination that will contribute to the solution, not a foreign intervention that will only deter it. Therefore, the solution must take a national and political aspect. Unity between Christian and Muslim Egyptian citizens who must reach an understanding is the key to all the Egyptians’ problems, topped by the sectarian issue of Copts.

Azzaman: How can you explain the phenomenon of political asylum of dozens of Coptic families to Israel?

Malak: Political asylum is part of a political game that is attempting to take advantage of the Coptic problem, as some people are exploiting it. Meanwhile, Israel is trying to toy with the suffering of Copts to stir feelings of strife between them and the Muslims through declaring its readiness to welcome Copts. We should not mix the cards. Copts leaving for Israel do not have political motives, but are seeking to improve their financial situation.

Azzaman: Why did the Copts disobey Pope Shenouda’s decision and travel on a pilgrimage trip to Jerusalem?

Malak: Copts were traveling to Jerusalem during the days of Pope Shenouda for religious, not political motives.

Azzaman: What do you think of Naguib Sawaris’ departure from Egypt recently?

Malak: Although Naguib Sawaris and I do not see eye to eye in politics, we agree on some points regarding the Brotherhood’s attempt to settle political, economic and religious accounts with Sawaris. This indicates political and economic idiocy and a sectarian behavior that does not serve the best interests of the country.

Azzaman: What is your take on some political forces’ demand for the army to return to political life?

Malak: When there is political chaos, it is dangerous for the army to return to political life because the period following the January revolution witnessed a severe attack against the military institution. This made it think a thousand times before returning to the political scene. However, I believe that the army will not hesitate in interfering in case a Hunger Revolution or civil war occurs.

Azzaman: What do you think of the opposition’s role?

Malak: The opposition’s role until now is still weak. It must form a real alliance and possess a complete political vision to get out of this stalemate. Yet, most importantly, it must take to the streets to gain the citizens’ trust.

Azzaman: What are the possible scenarios in the coming stage?

Malak: Political change is possible any minute due to the negative accumulations of the Brotherhood’s regime in the past stage. The elections might bring about such change, but it definitely needs time.

The solution to this dilemma that is worrying the people and threatening their future can be summarized by two scenarios.

The first scenario consists of holding early presidential elections for things to take a new path. However, the question here is the following: Does the opposition have the capabilities and the ability to market this scenario and convince everyone with it as the process of early elections means consensus and unanimity regarding the conduct? The second question is whether all the factions of the Islamist movement agree to conduct these elections, especially with the strategic consensus between all Islamist movements regarding the preservation of this historical circumstance that led them to power in Egypt? Even if there were legal disagreements with the Muslim Brotherhood, we can notice that power has become a target for everyone. If the Brotherhood took over today, nothing prevents the Salafists from ruling tomorrow and the Islamist groups later. For this reason, the movement is defending Morsi and supporting the completion of his term.

The second scenario consists of holding national dialogue preceded by the political will, which prioritizes national interest over self-interest. Consequently, the neighboring powers, led by the government, are well aware that Egypt is larger than any individual faction and that all parties are part of the revolution. Therefore, there must be an understanding to join the parties together during this transitional phase so as to materialize the principles of the revolution, especially since the government’s party has failed so far in governing the country and solving its problems. It pains me to say that this scenario is difficult to achieve since the Brotherhood is too self-absorbed and has only its own interest at heart. It looks down on everyone and declares national dialogue from time to time in an attempt to distract the people and implement the principle of piety.

By Mustafa Amara
AL Monitor

Translated from Azzaman (Iraq).

http://english.ahram.org.eg

Iraq lends Egypt four billion dollars

A source at the Egyptian delegation to visit Iraq to participate in the International Islamic Conference for Dialogue and rounding to be held in Baghdad for the approval of the Iraqi government to provide a loan to Egypt in the amount of $ 4 billion without the benefits provided to ensure that such a loan Egyptian national banks.

The source also stressed the successful Iraqi government to release all detainees and prisoners in Iraqi jails Egyptians.

The source said in a press statement that “the Iraqi government has agreed to release, provided that be hand imprisoned not contaminated by the blood of Iraqis, and that any prisoner issued against him provisions in other cases would be released immediately and that following the claim of the Egyptian delegation for the release of all Egyptians who are in the prisons of Iraq.”

He said “The delegation will meet with Iraqi officials concerned during the visit to the termination of the proceedings for the release of the Egyptians who are in the prisons of Iraq, whose number is estimated at about 50 people, is scheduled to be released in the next few days.”

LINK

Dinar Daddy’s Tidbits

Coptic Pope Warns Christians in Egypt Are Scared

Fear and worry has driven many Coptic Christians to leave Egypt, Coptic Orthodox Pope Tawadros II said in a recorded interview aired on Hayat satellite channel on Saturday.

The emigrants are usually among the most educated and richest in the Christian community and thus Egypt is losing many of its best human assets, the pope added.

The pope stressed his opposition to religious visits by Egyptian Christians to Jerusalem, in abidance with former Pope Shenouda III’s stand against normalisation of ties with Israel.

Regarding the attack on Christians at St Mark’s Cathedral in Cairo, Pope Tawadros said the interior minister had visited the cathedral together with other security officials on 24 April and relations had been reconciled. He added that misjudgements by the security forces during the incident were the main problem.

On 7 April, two people died and at least 90 injured when unknown assailants attacked mourners outside the cathedral in Cairo during a funeral service for four Copts killed in sectarian violence in Qalioubiya, north of Cairo.

Police fired teargas over the cathedral walls and reportedly stood by as unknown assailants armed with birdshot, knives and petrol bombs attacked those inside the cathedral’s grounds.

The pope also said the presidency had rejected statements by presidential aide Essam El-Haddad that Copts had started the cathedral clashes. El-Haddad’s statements were directed to the West in an attempt to excuse the failure of state officials, the pope added.

In a statement written in English, El-Haddad, presidential assistant for foreign relations, claimed the cathedral violence had started after Coptic mourners had vandalised cars on Ramses Street and local people had responded by throwing stones and launching firecrackers.

As for claims the cathedral contained weapons, the pope described this as “nonsense.”

Egypt’s military

The pope said the armed forces had played an important role in the transition period and had handed over power as promised. The Maspero massacre was its weak point, he added, but this was due to its “inexperience.”

On 9 October 2011, at least 26 Copts were killed and more than 300 injured during clashes with the army outside the Maspero state television and radio building in Cairo. Protesters had been rallying against the demolition of a church in Aswan. Video footage filmed at Maspero shows military forces running over several protesters with armoured vehicles.

Pope Tawadros II assumed the leadership of Egypt’s Coptic Orthodox Church in November 2012 after the death of Pope Shenouda III.

U.S. Defense Chief Presses Egypt On Reforms

U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has urged Egypt’s Islamist-led government to press ahead with reforms.

Hagel, who is in Cairo as part of a regional tour, met on April 24 with his Egyptian counterpart, General Abdel Fattah al-Sissi, and President Muhammad Morsi.

Egypt has long been considered a key U.S. ally in the Middle East and Washington provides Cairo with more than $ 1 billion per year in military aid.

U.S. officials have voiced concern that continued instability in Egypt in the wake of the 2011 revolution that ousted longtime President Hosni Mubarak could have broader consequences in the already restive region.

From Cairo, Hagel is to travel to the United Arab Emirates.

Earlier in his Middle East tour, he visited Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan.

Based on reporting by AFP and AP

Catholic Priest Says Morsi’s Egypt is Dangerous for Christians

Father Douglas May is blunt and politically incorrect.

He swears, he smokes, and he has a habit of dismissing unacceptable ideas with a wave of his hand.

He has a strong distrust of U.S. media and the American government, and he describes himself as cynical and pessimistic when it comes to foreign and domestic policy in the Middle East.

But he also says the Middle East is an addiction he can’t shake. Just like his addiction to cigarettes.

A Dominican Maryknoll missionary, May has spent the last 26 years in Egypt — most recently as the associate pastor of a church in Maadi, a suburb of Cairo.

Thursday night, in the cushiony sitting room of the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers house in Washington, D.C., May shared with an intimate group of politically minded Christians what life in Egypt has been like in the two years since the revolution that ousted President Hosni Mubarak.

“I was in favor of the revolution,” he said, “but I have second thoughts now.”

May is critical of President Mohammad Morsi who was elected last spring and is backed by the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood. May claims that under Morsi, life for Egyptian Christians has become untenable.

“If you offered a green card to the average Christian, they’d leave,” he said.

He recounted tale after tale in which Christians have been at the mercy of Muslim vigilante mobs — a far cry from what he calls the glory days under Gamal Abdel Nasser, Egypt’s popular president and the father of post-colonial Arab nationalism.

The situation for Christians today is even a far cry, he said, from life under Mubarak, which May claims, while not perfect, was overhyped by American media.

FOX News in particular, he said, often claimed Coptic Christians in Egypt were being persecuted.

“That’s too strong of a word. Before, during and after Mubarak it was discrimination.”

In Cairo, May explained, because sexual harassment on public transportation is so prevalent, the metro has designated two cars on every train to be just for women.

However, today, he said, secular and Christian women prefer to ride the mixed-sex cars because religious harassment from Muslim women in the all-female cars can be worse than being groped.

May said, additionally, infrastructure under Morsi has disintegrated – noting that petrol is nearly impossible to come by and, in the last several months, daily water and power shortages have literally become official policy.

“People are literally hoping and praying there will be a military coup,” he said, adding that some Egyptians are even becoming nostalgic for the Mubarak days.

“All Egyptians want in general is a benevolent dictator, which is what Mubarak basically was.”

In February 2011 he had told The National Catholic Review he feared young Egyptian Catholics might turn away from the church because it did not back protests that led to the resignation of Mubarak, saying, “I’m afraid that the church leadership has lost its credibility with the Christian youth over this.”

By Dawn Cherie Araujo
http://www.ecumenicalnews.com

Egypt prosecutor-general to remain in office

A deal has been struck that will see Egypt’s prosecutor-general remain in office after President Mohamed Morsi earlier attempted to have him replaced.

The agreement, sealed on Saturday after a meeting between Morsi and Prosecutor-General Abdel-Meguid Mahmoud, stipulates that Mahmoud will remain in office until retirment age.

Egyptian state television reported that the two met and sealed the agreement under which “the state prosecutor will stay on in his post,” said deputy state prosecutor Adel Said, citing a “misunderstanding over his nomination as ambassador to the Vatican”.

The Egyptian president had ordered Mahmoud to step down in an apparent bid to appease public anger over the acquittals of ex-regime officials accused of orchestrating violence against protesters last year.

To overcome the constraints on removing him, Morsi’s decision asked Mahmoud to become ambassador to the Vatican. But Mahmoud refused to be re-appointed.

Mahmoud said he would not leave his post despite official pressure for him to step down. Before heading to the president’s office to discuss ways to defuse the standoff, Mahmoud said to a meeting of judges and attorneys that he was subjected to pressure and threats from Morsi’s advisors.

“I refuse to work anywhere else except as prosecutor-general, even if I was offered a ministerial position,” Mahmoud said in comments carried by the MENA press agency.

Al Jazeera’s Rawya Rageh, reporting from Cairo, said “Judges, lawyers and the head of the bar association are already celebrating this fact that the prosecutor-general will remain in office… saying that any measure against Abdel-Meguid Mahmoud would have been tantamount to a crime against the nation and not against the prosecutor-general alone.”

Regarding Morsi’s initial decision to remove Mahmoud, Rageh said “the president was responding to public pressure”.

“There has been renewed anger triggered by the acquittal last week of more than 20 of [Hosni] Mubarak’s inner circle … there has been specific anger directed at Abdel-Meguid Mahmoud, at his office, with the perception among revolutionaries in the protest movement that the Egyptian revolution had stopped at the doors of the prosecutor-general’s office,” she said.

Public support

Morsi appeared to have broad public support for removing Mahmoud, who was appointed under ousted president Mubarak.

But the prosecutor and a powerful judges’ club said the move infringed on the judiciary’s independence, as Egyptian law protects the judicial officials such as the prosecutor-general from be fired by the president.

Many say a whole overhaul of the judiciary, not just removal of the prosecutor-general, is needed to effect change in justice.

The standoff with the prosecutor-general continued as Morsi faced a new challenge in the form of violent protests between his supporters and critics.

The judicial standoff formed the backdrop to rival rallies on Friday in Tahrir square that escalated into street fighting between his supporters and his critics, the first such confrontation since Morsi came to office in late June.

Pro-Morsi protesters held a rally in Tahrir square to urge the removal of Mahmoud. But they clashed with anti-Morsi demonstrations planned before to denounce the lack of progress on economic issues and a hotly contested constitution still in a drafting process.

At least 100 people were injured in the unrest on Friday.

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Egypt Prosecutor Rejects Calls For Resignation

In the face of street protests and mounting clashes in Egypt between pro-presidential supporters and his critics, Prosecutor-General Abdel Maguid Mahmud has repeated his vow not to leave office, saying the constitution does not give the president power to fire him.

He vowed to remain in place “unless I am assassinated.”

The standoff between the Mahmud and President Muhammad Morsi comes as members of the Muslim Brotherhood, who support Morsi, have accused the prosecutor of presenting weak evidence at a trial of Mubarak-era officials.

That trial, on counts related to the ordering of a camel charge against demonstrators with then-President Hosni Mubarak’s regime battling so-called Arab Spring protests in early 2011, resulted in acquittals on October 10. The court said it found insufficient evidence to convict the defendants in the case, including former parliament speaker Fathi Sorur.

“As I said in my statement yesterday, I direct my comments at everyone from the Muslim Brotherhood — I will not be shaken by any of this and I have said this in front of the president of the Republic, and said this to the speaker of parliament,” Mahmud said on October 13. ” I occupy this office and I will defend myself, and I will defend my position, and I will defend the independence of the prosecutor-general, and the independence of the judges, and I will not leave this office unless I am assassinated… and assassination is something that is common and often takes place. As I told the president of the republic, afterward, everyone will be accountable for their sins, and perhaps they will be allowed into paradise.”

On October 12, thousands of supporters and opponents of Egypt’s president clashed in Cairo’s Tahrir Square in the first such violence since Morsi took office more than three months ago.

More than 100 people were injured in rock throwing as liberal and secular activists accused the Muslim Brotherhood of trying to take over the country.

Some Egyptians are also frustrated that Morsi, a longtime Muslim Brotherhood figure, has not done more to resolve the multiple problems facing the country — from a faltering economy and fuel shortages to poor security and uncollected piles of garbage in the streets.

Morsi said in a nationally televised speech earlier this week that he had carried out much of what he had promised for his first 100 days.

Based on reporting by Reuters and AP

The Christian Exodus From Egypt

Posted GMT 10-12-2012 22:36:10

Visit any Coptic church in the United States and you immediately recognize the newcomers. You see it in their eyes, hear it in their broken English, sense it in how they cling to the church in search of the familiar. They have come here escaping a place they used to call home, where their ancestors had lived for centuries.

Waves of Copts have come here from Egypt before, to escape Gamal Abdel Nasser’s nationalizations or the growing Islamist tide. Their country’s transformation wasn’t sudden, but every year brought more public Islamization. As the veil spread, Coptic women felt increasingly different, alien and marked. Verbal abuse came from schoolteachers, bystanders in the bus station who noticed the cross on a wrist, or commentators on state television.

But life was generally bearable. Hosni Mubarak crushed the Islamist insurgency of the 1980s and ’90s. He was no friend to the Copts, but neither was he foe. His police often turned a blind eye when Coptic homes and shops were attacked by mobs, and the courts never punished the perpetrators–but the president wasn’t an Islamist. He even interfered sometimes to give permission to build a church, or to make Christmas a national holiday.

To be sure, Copts were excluded from high government positions. There were no Coptic governors, intelligence officers, deans of schools, or CEOs of government companies. Until 2005, Copts needed presidential approval to build a new church or even build a bathroom in an existing one. Even with approval, state security often blocked construction, citing security concerns.

Those concerns were often real. Mobs could mobilize against Copts with the slightest incitement–rumor of a romantic relationship between a Christian man and a Muslim woman, a church being built, reports of a Christian having insulted Islam. The details varied but the results didn’t: homes burned, shops destroyed, Christians leaving villages, sometimes dead bodies. The police would arrive late and force a reconciliation session between perpetrators and victims during which everything would be forgiven and no one punished. What pained the Copts most was that the attackers were neighbors, co-workers and childhood friends.

Then came last year’s revolution. Copts were never enthusiastic about it, perhaps because centuries of persecution taught that the persecuting dictator was preferable to the mob. He could be bought off, persuaded to hold back or pressured by outside forces. With the mob you stood no chance. Some younger Copts were lured by the promise of a liberal Egypt, but the older generation knew better.

The collapse of the police liberated the Islamists, who quickly dominated national politics but were even more powerful in the streets and villages. This is where the “Islamization of life” (as Muslim Brotherhood leader Khairat Al Shater called for) was becoming a reality.

The Muslim Brotherhood aimed to assuage Coptic fears while speaking in English to American audiences. The reality was different. When Coptic homes and shops were looted in a village near Alexandria in January, Brotherhood parliamentarians and Salafis organized a reconciliation session that didn’t punish the attackers but ordered the Copts to evacuate the village.

Soon after, the Brotherhood’s Sayed Askar denied that Copts face any problems in building churches, saying they have more churches than they need. Elections featured accusations that Copts backed the old regime. When attempts to build a non-Islamist coalition were led by businessman Naguib Sawiris, a Copt, the Brotherhood’s website accused him and his co-religionists of treason.

Westerners may debate how moderate Egypt’s Islamists are, but for Copts the questioning is futile. Their options are limited. While Copts are the largest Christian community in the Middle East, they’re too small to play a role in deciding the fate of the country. They are not geographically concentrated in one area that could become a safe zone. The only option is to leave, putting an end to 2,000 years of Christianity in Egypt.

The sad truth is that not all will be able to flee. Those with money, English skills and the like will get out. Their poorer brethren will be left behind.

What can be done to save them? Egypt receives $ 1.5 billion in U.S. aid each year, and Washington has various means to make Egypt’s new leaders listen. Islamist attempts to enshrine second-class status for Copts in Egypt’s new constitution should be stopped. Outsiders should also keep an eye on Muslim Brotherhood politicians who are planning to take control of Coptic Church finances. At a minimum, donors should demand that attacks on Copts be met with punishment as well as condemnation.

Yet looking at the faces of the new immigrants in my Fairfax, Va., church, I cannot escape the feeling that it is too late. Perhaps the fate of the Copts was sealed long ago, in the middle of the last century, when the Jews were kicked out of Egypt. In the late 1940s, Brotherhood demonstrators chanted, in reference to the sabbath days of Jews and others: “Today is Saturday, tomorrow will be Sunday, oh Christians.” And so it is.

By Samuel Tadros
Wall Street Journal

Mr. Tadros is a research fellow at the Hudson Institute’s Center for Religious Freed

Scuffles Erupt At Protest Over Egypt Acquittals

Scuffles erupted in Cairo during a protest on October 12 against a court ruling that acquitted Hosni Mubarak-era officials of ordering a camel charge against demonstrators.

The court on October 10 said it didn’t find sufficient evidence to convict the defendants in the case, including former parliament speaker Fathi Sorour.

While protesters were united in outrage at the court ruling, supporters and opponents of Islamist President Muhammad Morsi threw stones and bottles at each other.

Medics said at least 40 people were injured in the scuffles, as thousands of people gathered in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, the site of some of the biggest protests to oust Mubarak in early 2011.

Egypt does not have a new constitution or parliament yet. Islamists and liberals have been at loggerheads over the constitution, still in the drafting stage.

Based on live television broadcasts and reporting by Reuters and dpa

Egypt Drops Blasphemy Charges Against Coptic Christian Boys

Posted GMT 10-10-2012 23:11:0

CAIRO — Two Coptic Christians boys in Egypt, who spurred massive attention after they were detained by police after being accused of desecrating Islam’s holy book, the Qur’an, will not be charged with blasphemy, a lawyer for the boys said on Wednesday.

“The case has been closed … and today we knew that the charges were dropped and the children were released after a deal was reached between Muslims, Christians and security officials in the area,” said Gamal Eid, a human rights activist and part of the team of lawyers defending the boys, in comments published by Reuters news agency.

Nabil Rizk, 10, and Mina al-Farag, 9, had been taken from their parents and arrested after a Muslim man accused the two youngsters of desecrating the holy Qur’an in a small village in Bani Sweif in the Nile Delta region.

They faced a prosecutor, and were expected to be charged with blasphemy. The two boys were released from their juvenile detention on October 4 after spending days away from their families.

The children had been facing an investigation for allegedly urinating on the holy book and putting it next to a mosque, al-Shorouk newspaper reported.

Rizk’s father, Nabil, said his child cannot read and write and had been looking in the trash “for anything useful” when he found a small bag with pages from the Qur’an so he took them and placed it next to a mosque as he did not know what to do with it.

A meeting had taken place in the village in an effort to solve the crisis after the children were accused, but to the surprise of the villagers, children have been transferred to the junior holding facility pending investigation.

Heavy security has taken over the small Nile Delta village, which is home to 157 Christian families after fears of a confrontation between the residents arose.

According to Copts United, a Christian news organization and website, the families of the two boys had been urging rights groups and organizations to help them free the children and to “have mercy” on them.

By Joseph Mayton
www.bikyamasr.com

Thousands March a Year After Egypt Copt Killings

Posted GMT 10-9-2012 23:57:44

CAIRO (AFP) — Thousands of Egyptian protesters marched Tuesday to mark one year since nearly 30 people were killed in a Coptic Christian demonstration that was violently crushed by security forces.

Demonstrators carrying posters of those who died during the violence walked solemnly down a main Cairo thoroughfare in the working class district of Shubra towards Maspero, in the city centre.

Some waved flags, others held posters of officials they want to see put on trial.

Groups of them chanted against Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, the military ruler who took charge of the country following the uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak, and whose forces are accused of killing the protesters.

“Either we get justice, or we die like them,” they sang.

The march was organised by the Maspero Youth Union, a group of Coptic activists formed in the wake of last year’s deadly protest that left Egypt’s Christian community deeply scarred.

“The only political demand on this day is to seek justice for the martyrs and for the criminals implicated in the massacre be tried,” the group said on Facebook.

Tuesday’s procession followed the route taken a year ago by the Coptic protesters.

On October 9, 2011, thousands of demonstrators marched from Shubra to Maspero to denounce the torching of a church in the southern province of Aswan.

The protest was attacked and violence flared when the army and riot police charged at the protesters, leaving 26 Coptic Christians, one Muslim man and one policeman dead, says Amnesty International.

Graphic videos that were subsequently posted on the Internet showed army vehicles ramming into protesters at high speed.

In a report published last week, Amnesty said “armed and security forces used excessive, including lethal, force against those not posing a threat to them or others.”

“The Egyptian authorities have failed to conduct a full impartial and independent investigation into the circumstances of the violence and to bring those responsible to account,” the rights watchdog said.

Christians, who make up six to 10 percent of Egypt’s population of 83 million, have regularly complained of discrimination and marginalisation. They have also been the target of numerous sectarian attacks.

Controversy Flares Over Number Of Christians In Egypt

Posted GMT 10-9-2012 0:29:56

(AINA) — The number of Christians in Egypt has for a long time been a tightly held secret by the authorities, leaving the door open for wide speculation, from over 25,000,000 according to some Copts to 3,000,000 according to the Muslim Salafists. The Coptic Orthodox Church has always known the number of Copts from its church database, but has kept the number secret, following the policy of the late Pope Shenouda III, that Copts may not be counted and treated as mere numbers because they are part of the fabric of society. Pope Shenouda was against the idea of setting a quota system for the Copts in parliament and other high level posts.

After 26 years of silence, an unexpected announcement of the official population count of Egypt’s Christians was made last week on Al-Tahrir TV by Major-General al-Guindi, head of Egypt’s Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics. He said that the number of Christian in Egypt was not more than 5,130,000 out of a current population of 83,150,000. He added that the low number of Christians is because of low birth rate, high immigration and the highest income level.

This announcement, which prompted a wide debate, was heavily criticized by Copts and especially by the Coptic Church. It was covered by all media. Some supported the 5 million number, some found it surprisingly low.

Those in support of the low numbers say the 2011 Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion and Public Life study revealed the Christian population is 5.3 percent (4.3 million out of 80 million). The Ibn Khaldoun Center for Development studies puts the number of Copt at 8 to 8.5 million, nearly 10%, and said that if the church has other numbers then these should be published so that they could discuss and verify them.

The importance of the number of Copts at this time is viewed by many as a political issue par excellence, and this announcement comes in conjunction with the process of drafting the constitution. It is seen as an attempt to marginalize Copts and to suggest that they are a minority not entitled to participate in decision-making. Hard-line Muslims believe that the voice of the Copts is growing stronger and disproportionate to their number as a minority, especially in the Coptic fight against Sharia within the committee drafting the new Constitution.

Anba Pachomius, acting Patriarch of the Orthodox Church, rejected the census results, telling Al Dostour el-Asly newspaper “Is this a special census for Christians in the district of Cairo’s Shubra district only or the whole of Egypt?” Bishop Pachomius said he was bewildered at the significance of this statement coming out specifically at this time when Egypt is going through important transformations and experiencing heavy sectarian tensions.

The acting Patriarch wondered where al- Guindi got his numbers and demanded the numbers for each of the 27 Egyptian governorates, saying “We have different numbers which are by far higher, but we will not declare them yet as the time in not suitable.”

Bishop Anba Marcus of Shubra el-Khaimah said the number of Copts in Egypt ranges between 15 and 18 million, explaining that the number of Christians in the province of Minya alone, 1,200,000, exceeds their population in Cairo and other Upper Egypt governorates which are densily populated with Christians.

It is worth noting that those numbers do not include Copts of other denominations such Catholics, Evangelicals and Protestants, who are estimated at 1.5-2 million.

Bishop Marcus said that the number of Copts in Egypt is known to the Church as every Diocese knows the full count of it parishioners, but the numbers are not compiled in one list. “We can easily do so if the acting Patriarch Anba Pachomius or the next Pope would ask each bishop to provide the count of Christians in his diocese”

After heavy criticism, the census chief retracted his statement, claiming that his statement was taken out of context and issued another statement saying that he referring to the census of 1986 when the Copts were 5.7% of the total population, and that since then the agency has no definitive number for Copts. He said that according to the Declaration of the United Nations Statistics Commission of 1985, it was optional for people to add their religious affiliation in the census form, and therefore in the two following censuses of 1996 and 2006, this information was unavailable.

Kamal Zakher, coordinator of the Front of Secular Copts, said the number of Christians in Egypt is a state secret. He believes that the recent statement was deliberately politicized to the idea that Christians remain a minority, “but citizenship means that the rights and duties have nothing to do with the numbers.”

Attroney Dr. Naguib Gabriel, head of the Egyptian Union of Human Rights Organization, filed a lawsuit with the administrative court against the Prime Minister and the head of the census agency, for the issuance of a court order to carry out a census of Christians in Egypt and to determine their percentage of Egypt’s population, to be taken from the data base of the Civil Status Department and under international observation. “Egyptian identification cards include religious affiliation of the cardholder and it would be easy to get the numbers required,” he said. The hearing is scheduled for 9 October.

Gabriel also said that Copts have suffered over a long time from the wrong and random way the census agency has dealt with their numbers, with very peculiar percentages which are drastically different from reality.

By Mary Abdelmassih

Egypt Christian Boys, 9 and 10, Taken From Parents, Arrested After Accused of Desecrating Koran

Posted GMT 10-3-2012 14:43:37

CAIRO — Two Egyptian Christian children, Nabil Rizk, 10, and Mina al-Farag, 9, have been taken from their parents and arrested after a Muslim man accused the two youngsters of desecrating the holy Qur’an in a small village in Bani Sweif in the Nile Delta region.

They will face the public prosecutor on Sunday as the investigation begins.

According to reports, confirmed by local media, both secular and religious, the children are now facing an investigation for allegedly urinating on the holy book and putting it next to a mosque, al-Shorouk newspaper reported.

Heavy security has taken over the small Nile Delta village, which is home to 157 Christian families after fears of a confrontation between the residents arose.

According to Copts United, a Christian news organization and website, the families of the two boys are urging rights groups and organizations to help them free the children and to “have mercy” on them.

By Joseph Mayton
www.bikyamasr.com

Muslims Order Christians Out of Their Village in Egypt

Posted GMT 9-29-2012 0:28:26

(AINA) — Copts in the North Sinai border town of Rafah have started leaving their homes after receiving an ultimatum from Islamists to leave “within 48 hours” or be killed. According to confirmed reports 9 Coptic families have left the town. The remaining 23 Coptic families are still there, waiting to leave. “it is difficult for us to leave as most of us are shop-owners and have property, so it is not easy just to leave everything and go,” said one Copt who is still with his family in Rafah. The Copts are all confined to their homes, afraid to venture out.

However, two days ago. masked men on motorcycles sprayed Coptic stores with bullets, but no one was hurt.

The nine Coptic families who left Rafah were government employees and the Governor of North Sinai offered to transfer them to neighboring Sinai Province capital, Al-Arish, to take posts there instead.

About three weeks ago a Coptic shop owner received a hand-written threat that “all Christians should leave Rafah within 48 hours, otherwise they will be killed.” Copts reported these threats to security but were told not to take the threats “earnestly,” because threats were during the time of the YouTube clip mocking Mohammad. “We thought the writers of these threats were just being vindictive against the Copts since it was claimed that a US Copt is responsible for it [the film],” said a Copts resident of Rafah.

Coptic families went with church representatives and met with the Governor of North Sinai asking for protection, he promised none, but just transferred nine government employees to work in Al-Arish.

The Coptic Church issued a statement this afternoon, after a meeting of the Holy Synod, signed by acting Patriarch Anba Pachomios, condemning the forced displacement of the Copts from Rafah, demanding that the “responsible state agencies address those that are trying to undermine the state authority and show it unable to protect its citizens.”

The statement further said “nearly one month ago the media had published the violations against the Copts but the Egyptian authorities have not taken the necessary measures to protect the Egyptian families, who have the right to live safely in their homes.” It went on say that the series of Coptic displacement started with El-Ameriya (AINA 2-9-2012), then Dahshour (AINA 8-1-2012) and now has reached Rafah.

Political parties and human rights organizations were angered by the forced displacement of the Rafah Copts. Many believe that this is the “method Islamists are using to change Egypt demographically, since they want an Islamic state in Sinai, all Copts have to go out,” said Coptic activist Mark Ebeid.

Dr. A. Shokr, vice-president of the National Council for Human Rights, said that they will support the displaced families as well as send a fact-finding mission next week to Rafah.

The Muslim Brotherhood Party “Freedom and Justice” published an article today saying that following an interview with H.G. Cosman, Bishop of North Sinai, no Copts were displaced. Bishop Cosman denied giving an interview to a Muslim paper and confirmed that some Coptic families have left Rafah and live in Al-Arish, and that some, fearing for their lives, are transferring their furniture and belongings from Rafah to Al-Arish because of the deteriorating security conditions.

Novelist and Sinai activist Mosad Abu Fagr commented to ElYom7 daily that what is happening in Sinai now indicates that president Morsi was defeated in his war in Sinai, and his adversaries already control the area, and because Christians are the weakest link in Rafah, it started with them. The rest will be displaced and the Islamists will take control of the areas of Rafah, Sheikh Zuwaid, Arish and Bir al-Abed. All of Sinai will be lost and become under the control of the Islamists.

By Mary Abdelmassih

Egypt TV Owner to Face Trial Over Bible Burning

Posted GMT 9-27-2012 0:10:55

(AFP) — Egypt’s prosecutor general has referred to court the owner of an Islamist television station and his son over accusations they burned a copy of the Bible [AINA 9-14-2012], state media reported on Tuesday.

Al-Omma TV owner Ahmed Mohammed Abdullah, known as Abu Islam, and his son Islam, face charges of “insulting the Christian faith” along with journalist Hani Yassin Gadallah of the independent daily Al-Tahrir, said the official MENA news agency.

Abu Islam and his son are specifically accused of tearing up and setting on fire a copy of the Bible during protests this month outside the U.S. embassy in Cairo against a US-made film mocking the Prophet Mohammed.

Abu Islam is also accused of having made insulting remarks against Christianity in an interview with the Al-Tahrir journalist, the state news agency said.

A mob stormed the U.S. embassy in Cairo and tore down the U.S. flag on September 11 in a protest sparked by the low-budget film mocking Islam and portraying the Prophet Mohammed as immoral and violent.

The “Innocence of Muslims” movie was apparently produced by a U.S.-based Coptic Christian.

Egyptian Christians, who have long complained of discrimination, have said they fear the film will lead to further persecution at home.

The Holy Synod of the Coptic Orthodox Church, the highest authority of the Coptic patriarchate, issued a statement slamming the film’s release as a “malicious plan aimed at defaming religions and causing divisions among the Egyptian people.”

Last week, the public prosecutor ordered the trial of seven Egyptian Copts living in North America over their alleged role in the film.

They are accused of “insulting the Islamic religion, insulting the Prophet and inciting sectarian strife.”

Egypt’s Christians make up between six and 10 percent of the country’s 82 million people, and have long complained of discrimination and marginalization.

On September 18, a court in Egypt jailed a Christian for six years for mocking the Prophet Mohammed and for insulting Islamist President Mohammed Mursi on social networking sites, a judicial source said.

Press reports say many Copts have emigrated or are looking to leave the country since Islamists came to power in the parliamentary and presidential elections.

Israel Will Not Accept Any Changes To 1979 Egypt Treaty

Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has said that his country will not agree to “any kind of change” in its 1979 peace treaty with neighboring Egypt.

Following the overthrow of longtime Egyptian strongman Hosni Mubarak in 2011, many Egyptian politicians — including President Muhammad Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood movement — have called for changes to the troop limits imposed on Egypt on the Sinai Peninsula.

Egyptian leaders say the region is growing increasingly lawless and that the limits are an unacceptable infringement on Egypt’s sovereignty.

Three gunmen and an Israeli soldier were killed in an incident along the border on September 21.

A jihadist group called Ansar Bayt al-Maqdes has claimed responsibilty for the incident, which they say was a response to a U.S. Internet film that ridicules the Prophet Muhammad.

Based on reporting by AP and AFP

U.S. Senate Rejects Proposal To Suspend Aid To Pakistan, Egypt, Libya

The U.S. Senate has rejected by a vote of 81 to 10 a proposal to suspend foreign aid to the governments of Pakistan, Egypt, and Libya in response to recent attacks on U.S. interests in those countries.

The Senate’s rejection of the proposal to suspend aid comes as the U.S. administration on September 21 thanked Pakistan for protecting the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad against protesters.

“I want to thank the government of Pakistan for their efforts to protect our embassy in Islamabad and consulates in Lahore, Peshawar, and Karachi,” U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told visiting Pakistani Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar in Washington.

“And I want to be clear — as I have said on numerous occasions — the violence we have seen cannot be tolerated.”

Clinton added that Washington deplored the privately made video “The Innocence of Muslims” to which the protesters object. But she said the film should not be used as a justification for violence.

“Of course, there is provocation and we have certainly made clear that we do not in any way support provocation,” Clinton said.

“We found that the video that is at the core of this series of events offensive, disgusting, reprehensible. But that does not provide justification for violence.”

Protests, Violence Continue

Pakistani officials say at least 16 people were killed on September 21 in protests across the country as tens of thousands took to the streets to show their anger about an anti-Islam film and political cartoons in a French magazine mocking the Prophet Muhammad.

Violence around protests against the film and cartoon continued on September 22 in Bangladesh, where police and protesters clashed in Dhaka.

Police said the clash erupted when they attempted to stop the demonstration after protesters burned several vehicles. Islamist organizations are calling for a nationwide general strike on September 23 to protest the film and police efforts to stop street protests.

The defeated proposal in the U.S. Senate also would have denied aid to Pakistan unless it released Dr. Shakil Afridi.

Afridi allegedly helped the United States track down Osama bin Laden by running a fake vaccination program for the CIA to collect DNA. The objective was to verify bin Laden’s presence at the compound where the Al-Qaeda leader was later killed.

Afridi was convicted of high treason and sentenced to 33 years in prison. The United States has sought his release.

With reporting by Reuters, AP, AFP, and dpa

Egypt pursues makers of anti-Islam video

Egyptian prosecutor’s office has issued arrest warrants for seven Egyptian Coptic Christians and a Florida-based American pastor for their alleged role in an anti-Islam video that has sparked deadly riots across the Muslim world.

The warrants were released on Tuesday, referring the defendants to trial on charges linked to the film entitled “Innocence of Muslims” which portrays the Prophet Muhammad as a fraud, womaniser and buffoon.

Riots triggered by the video resulted in the deaths last week of the US ambassador to Libya and three of his colleagues.

The four men were attacked in Libya’s eastern city of Benghazi, where an armed rebellion that overthrew Muammar Gaddafi last year started.

More protests against the video have been held in Arab and Muslim countries – including Afghanistan, Yemen and Indonesia – with demonstrators calling on the US to punish the people behind the video.

The case is largely symbolic since the seven men and one woman are believed to be outside of Egypt and unlikely to travel to the country to face the charges.

The decision to take legal action appears aimed at placating some of the public anger over the amateur film whose trailer has attracted tens of millions of views on YouTube.

Key defendants

Among those charged is Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, an Egyptian Copt living in southern California and believed to be behind the film. Others include Florida-based Pastor Terry Jones, who has said he was contacted by the filmmaker to promote the video and Morris Sadek, a conservative Coptic Christian in the US who pushed the video on his website.

The connection of the other five accused in the case to the film was not immediately clear.

Nakoula, 55, told the AP news agency in an interview last week outside Los Angeles that he was the manager of the company that produced “Innocence of Muslims”.

Jones also told AP that he was contacted by Nakoula to promote the movie.

The prosecutor’s office said in a statement that the accused, who include the film’s alleged producer, face charges of harming national unity, insulting and publicly attacking Islam and spreading false information.

The office said they could face the death penalty, if convicted.

No date for the trial has been set.

Mamdouh Ismail, an ultraconservative Salafi lawyer, praised the prosecutor’s decision.

While recognising that the eight will be tried in absentia, Ismail said referring them to trial will help curb public anger.

“Now these are legal measures instead of angry reactions, whose consequences are undetermined,” he said. “This would also set a deterrent for them and anyone else who may fall into this” offence.

The prosecutor’s statement, a copy of which was obtained by AP, said that after studying the film investigators have determined that it contains scenes offensive to Islam and state institutions.

It also says they questioned 10 plaintiffs before issuing the charges.

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Can Egypt Chart Its Own Course?

On September 2, Dr. Imok Cha, a 51-year old San Francisco-based pathologist boarded a plane headed to Jeju Island, South Korea, where she was to present new findings at the World Conservation Congress of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the world’s oldest and largest environmental organization. But Dr. Cha’s journey to the IUCN was cut short at Incheon International Airport.

FPIF Latest Content

Fresh Egypt protests over anti-Muhammad film

Despite the Egyptian government’s call for calm, a few dozen protesters have showed up for a second night outside the US embassy in Cairo.

The unrest continued early on Thursday morning, as the fallout from a film ridiculing Islam’s prophet raged on.

Dozens of police officers were deployed, as protesters chanted in the streets and fires burned. Some demonstrators were engulfed in tear gas.

Innocence of Muslims, the film that mocked Muhammad, was allegedly produced in the US by a filmmaker with ties to Coptic Christian groups, and excerpted on YouTube with dubbing in Arabic.

On Wednesday, some 200 demonstrators took part in protests in the Egyptian capital.

They rallied into the night chanting “leave Egypt” but there was however no repeat of the previous day’s events when angry crowds climbed the walls of the complex and tore down an American flag, which they replaced briefly with a black, Islamist flag.

Spreading protests

The prosecutor-general said on Wednesday that four people are being questioned after Tuesday’s events.

Nine Coptic Egyptian-Americans were also put on an airport watch list. They are believed to have contributed to the production of the anti-Islam film that led to the embassy protest.

The man behind the protests told Al Jazeera he just wants to combat insults against Islam through legal and peaceful means. Wesam Abdel Wareth, the protest organiser, said his group was not happy that young people who joined their protest brought down the US flag.

He also said there was no co-ordination with protesters in Libya, and he condemned the violence there.

On Tuesday, Egypt’s prestigious Al-Azhar mosque and seat of Sunni learning condemned a symbolic “trial” of the Prophet organized by a US group including Terry Jones, a Christian pastor who triggered riots in Afghanistan in 2010 by threatening to burn the Koran.

But it was not immediately clear whether the event sponsored by Jones also prompted the embassy events.

Whatever the cause, the events appeared to underscore how much the ground in the Middle East has shifted for Washington, which for decades had close ties with Arab dictators who could be counted on to muzzle dissent.

US President Barack Obama’s administration in recent weeks had appeared to overcome some of its initial caution following the election of an Islamist Egyptian president, Mohamed Morsi, offering his government desperately needed debt relief and backing for international loans.

Egypt is neither an ally nor an enemy of the United States, Obama said on Wednesday.

“I don’t think that we would consider them an ally, but we don’t consider them an enemy,” Obama said in excerpts of an interview with Telemundo aired by MSNBC.

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Iraq, Syria, Egypt: Clash of Civilizations Fuels Extermination of Christians

Posted GMT 9-8-2012 5:10:29

We were presented the clash of civilizations as a struggle between East and West, between Islamist terrorism and Judeo-Christian world, this enlightened and prosperous euro-American complex. The reality is more subtle and unpleasant. The war on terror is certainly a war of terror, as put our friend Pat Buchanan. But the clash of civilizations looks more and more an attack of the neoconservative West and fundamentalist Islam against Eastern Christianity and Arab secularism.

This is a triumph of Turkey’s past genocides, of Wahhabi Islam and its Anglo-Saxon ally armed with drones and its apocalyptic Bible for dummies. Islamists and NATO will destroy Syria after Iraq before they nuke Iran’s nuclear program which is the main concern of the gas Chamber (of Commerce) from Qatar … It’s not more complicated, though our experts think in nuances and redundancies.Under Saddam Hussein, there were 600,000 Arab Christians who had rights and missions; there are a mere 100,000 today. There are ten million Christians in Egypt, two million in Syria. How many will be there tomorrow? We understand better now the hatred of Russia since Russia is the last major nation to protect Christians.

The Copts in Egypt today are victims of abuse, bullying and threats of genocide perpetrated by the so moderate Muslim Brotherhood, heirs of Masonic British intelligence or spiritual sons of the great Lawrence of Arabia (sic), terrorist responsible for the so romantic death of 400 000 people in the Ottoman Empire during WW1. Thanks to the fall of this empire the Young Turks then perpetrated genocide against Christians too.It’s not for nothing that the Egyptian Christians all refused to meet the weird sister Hilary Rodham Clinton who did belly dancing on Qaddafi’s corpse and Osama’s ghost, when she asked the founders of Egypt to be a simple pawn of the new global fanatic community.

The distracted Saudi Sharia will soon apply there, too, always with the blessings of boards of directors and other “Brethren”, never at a loss when it comes to liquidate Catholics or Orthodox Christians. Christianity is bad for business. II have always before my eyes the Irish churches burned with women and children in Drogheda and elsewhere, by the venerable Puritan Cromwell, I have always before my eyes the ruins of the monastery of Monte Cassino bombed for example, despite the prayers of the Holy Father, like Dresden or Nagasaki, by the Anglo-American Aviation. But what won’t we do to make the world safer for “democracy” and the Grand Architect of the Universe! In the 19th century, Disraeli and the UK protected at any cost the Ottoman Empire, despite its crimes against Balkan people, crimes which moved so deeply Dostoyevsky and even Gladstone. Disraeli would have fought against Alexander’s Russia to legitimate the sultan’s right to exterminate his Christian subjects and keep Constantinople.

But let’s return to the Combat dupes, the so called clash of civilizations since 11/09/2001. Concerning the September 11, the famous Sept. 11 that we will never finish to celebrate and we are told that we know everything about, we know at least two facts: the very alleged perpetrators were Saudis and Egyptians. Iraq and Syria were totally out of touch, like the Islamic Republic of Iran.The head of the attack group was then said to be a former CIA agent, Osama Bin Laden. This did not prevent the bin Laden family from leaving American soil the same day. The bin Laden tribes who have built airports, luxury hotels in Mecca, and even the bases for U.S. troops (check to see, this is good fun!), were the only ones with this privilege, as director Michael Moore underlined.

This did not prevent Washington from denouncing an axis of evil more Masonic than geometric and go after the regimes that had left peaceful during centuries their Jewish and Christian communities (there are six thousand Jews left in Iran, especially in Shiraz, where they look very happy, watch them on the BBC). The West hastened to bomb with drones Pakistan, to occupy the strategic Afghanistan and to destroy Iraq for nothing, as now it will eradicate Syria with the so celebrated freedom fighters! These rebels, mercenaries, hired by Al Qaeda abroad, human thrash without law and without honour, will cut to pieces women and children, Christians and Muslims, Shiites and Alawites, will establish caliphates as cruel and burlesque than that of Homs, and they will be even more celebrated by all the free world press, all the BHL clones and all the Brussels krauts! The same media slobs who referred to weapons of mass destruction in Iraq today evoke without laughter chemical weapons in Syria … What would Shakespeare say, a story full of sound and fury or a tale told by TV idiots? But this cruel tale signifies something: the destruction of eastern Christianity and Arabic freedom.

The new world order is therefore an agreement between our central bankers and their political commissars, between the oil and gas super-rich and dark esoteric networks. This agreement legitimates the liquidation of Christians suddenly become so “close to the dictator Assad” (sic), so worthy then of being all slaughtered – or hanged, as former minister Tariq Aziz. The new world order, based on Islamic-Liberal democratic poaching, leads to the creation of terror corridors, like Denver or Chicago, bloody feudal protectorates, forbidden zones, where everything will be at the auction as Cyrenaica (where oil is fine, thank you for it) and where everything sets off like in Darfur or Baghdad, the city of a thousand and one nightmares, whose fate was sealed long ago by the best prophets.

And he answered and said, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, and all images of her gods are shattered on the floor. (Isaiah, 21, 9)

Let’s thus understand one fact: the clash of civilizations is the clash of Wahhabi fanaticism and our society “out of joint” allied against the tolerant Islam and the last traditional roots of Eastern Christianity, which had survived since Jesus and the Church Fathers! And the new world order, the new world disorder, is in the hands of oil and gas dealers, butchers’ borders and bearded tigers affiliated with Carlyle Group or Halliburton. This order is no good for anyone; for this new order implies for western societies ferocity inside, and outside the submission to Washington or Bilderberg’s caprices; more Islamists inside France or Britain, and more geopolitical submission outside; more debt and borrowing on-site, and more armies or capital employed anywhere and on order. This is nonsense cruelty. But the new world order is lack of logic and lawlessness, the new world order is misery and unemployment, the new world order is nihilism and fanaticism in all countries. Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, Syria, Iran… Who’s next? Ask the prophets.

For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the peoples. (Isaiah 60: 2)

By Nicolas Bonnal
http://english.pravda.ru

Egypt president calls for ‘change’ in Syria

Mohammed Morsi, Egypt’s president, has told an Arab League conference that “change” of government is needed in violence-wracked Syria and that time should not be wasted “speaking of reform”.

“This time has passed now. Now it is time for change,” Morsi, who was making his first presidential address to the league, said on Wednesday in the capital Cairo.

He said that a quartet of regional states – Saudi Arabia, Iran, Turkey and Egypt – would meet to discuss the Syrian crisis, which started 17 months ago as an insurrection, but has turned into a civil war with opposition fighters battling to dislodge Bashar al-Assad from power.

“The quartet which Egypt has called for will meet now,” Morsi told a meeting of Arab foreign ministers, without giving more details of the gathering.

Morsi’s comments follows his speech at the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit in the Iranian capital Tehran where he called it an “ethical duty” to support the Syrian people against the “oppressive regime” in Damascus.

He said Assad must learn from “recent history” and step down before it was too late, alluding to the fate of authoritarian regimes in Tunisia, Libya, Egypt and Yemen that have been overthrown by Arab uprisings.

“I tell the Syrian regime ‘there is still a chance to end the bloodshed’,” Morsi said, adding: “Don’t take the right step at the wrong time… because that would be the wrong step.”

Morsi, who in June was elected Egypt’s first Islamist leader after an uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak, urged the Arab diplomats to move quickly to resolve the Syrian conflict which has left 26,000 people dead, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Al Jazeera’s Jacky Rowland, reporting from Cairo, said Morsi recognised that Iran could not be ingored if a solution was to be found for the conflict in Syria.

“Morsi’s speech touched many issues related to the Arab uprisings. Regarding Syria, he said there should be an Arab solution for the conflict,” said our correspondent.

“The Syrian blood that is being shed day and night, we are responsible for this,” Morsi said.

“We cannot sleep while Syrian blood is being shed.

“I call on you, Arab foreign ministers, to work hard to find an urgent solution to the tragedy in Syria.

“If we don’t move, the world won’t move with any seriousness.”

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Egypt Arrests Man After Nail Bomb Attack on German Embassy

Posted GMT 8-23-2012 14:15:22

Cairo (Reuters) — Police in Egypt on Wednesday arrested a man who tossed four homemade nail bombs into the German embassy grounds and attacked the entrance with a hammer but injured nobody and caused no serious damage, the embassy and security sources said.

The man acted out of anger after reading an Egyptian newspaper report on Friday which described a protest by German right-wing activists who had paraded caricatures of the Prophet Mohammad in front of a German mosque, they said.

Many Muslims consider any depiction of the Prophet to be offensive – a series of cartoons in a Danish newspaper in 2005 on the same subject sparked protests across the Islamic world.

“It was just one person who attacked the embassy and damaged the glass of the entrance with a hammer,” said a spokeswoman for the German embassy. “There was no major damage and no one hurt.”

The man was also brandishing a toy pistol, she added, and had used a hammer to crack the entrance’s toughened glass. He had brought copies of the offending newspaper article with him.

Writing by Patrick Werr and Edmund Blair; Editing by Andrew Osborn.

* Egypt expects to seal IMF loan by end of 2012

CAIRO (AP) — Egypt’s prime minister says he expects to reach an agreement by the end of the year with the International Monetary Fund on an aid package to help boost the country’s sagging economy. Hesham Kandil said after meeting with IMF Chief Christine Lagarde on Wednesday that his government has drawn up an economic plan for the IMF that includes strategies to counter the budget deficit, encourage investment and ensure that subsidies reach those most in need.

Initial talks over a $ 3.2 billion loan earlier this year stalled after Egypt’s political leaders failed to overcome differences on a plan for the funds.

Egypt’s finance minister has said Cairo hopes to increase the loan to $ 4.8 billion to cover budget deficits stemming from shrinking tourism and foreign investment revenues after last year’s uprising.

LINK

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Dinar Daddy’s Tidbits

* Arab Spring takeover of Egypt by the Muslim Brotherhood has run amok

The Arab Spring takeover of Egypt by the Muslim Brotherhood has run amok, with reports from several different media agencies that the radical Muslims have begun crucifying opponents of newly installed President Mohammed Morsi.

Middle East media confirm that during a recent rampage, Muslim Brotherhood operatives, “crucified those opposing Egyptian President Muhammad Morsi naked on trees in front of the presidential palace while abusing others.”

Comments

Dinar Daddy’s Tidbits

Egypt Begins Descent Into Tyranny

Posted GMT 8-15-2012 14:40:47

Barely two months after taking power, the Muslim Brotherhood has wasted no time in swiftly taking Egypt down the road to a totalitarian state. Its latest target is Al-Dustour, a Christian-owned newspaper, which had condemned President Morsi’s ties to Hamas as a threat to Egyptian national security. Al-Dustour was accused of sedition and stirring up sectarian discord–the latter is code for insulting Islam. Most dangerously, Al-Dustour implied that the Rafah attack had been backed by Morsi’s own Hamas allies to enable him to crack down on the domestic opposition.

Al-Dustour is not the first newspaper to be targeted by the Muslim Brotherhood. The Brotherhood has already used its parliamentary position to name dozens of new editors for Egypt’s major state-owned newspapers, including Al-Ahram. Akhbar Al-Youm, the second-largest newspaper in Egypt, will be run by a descendant of Muslim Brotherhood founder Hassan al-Bana.

In response to the Islamist hijacking of the Egyptian press, many reporters have spoken out against the move and some have even gone on strike. But the Muslim Brotherhood’s assault on Al-Dustour is a warning that the days of independent newspapers opposed to the regime are numbered. Both Obama and the Muslim Brotherhood have suggested Islamist Turkey as the model for the new Egypt. Now the Muslim Brotherhood is imitating Erdogan’s crackdown on the military as well as his totalitarian control over the Turkish press.

In addition to the Muslim Brotherhood’s assault on the press, one television network, Al Fareen, has already been taken off the air. More are certain to follow. Khaled Salah, the editor of the Youm7 newspaper, was assaulted by Muslim Brotherhood protesters demanding the closure of AlFareen and the arrest of anyone who criticizes Morsi and the Brotherhood.

The Rafah attack by Islamist terrorists plotting to invade Israel that killed 16 Egyptian soldiers has been exploited by the Brotherhood to launch a domestic crackdown on the opposition. The Brotherhood has issued a statement blaming Israel for the attack. But in reality Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood have been the true beneficiaries of the violence.

Morsi has used the attack to sack top Egyptian military leaders including Egypt’s Defense Minister, its Chief of Staff, its head of the General Intelligence Service, its chief of the Presidential Guard and its head of the Republican Guard. The purge had little to do with making Egypt safer and a great deal to do with Morsi and the Brotherhood seizing the opportunity to displace their only real rivals in the country’s tangled power structure.

The Brotherhood has crowned itself with the “revolutionary” label, describing any attack on its power as an attack on the January 25 Revolution and its martyrs. That familiar use of language emphasizes that Egypt is a revolutionary state and is constantly struggling against seditious and subversive forces. And revolutionary states suppress dissent against revolutionary power through state terror.

The Muslim Brotherhood’s statement cynically conflated the Rafah attack with outcries and protests by the domestic opposition and exploited the deaths of Egyptian soldiers at the hands of Morsi’s allies to call for a crackdown on domestic opposition to the Brotherhood. It demanded harsh action against “the instigators of vandalism and subversion throughout the land and against their collaborators and agents involved in causing this deliberate confusion, chaos and mayhem across Egypt under the pretext of exercising freedom.” And it urged Egyptians to report any “subversion” to the authorities.

Another Muslim Brotherhood statement accused the Mossad of being behind the attack and followed that with a call for Egyptian military control of Sinai. Egypt trashing the Camp David Accords and rolling back whatever security there was in the Sinai for a hostile border between the two countries is not in Israel’s interests–but it is part and parcel of the Brotherhood’s war agenda.

The Rafah attack bears some similarities to Nazi Germany’s Operation Himmler which used attacks by Nazi agents pretending to be Polish insurgents as a pretext for an invasion of Poland. But the Rafah attack also bears some similarities to the way that the Reichstag fire was used by the Nazis as a pretext for suppressing the opposition.

These historical analogies are not accidental. Nazi Germany had a great deal of influence on the Muslim Brotherhood. Matthias Kuntzel has described how the Brotherhood borrowed slogans, tactics and methods from Nazi Germany. The Brotherhood not only took Nazi money, it also absorbed Nazi ideas and its constant talk of revolution echoes both Nazi and Communist doctrine. Morsi is following in Hitler’s footsteps by terrorizing Christian Copts and using the Rafah attack as a Reichstag assault on Egypt’s political opposition and a pretext for tearing up the Camp David Accords.

Prominent Muslim Brotherhood figures are constantly issuing calls for arresting and detaining the opposition, accusing them of reactionary activities that subvert the revolution. Meanwhile Egypt hurriedly arrested and tried a number of Islamist terrorists through military tribunals; including one man they dubbed the “Bin Laden of Sinai.” But prominent newspapers, including Al-Hayat, have stated that the Rafah attackers came out of Gaza and made their move through Hamas tunnels. And Egyptian Major-General Gamal Mazloum has accused Hamas of funding the Sinai terrorists.

The alliance between the Muslim Brotherhood’s Hamas arm in Gaza and its Freedom and Justice Party in Egypt has allowed the organization to play off the military against the terrorists. Sinai terrorism leads to repression in Cairo and border tensions with Israel fulfilling the Brotherhood’s twin goals of suppressing domestic secularism and waging war against neighboring infidels. Both external threats are calculated to distract Egyptians from their dire economic situation.

The Rafah attack has given Morsi a much-needed external threat that is not economic in nature. It has allowed him to consolidate control over the military, the only independent threat to his rule, and to hijack the drafting of Egypt’s new constitution. Morsi has scrapped the June 17th Declaration and is set to implement a new process for drafting Egypt’s new constitution. A constitution that is doomed to be more Islamist than ever.

Three years ago Obama arrived in Cairo to open the door for the Muslim Brotherhood in the name of democracy and freedom. Now the Muslim Brotherhood is firmly shutting the door on democracy and freedom, while remilitarizing the Sinai and inching closer to dismantling the Camp David Accords. As Egypt slumps into tyranny under the Muslim Brotherhood, the death of the hopes that stirred in Tahrir Square mark the final dying throes of Obama’s failed Middle East policy.

By Daniel Greenfield
Frontpage Magazine

Egypt President Orders Retirement Of Defense Minister

Egyptian President Mohammad Mursi has reportedly ordered the retirement of the powerful head of the country’s armed forces, Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi.

He also canceled a constitutional declaration aimed at curbing presidential powers.

A presidential spokesman said Mursi had appointed Tantawi as his adviser.

Mursi also decreed that Abdul-Fatah al-Sessi would replace Tantawi as defense minister and the general commander of the army.

Mursi, who is a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, also sent into retirement the chief of the army staff, Sami Anan, and also appointed him as a presidential adviser.

Relations between the military and the Muslim Brotherhood have been tense since the downfall of former President Hosni Mubarak.

Based on reporting by AFP, AP, and Reuters

Egypt sends more troops to Sinai

Egypt has sent more troops into North Sinai in an intensifying offensive launched against armed groups after 16 Egyptian guards were killed in an attack on a checkpoint in the Israeli border region earlier in the week.

Hundreds of troops and dozens of military vehicles reached al-Arish, the main administrative centre in North Sinai, security sources said on Thursday. Armoured vehicles, some equipped with machineguns, could be seen driving towards the border settlement of Sheikh Zuwaid – which had been targeted by aircraft on Wednesday.

Egyptian army commanders said as many as 20 “terrorists” had died in the offensive launched after armed groups carried out the deadly attack on Sunday and drove a stolen armoured car into Israel. The vehicle was then destroyed by Israeli forces.

On Thursday night, thousands of Egyptians protested in Cairo in an area where the funeral of the 16 soldiers killed in the border ambush was held on Tuesday, demanding a tougher response to the killings.

“We want death to those who killed our martyrs in Rafah,” one banner said. The crowd closed down a main street, creating a huge traffic jam.

Problems ahead

Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi, elected in June, has vowed to restore stability in what the military has billed the biggest offensive in the region since Egypt’s 1973 war with Israel.

He has also brushed aside accusations that his background in the Muslim Brotherhood, and ideological affinity with the Islamist Hamas rulers in Gaza, might lead him to take a softer line on armed groups bent on the destruction of Israel.

In the region of al-Arish, all signs pointed to problems ahead.

Gunmen fired shots towards a police station in the region early on Thursday before running off. That followed attacks on checkpoints in the town on Wednesday.

In al Toumah village, residents said troops had searched fields and raided one house, finding nothing.

Some residents complained the army’s limited actions so far – including Wednesday’s air strikes – seemed indiscriminate.

“We are not against attacking militants, but the pilots have to set their targets properly because we have been subjected to haphazard bombardment which led to the destruction of homes and cars,” said Mohamed Aqil in al-Goura village near Sheikh Zuwaid.

“They said they killed 20 militants, where are they? Show them to us,” said one resident at al Goura.

Mursi on Wednesday fired the region’s governor and Egypt’s intelligence chief in response to public anger over the deaths of the border guards, the deadliest assault on Egyptian security forces in northern Sinai since the 1973 war.

No one has claimed responsibility for the assault which happened during the evening “iftar” meal which breaks the daytime fast during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Egypt began work to block the tunnels on Wednesday. It has also closed the Rafah border crossing, drawing an appeal from Ismail Nahiyeh, the head of the Hamas government, to reopen what he called “lifeline” for Gaza.

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Egypt launches deadly air strikes in Sinai

Egypt has launched air strikes in the Sinai region close to the border with Israel, killing more than 20 people, in response to a deadly attack on Sunday on a police station, the state-run Ahram news website has reported.

The air strikes on positions in the town of Sheikh Zouaid on Wednesday followed the deaths of 16 border guards at the weekend in an attack by gunmen whose identities are yet to be determined.

Witnesses in Sheikh Zouaid, about 10km from Gaza, said they saw two military jets and heard sounds of explosions. Other witnesses in a nearby area said they saw three cars hit.

“We have succeeded in entering al-Toumah village, killed 20 terrorists and destroyed three armoured cars belonging to terrorists. Operations are still ongoing,” an army commander told the Reuters news agency.

The strikes following clashes between armed men and security forces at several security checkpoints overnight in the Sinai region.

Armed men opened fire on checkpoints in al-Arish and in the nearby town of Rafah on the border with Israel, according to a reporter for Reuters and state media.

Six people were injured in the attacks late on Tuesday night, including two police officers, three army soldiers and one civilian, sources told Al Jazeera. The civilian is said to be in critical condition.

A cement production company in Sinai, which belongs to the military, was also attacked. Two gunmen suspected in that attack have reportedly been arrested.

‘Shocking attack’

Exchanges of gunfire continued late into the night, state news agency MENA said, adding that security forces had closed the road where the assault took place.

On Wednesday morning, just hours after the attacks, Egypt’s military launched an assault on targets in Sinai, Al Jazeera’s Jamal Elshayyal reported from the city of al-Arish.

“Over 48 hours since that audacious and shocking attack on the Egyptian military post here in Sinai, it seems that the army has decided to hit back if you will,” Elshayyal said.

“Over the last couple of hours we have heard that helicopters from the airforce, and on the ground tanks and other personnel carriers moved towards an area in Sinai which is essentially being seen as the stronghold of many of the armed tribes and armed assailants.

“The military it seems has decided to strike back against the people they believe were behind these attacks,” he said.

Border insecurity

Lawlessness in the rugged desert region bordering Israel has spread since the fall of Hosni Mubarak, the former Egyptian president, in an uprising 18 months ago and the political instability that has followed.

One of the checkpoints attacked on Wednesday has been attacked 28 times since the uprising, the state-funded Middle East News Agency said.

A few hours after the eruption of the clashes, hundreds of protesters gathered in Arish demanding state protection and chanting: “God is Great.”

Security forces closed Arish’s main highway shortly after the start of the attacks.

Earlier on Tuesday, crowds of angry mourners wept at the military funeral in Cairo of the 16 guards killed in what was the deadliest assault in decades along Egypt’s tense Sinai Peninsula border with Israel and Gaza.

Tunnels sealed

In reaction to Sunday’s attacks, Egypt began to seal off smuggling tunnels into the Gaza Strip, a security source said.

A Reuters reporter in Rafah said heavy equipment was brought to the Egyptian side of the tunnels, which are used to smuggle people to and from Gaza as well as scarce food and fuel for the small territory’s population.

No group has yet claimed responsibility for the initial Sinai attack.

Egypt and Israel say both Islamist fighters from the Sinai and Palestinian allies from the Gaza Strip are active in northern Sinai, attacking both Egyptian security forces and staging raids across the border into Israel.

An Egyptian armed forces’ statement suggested that groups on both sides of the border may have been involved.

“The armed forces have been careful in the past months and during the events of the [Egyptian] revolution [in 2011] not to shed Egyptian blood … but the group that staged yesterday’s attack is considered by the armed forces as enemies of the nation who must be dealt with by force,” it said.

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Egypt Must Tackle Its Sectarian Problems Head on

Posted GMT 8-8-2012 1:54:26

Egypt has a chronic sectarian problem, and the main obstacle to addressing it is official and popular denial that it has one.

Following each sectarian conflagration the government in Cairo issues its customary denials and denunciations and sends a delegation of officials and elders to reconcile the Muslim and Coptic sides.

It’s a well-known routine that has with time become increasingly absurd and out of touch with reality. The problem has been known for some time and acknowledged by all sensible people in Egypt, but apart from the rhetoric, no concrete steps have been taken to defuse it.

Egypt should apply the law to everyone and stop treating sectarian violence as a minor fight between brothers that is best kept within the family.

Last week’s flare-up was classic: a banal dispute between a Christian laundryman and a Muslim customer plunged the entire village of Dahshour, south of Cairo, into a perilous sectarian conflict culminating in the Copts abandoning their homes and businesses in the village.

As one Muslim was killed accidentally in the brawl that followed the altercation with the Christian laundryman, fellow Muslims went on the rampage plundering Christian shops and torching homes.

Locals accuse the police of standing by and of failing to act in time, despite warnings of revenge attacks. Human rights groups had also urged the police to be prepared for the worst, but their warnings fell on deaf ears.

As has been noted many times before, the practice of “informal reconciliation” instead of applying the penal code on what is fundamentally a criminal act, has only made matters worse by sending the wrong signal.

The Egyptian leadership’s handling of the crisis shows that it has learned little from past mistakes.

Instead of rushing to the village to inspect the damage and reassure Christians there, President Mohamed Morsi did more or less what the now jailed former president Hosni Mubarak used to do: he denounced the violence and urged the authorities to punish the culprits. Bizarrely, his office later released a statement saying the presidency had received assurances that the Copts were not forced out of their homes, but simply fled out of fear for their own safety.

Given his Islamist ideology, which is often blamed for sectarian attacks on Christians in Egypt and elsewhere in the region, and that he is the country’s first democratically elected president, Morsi could have used the Dahshour incident to convince Egypt’s sizeable Christian minority (who are justifiably fearful of him) that his brand of Islamism embraces in deeds, and not just in words, the secular values of equal rights to citizens regardless of gender and religion. But he clearly missed that opportunity.

The Copts have heard the Islamist mantra far too often — that Allah has obliged Muslims to protect “the people of the book”. As Islamists assume power in Egypt, the sectarian violence in Dahshour offered them an opportunity to prove their critics wrong. But Morsi’s behaviour has so far failed to reassure his Coptic subjects.

Egypt’s sectarian malaise runs deeper than many might imagine. Those who think it is confined to rural Egypt and poor communities should abandon that illusion. I was shocked to hear abominable views of Copts among Egypt’s affluent and supposedly well-educated Muslims: “They want to take over the country”, “They should be kept in their place,” etc. A Muslim architect once told me: “Guns are the only language they understand.” Not to mention, of course, talk of “monasteries being turned into fortresses and weapons depots”.

Such views are hardly surprising given the official attitudes. The authorities never acted against public events or the TV talk shows that denigrate Christianity and present it as an inferior religion. The logical conclusion is that they seem to condone what amounts to incitement to hatred of Copts.

The Egyptian state has never accepted the obvious: the Copts — estimated to be 10% of the population — suffer discrimination. Not only are Copts hard to find in senior government and military and security posts, but their right to worship is seriously undermined. While Muslims can build mosques anywhere they like — even illegally, and the state never dares to knock them down — Copts face often-insurmountable bureaucratic hurdles to obtain planning permission, not just for new churches, but even to renovate existing ones.

The Copts don’t like to describe what happened in Dahshour or elsewhere many times before as “clashes”. They describe each such sectarian incident as an “attack” on them, and rightly so.

But they too bear part of the responsibility for their ordeal. The more they take refuge in their own religious institutions the more they walk into the sectarian trap. Relatively few are active in public life. The deeply conservative Coptic church, which has resisted social change as much as its Islamic counterparts, has sought to speak on behalf of Christians — which tends only to aggravate Egypt’s sectarian wounds.

Religious solidarity along sectarian lines is part of the problem, and certainly not the solution. While it is understandable that the church has to defend the interests of its followers, the response to the dangers of politicised Islam should not be politicised Christianity.

The interests of Copts are best served by defending the separation of religion from politics and not by turning the church into a political platform.

By Magdi Abdelhadi
www.guardian.co.uk