Tag: Copts

Another Egyptian Christian conscript dies in ‘mysterious’ circumstances

January 14, 2016 Egypt Aswan, Conscripts, Copts, Egypt, Suez

Bishoy Kamel was supposed to walk free from his military service in February. Instead, his family collected his body three months earlier. The corpse bore “signs of torture”, the family said. “When we reached the hospital that afternoon, we saw Bishoy’s body reposed like an angel,” said Natei Kamel, the . . . Read More

Egypt: President promises to rebuild churches

January 8, 2016 Egypt Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Churches, Copts, Egypt, Middle East, Mohamed Morsi, Pope Tawadros II

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has apologised to his nation’s Christians for the violent attacks in August 2013 that damaged or destroyed at least 65 churches and Coptic properties, including businesses, across Egypt. Coming after the ouster of President Morsi, the wave of violence was said to be the worst . . . Read More

UK leaders say IS guilty of Christian ‘genocide’

December 21, 2015 Copts, Egypt, Genocide, Islamic State, Lord Alton, UK, UN, USA, Yazidis

Sixty UK parliamentarians, led by Lord Alton and the convenor of the Catholic Legislators’ Network, MP Rob Flello, have to ask that he use his influence to come to an agreement with the UN with reference to Daesh’s (ISIS) atrocities against minorities. Their letter calls on the 127 signatories of . . . Read More

5 years on: what has the Arab Spring meant for Christians?

December 17, 2015 Arab Spring, Copts, Egypt, Hosni Mubarak, Iraq, Islamic State, Libya, Middle East, Muammar Gaddafi, Muslim Brotherhood, North Africa, Ramadan, Syria, Tunisia

The Arab Spring, which began five years ago today (17th December) started with a wave of protests in Tunisia followed by other Arab countries. It was positively acclaimed as a social movement demanding an end to human rights violations, government corruption and poverty. Yet, so far, the outcome is largely contrary to . . . Read More

Egyptian brothers add to tally of Christians killed in Libya

December 16, 2015 Egypt Ansar al-Sharia, Copts, Egypt, Islamic State, Libya, Sohag

Today, 16 December, is the date set for the signing of a UN-facilitated agreement on forming a new national unity government in Libya. Since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, the country has been engulfed by conflicts between various coalitions of armed groups. The country is split between an . . . Read More

Egypt army rebuilds church destroyed by Islamists

November 25, 2015 Egypt Churches, Copts, Egypt, Mohamed Morsi, Muslim Brotherhood, Pope Tawadros II

A Coptic Orthodox church destroyed by Muslim Brotherhood sympathizers in August 2013 has been rebuilt by the Egyptian army. St Theodore’s church in the Upper Egypt city of Minya was destroyed by Islamist extremists after the Muslim Brotherhood leader, Mohamed Morsi, was deposed from the Egyptian Presidency. In retaliation for . . . Read More

Egyptian Copt’s ‘faked Facebook blasphemy’ acquittal delayed

November 17, 2015 Egypt Blasphemy, Copts, Sohag

Bishoy Garas has always maintained his Facebook profile was hackedWorld Watch Monitor An Egyptian Christian, jailed for 38 months on unsubstantiated charges, has had his expected acquittal delayed again to February next year, his lawyer said. Bishoy Garas was sentenced to six years in prison from September 2012 for offending . . . Read More

Police raid Sat-7 channel’s Egypt offices

October 14, 2015 Egypt Censorship, Copts, Egypt, Middle East, North Africa

Egyptian police raided Sat-7 channel’s Cairo offices on Oct. 10, confiscating equipment and briefly detaining the pioneer Arabic Christian broadcaster’s country office director. Detained for hours before being released, director Farid Samir faces possible charges related to operating a satellite TV channel “without the necessary licenses,” a press release by . . . Read More

Egypt church goes ahead despite opposition

October 6, 2015 Egypt Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Copts, Egypt, Islamic State, Libya

A church commemorating the beheading of 20 Coptic Christians and one Ghanaian by the Islamic State in Libya has finally received the go-ahead by government authorities, seven months after Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi ordered its construction. Coptic newspaper Watani quoted local priest Fr. Maqar Eissa saying that all building and . . . Read More

Egyptian land dispute threatens inter-religious flashpoint

October 5, 2015 Egypt Alexandria, Churches, Copts

What in a normal setting is an everyday land dispute can quickly turn into a full-blown sectarian flashpoint with adverse effects on the wider community, when one side of the feud happens to belong to the wrong religion. This is what Hamdi Makanoti, his family, and local Coptic Christians are . . . Read More

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