Tag: Copts

Christians hail dissolution of Egyptian parliament

June 14, 2012 Egypt Copts, Egypt, Elections, Hosni Mubarak, Islamic extremism, Muslim Brotherhood

Christians in Egypt welcomed today’s court decision to dissolve the Islamist-controlled parliament due to election irregularities. The decision offered hope for Christians, many of whom were convinced the country was about to be handed over to Islamists who would stifle religious freedom and persecute non-Muslims. “Christians are happy, because they . . . Read More

Gutted church building leaves Egyptian Copts with debt

June 14, 2012 Egypt Cairo, Copts, Egypt

A hasty, inadequate renovation of a church building that Salafi Muslims largely gutted a year ago has left the congregation with staggering debt from additional repairs, church members said. Waiting inside the main hall of the Virgin Mary Church in Imbaba, Cairo on Sunday (June 10), a woman looked at . . . Read More

Court rulings mirror fears, hopes in Egyptian vote

May 30, 2012 Egypt Copts, Egypt, Elections, Minya, Mohamed Morsi, Muslim Brotherhood, Sharia

In the lead-up to the country’s first democratic presidential election, a court ruling confirmed fears that justice will continue to elude the Christian minority in post-revolutionary Egypt, while another verdict offered some hope. On May 21 a judge sentenced 12 Coptic Christians to life in prison for their alleged part . . . Read More

Christian’s six-year sentence upheld

April 27, 2012 Egypt Asyut, Blasphemy, Copts, Egypt, Islamic extremism, Prophet Muhammad

A judge in Upper Egypt has upheld a six-year prison sentence for a Coptic Christian wrongly convicted of “blasphemy” against Islam and inciting sectarian strife, his lawyer said. The judge in Assuit on April 5 refused to strike down a Feb. 29 sentence delivered to Makarem Diab, 49, of the . . . Read More

Court in Egypt sentences young Christian for ‘insulting Islam’

April 6, 2012 Egypt Asyut, Blasphemy, Copts, Egypt, Islamic extremism, Prophet Muhammad, Salafism

In a show of partiality to Muslims who go unprosecuted for like offenses against Christianity, a juvenile court in Egypt on Wednesday (April 4) sentenced a Coptic Christian teenager to three years in prison for allegedly insulting Islam. Gamal Abdou Massoud, 17, denies the charges. The court claimed that he . . . Read More

Salafist leaders celebrate death of Coptic Pope in Egypt

March 23, 2012 Egypt Al-Nour Party, Copts, Egypt, Hosni Mubarak, Salafism

As Christians across Egypt continued to mourn the loss of Pope Shenouda III this week, Islamist leaders of the Salafist movement issued a litany of insults, calling the late leader of the Coptic Orthodox Church the “head of the infidels” and thanking God for his death. The vitriol indicated the . . . Read More

Persecution increased most in Sudan, Nigeria, report says

January 4, 2012 Global News -- No Particular Country Abyei, Afghanistan, Alexandria, Arab Spring, Blasphemy, Blue Nile, Boko Haram, China, Copts, Egypt, Ethiopia, Hosni Mubarak, Iran, Iraq, Islamic extremism, Kazakhstan, Maldives, Maspero, Nigeria, Omar al-Bashir, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, South Kordofan, South Sudan, Sudan, Uzbekistan, Yemen

Sudan and northern Nigeria saw steeper increases in persecution against Christians than 48 other nations where Christians suffered abuse last year, according to an annual ranking by Christian support organization Open Doors. Sudan – where northern Christians experienced greater vulnerability after southern Sudan seceded in a July referendum, and where . . . Read More

Catching Our Eye