Tag: Egypt

Another boatful of migrants capsizes

October 11, 2013 Africa, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Europe, Lampedusa, Migrants, Refugees

One week after a shipwreck killed more than 300 African migrants seeking asylum in Europe, another boat capsized in the Mediterranean Sea on Friday, Oct. 11, killing several more. The boat, carrying more than 200 migrants, capsized about 105 kilometres southeast of Lampedusa, an island that itself is about 130 . . . Read More

Amnesty: Egypt failed to protect Copts

October 9, 2013 Egypt Copts, Egypt, Middle East, North Africa

A new report by Amnesty International claims the authorities in Egypt are failing to prevent “deeply disturbing” attacks on the country’s Coptic Christian minority. The organisation has called for an investigation into a series of deadly sectarian incidents. “Failure to bring to justice those responsible for sectarian attacks sends the . . . Read More

Egyptian bishop eludes gunmen

October 1, 2013 Egypt Anba Macarius, Bishop Angaelos, Copts, Egypt, Minya

An automobile occupied by the bishop of the Coptic Church in Minya, Egypt, and several companions came under gunfire on Monday. No one was hurt. “We are all safe,” Bishop Makarios told Bishop Angaelos, general bishop of The Coptic Orthodox Church in the United Kingdom, according to a release from the . . . Read More

Christianity in danger of becoming extinct in its birthplace

September 30, 2013 Bishop Angaelos, Copts, Egypt, Free Syrian Army, Iraq, Islamic extremism, London, Middle East, Syria

Last month, World Watch Monitor released a report, Beyond Count, highlighting the alarming frequency with which Christians are fleeing the Middle East. Now a British historian has added his voice to those concerns. By Dr. Jenny Taylor Respected UK historian Tom Holland told a briefing in London this week that . . . Read More

Targeting of Egypt’s Copts condemned

September 17, 2013 Egypt Egypt, Islamic extremism, Sharia, Upper Egypt

Egypt’s National Council for Human Rights has condemned attacks on Christians in Upper Egypt, reports Ahram. The council said attacks on Christians, their homes and places and worship have proved that Christians are targeted because of their beliefs. Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the drafting committee responsible for the country’s new . . . Read More

Amid the ruins, forgiveness

September 12, 2013 Egypt Egypt, Middle East, Minya, North Africa

Continuing the growing stream of reporting on the extensive damage done to Egypt’s churches since Aug. 14, the Sat7 Christian broadcasting service showed video on Sunday of the worship service at the Evangelical Church of Beni Mazar, in the Minya region. Worshipers sang and prayed in the charred remains of their building. . . . Read More

Islamist takeover in Dalga

September 7, 2013 Egypt Egypt, Islamic extremism

It’s been several weeks since the 14 August eruption of violence against Egypt’s churches, and now in-depth news accounts of the attacks and their aftermath are beginning to emerge from the mainstream media. The latest example is an absorbing report by Hamza Hendawi for the Associated Press, showing how Islamists in . . . Read More

Monastery closure hits Sinai economy

September 5, 2013 Egypt Egypt, Sinai

Residents of the Sinai city of St. Catherine have complained they are struggling to survive following the closure of the city’s 1,500-year-old monastery two months ago, reports Al-Monitor. Egypt’s government ordered the monastery shut in early July after suspicions it was to be attacked. This is only the third time . . . Read More

Another view of Egypt’s violence

August 27, 2013 Egypt Copts, Egypt, Muslim Brotherhood

While much of Egypt and the world fixates on the fate of the Muslim Brotherhood and their attacks on Coptic churches, Timothy Kaldas sees something else: “The state’s cynical use of Christian suffering to justify its violent behavior.” Despite the fact that attacks on Christian churches and communities have been . . . Read More

Senator pushes for religious freedom envoy

August 23, 2013 Copts, Egypt, Middle East, Religious freedom, USA

US Senator Roy Blunt is renewing his call for the State Department to create a special envoy for religious minorities in the Middle East. Blunt, a Republican from Missouri, introduced the necessary legislation in March. This week, in the wake of widespread attacks on Christian churches, schools and other facilities . . . Read More

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