Tag: Egypt

Copts persuaded to drop charges against mob who attacked their church

May 30, 2018 Egypt Alexandria, Beheira, Beni Suef, Churches, Copts, Egypt, Islamic extremism

Copts in a village near the Egyptian city of Alexandria have been persuaded to waive the charges against an extremist mob who pelted their church with Molotov cocktails, in order to retain the use of the building for worship, World Watch Monitor has learnt. Seven Copts were injured when a mob . . . Read More

Egypt: Coptic villagers persuaded to shut church to keep the peace

May 24, 2018 Egypt Andrea Zaki, Beni Suef, Copts, Egypt

An Egyptian church that was attacked by a local Muslim mob after applying for legal recognition is to be temporarily closed following a conciliation session between Copts and Muslims aimed at containing the fallout of the attack. Eleven Muslims and nine Copts arrested after the attack on the church of . . . Read More

Egypt: Coptic mother recalls Minya bus attack that killed her son

May 18, 2018 Egypt Beni Suef, Copts, Egypt, Islamic extremism, Minya

26 May 2018 will mark the first anniversary of the attack on two buses carrying Coptic Christians on their way to St. Samuel’s Monastery to celebrate Ascension Day*. The convoy was stopped at 9.30am on a remote desert road, close to the border between the Minya and Beni Suef provinces, by masked . . . Read More

Egypt: Families of beheaded Copts finally reunited with remains of loved ones

May 16, 2018 Egypt Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Cairo, Copts, Egypt, Islamic State, Libya, Minya, Pope Tawadros II, Ramadan, Samalut, Upper Egypt

After a three-year wait and a number of broken promises, the Egyptian Coptic families of 20 men beheaded by IS in Libya in 2015 have finally received their loved ones’ remains. The leader of the Coptic Church, Pope Tawadros II, accompanied by several bishops, priests and deacons, welcomed the 20 . . . Read More

New promise that bodies of 21 beheaded Christians will be returned to families

May 11, 2018 Egypt Copts, Egypt, Islamic extremism, Islamic State, Libya, Minya, Samalut

For the third time since February, the families of the 20 Egyptian Copts and one Ghanaian Christian beheaded three years ago in Libya by IS have been promised the imminent return of their loved ones’ remains. The head of investigations at the Libyan Attorney General’s Office, Siddiq Assour, ordered on . . . Read More

Kidnapping fears for missing Coptic newlywed

May 8, 2018 Egypt Aswan, Beni Suef, Copts, Egypt, Giza, Kidnapping, Marriage, Minya, Qalyubia, Qena, Samalut, Sharqia, Sohag, Upper Egypt, Women

A Coptic Christian woman who had been married for two weeks went missing from her school last Wednesday, sparking fears that she may have been kidnapped. Her disappearance brings to eight the number of Coptic women in Egypt who have gone missing since April, according to research by World Watch . . . Read More

Egyptian Copts face Muslim mobs protesting against legalisation of churches

May 4, 2018 Egypt Churches, Copts, Egypt, Islamic extremism, Luxor, Palm Sunday, Upper Egypt

The closure of a church in Upper Egypt that sought legalisation has been condemned as illegal by the congregation’s lawyer, and charges made against eight of its congregation, who have been detained for more than a month, as not valid. Coptic Christians of Al-Koumair village in Luxor Governorate had been . . . Read More

‘How can you accidentally shoot yourself in the back of the neck?’ ask Coptic soldier’s family

May 2, 2018 Egypt Asyut, Conscripts, Copts, Egypt, El-Arish, Giza

A Coptic Christian soldier reported to have died by accident ten days ago was in fact killed, his family say. The family of 22-year-old Mikhail Farhat Saad Tamer were called to collect his body from the police station in Al-Qusiyyah, Asyut Governorate, on 23 April. But when they arrived, they were . . . Read More

Egypt’s disappearing Coptic women and girls

May 1, 2018 Egypt Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Beni Suef, Cairo, Children, Copts, Egypt, Giza, Kidnapping, Marriage, Minya, Qalyubia, Qena, Sharqia, Sohag, Women

At least seven Coptic Christian women and girls disappeared in Egypt last month, in what is becoming a recurring phenomenon. In each case, the family of the woman says she was abducted by a Muslim who wished to convert her to Islam and marry her. All of the disappearances have been . . . Read More

Egypt: Court will try 3 men for assault on elderly Coptic woman

April 25, 2018 Egypt Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Copts, Egypt, Islamic extremism, Minya, Soad Thabet

Soad Thabet and Bishop Makarius of the Coptic Church.

Three men are scheduled to stand trial in an Egyptian court for publicly stripping a 70-year-old Christian woman following rumours that her son had an affair with a married Muslim woman. Following the rumour and threats made to him and his family, Ashraf Attiya, a then-31-year-old Coptic Christian trader, fled . . . Read More

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