‘Mixed feelings’ for families after IS cameraman reveals where beheaded Copts were buried

‘Mixed feelings’ for families after IS cameraman reveals where beheaded Copts were buried
The families of the 20 Egyptian Christians beheaded on a beach in Libya in 2015 say they have “mixed feelings” after the cameraman who filmed the beheadings reportedly told the authorities where the bodies were buried. Coptic news site Watani spoke to the families of 13 of the murdered Christians, . . . Read More

Egypt: ex-kidnapper admits ‘they get paid for every Coptic Christian girl they bring in’

Egypt: ex-kidnapper admits ‘they get paid for every Coptic Christian girl they bring in’
“I remember a Coptic Christian girl from a rich, well-known family in Minya. She was kidnapped by five Muslim men. They held her in a house, stripped her and filmed her naked. In the video, one of them also undressed. They threatened to make the video public if the girl . . . Read More

Copts in Kom El-Loufy still have no church in their village, and they’re not alone

After 12 years of fierce opposition Coptic Christians in Kom El-Loufy, Minya, will soon again have a church. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)
The more than 1,600 Copts in the village of Kom El-Loufy in Minya, Upper Egypt are still waiting for a new church building, seven years after their previous building was closed the same month it was opened. Ever since the Copts started looking for a new venue, they have experienced fierce . . . Read More

Terrorist threat forces Egyptian Christians to cancel summer activities

Terrorist threat forces Egyptian Christians to cancel summer activities
The churches of Egypt are temporarily shutting down their summer activities. “I asked all our churches and conference centres to cancel their trips and events for the next three weeks,” Dr. Andrea Zaki, president of the Protestant Churches of Egypt, told World Watch Monitor. “There is news they could be . . . Read More

Al-Azhar says Islam ‘totally incompatible’ with violence, as IS shifts focus to Upper Egypt

Al-Azhar says Islam ‘totally incompatible’ with violence, as IS shifts focus to Upper Egypt
Scholars at Cairo’s Al-Azhar University, the pre-eminent seat of Sunni Islamic learning, have submitted a bill to the Egyptian government, which “aims to reaffirm the total incompatibility between the violence justified by religious arguments and Islamic law”. As World Watch Monitor reported on 21 June, Al-Azhar has distanced itself from . . . Read More