Is it wise to kill the capital’s rubbish-ridding pigs?
IN A city not much noted for efficiency, Cairo’s traditional rubbish collectors, or Zabbaleen, have long been something of a paragon. While failing to keep Egypt’s teeming capital very clean, the Zabbaleen, nearly all of them members of Egypt’s 6m-plus Coptic Christian minority, do an excellent job of processing waste. Trucking refuse to the half-dozen rag-picking settlements that ring the city, they carefully sift out recyclable glass, paper and plastic. The rest is fed to pigs.But in response to the global threat of swine flu, Egypt’s government has decreed that the pigs, perhaps 250,000 of them, must go. Teams of surgical-mask-wearing pig-hunters were met at first with a barrage of rocks, bottles and manure hurled by the angry Zabbaleen. Now, backed by riot police and promising compensation, they are systematically hauling the beasts off for slaughter, a process expected to take several months.
With no cases of swine flu reported in Egypt to date, officials from both the UN and the World Health Organisation have condemned Egypt’s porcicide as a drastic overreaction. Some disgruntled Copts, who have long complained of petty discrimination and fear the influence of Islamist groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood, say the move unfairly targets them. Others, noting that Egypt’s minister of health consulted Coptic clergy before announcing the cull, see it as a plot by wealthy businessmen to uproot the Zabbaleen and seize their valuable land on the edge of the city. Still more rumours explain the government’s swinophobia as a ploy to distract attention from other failings, such as not paying a promised salary bonus.
Yet most of the 80m-odd Egyptians seem relieved. While Muslims shun pigs as ritually unclean, many Copts also fear them as disease-carriers, with panic over swine flu heightened as Egypt has suffered at least 26 deaths from avian flu since 2006, the most in any country outside Asia. Besides, the crowded pig pens, surrounded by mounds of self-combusting biodegradable slime and hemmed in by dense human settlement, are a stinky eyesore. But the question no one seems to ask is, if pigs are no longer there to munch away at them, where will Cairo’s giant piles of leftovers go?
uscopts
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
The Copts: Persecuted Christians of Egypt
Written by Mounir Bishay
Catholic Online6 May 2009
Hundreds of Coptic young girls, including many under aged, are being kidnapped, raped, forced to convert to Islam and marry Muslim men.
We are confident that the Lord has established His altar in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar at the border thereof. (Isaiah 19:19) God will continue to have His presence in Egypt. The Copts of Egypt will continue to be God’s people, and they will continue to be blessed. (Isaiah 19:25)
LOS ANGELES (Catholic Online) - The word “Copt” is derived from the Greek word, “Ai-gypt-os” meaning Egypt. The middle part of the word “gypt” was later pronounced as “Copt” and used to mean Egyptian.
From the time Egypt embraced Christianity in 54AD to the time Islam invaded Egypt in 642 AD, all people of Egypt were called Copts, After the Islamic invasion, some Copts embraced Islam and excluded themselves from the name. Those who remained faithful to their Christian faith clanged to their Coptic identity, and still do.
There is no official count for the Copts of Egypt, today. The Egyptian census bureau, keeps this as a secret. This is seen as a reason to avoid any demands by Copts for equitable treatment. However, reliable statistical sources put the number at more than 12 millions, about 15% of Egypt’s population of 80 millions.
Christianity was introduced to Egypt in 54 AD by St. Mark, a North African Jew and one of the 70 apostles of the early church. St. Mark is the writer of the Gospel of Mark, one of the four gospels of the New Testament. He was the first Patriarch of an unbroken 117 patriarchy of the Coptic Orthodox church. St Mark was the first martyr of many Coptic martyrs who gave their life for the faith. In 68 AD, St Mark was killed when he was seized and dragged with a rope through the main streets of the city of Alexandria.
St. Mark put the foundation of the Church of Alexandria, one of the ancient pillar churches at the time. The other churches were the mother Church in Jerusalem, the Church of Antioch, the Church of Rome, the Church of Ephesus, and the Church of Constantinople. St Mark also founded the school of Alexandria which produced great theologians in the history of Christianity such as Clement of Alexandria and Origen.
In the year 642 AD the Arabs led by Amre Ibn El As invaded Egypt under the banner of Islam thus ending the Coptic era. Islam soon spread in Egypt as a result of imposing a high tax on Copts (People of the Book) called Jizya. Those among the Copts, who were able to pay the tax, did so and remained as Christians. The poor Copts were offered two choices, either to convert to Islam or be killed. Many Copts were martyred.
Those Copts who remained Christians were reduced to the Dhemmi status, a third class citizenship, after the Arab Muslims and the Egyptian Muslims. It is a class of people who are allowed just to exist with little or no rights. Soon the Arabic language was forced onto all Egyptians and the Coptic language was restricted until it completely disappeared except in church liturgy.
Copts in modern times
The Copts in modern Egypt are suffering from discrimination and persecution. They are frequently subject to terrorist attacks on their persons, homes, businesses and churches. Not a month passes by without a major assault taking place. According to a study made by Ibn Khaldoun Research Center, more than 240 major attacks took place just between the years 1972- 2003.
Hundreds of Coptic young girls, including many under aged, are being kidnapped, raped, forced to convert to Islam and marry Muslim men.
The Egyptian Constitution stipulates that all Egyptians are equal under the law. But the discrimination is widely practiced with sanction from the government. Areas of discrimination include but not limited to education, employment, freedom of religion, building churches, and parliamentary representation.
• Many colleges limit the enrollment of Copts by imposing a quota of 1 or 2 % while the Copts are about 15% of the populations. A total educational system, from elementary to college, called Al Azhar which is fully funded by all tax payers does not accept Copts as students or as teachers or administrators
• Many high ranking jobs are out of reach of Copts. Examples are key police and security positions, mayors, police chiefs, deans of colleges, presidents of universities and most diplomatic positions.
• Christians who want to convert to Islam are welcomed with open arms, while Muslims who would like to convert to Christianity are usually imprisoned and tortured, some die from torture.
• Building churches still require a permit from regional governess for repairs. Building new churches still require approval of the President. Even when the president approves, the security apparatus must also investigate to see if the Muslim community would not object. If they object, the church may not be built. Many new communities don’t have churches. A permit to build a church could take as long as 20 years and may never be secured.
• Egypt’s Parliament has just two Coptic elected representatives; one of them was disqualified for holding dual citizenship. This is out of 444 total representatives, which amounts to less than ½ % of the total representatives. The president appoints few more Copts who owe their loyalty to the government rather than to the Coptic people.
As a result of this harsh treatment, many Copts are leaving the country of their forefathers to become immigrants in countries all over the world. In addition, some of those who are weak in the faith among the Copts are abandoning their Christian faith and converting to Islam. A Muslim writer predicted that Christianity will disappear from Egypt within 100 years. Humanly speaking, some may look at that with concern. However, Christianity in Egypt went through much harsher periods than that, under Islam in the last 1400 hundred years, and still stands strong as the great Pyramids.
It is the other way around, with the help of modern technology, we are seeing many Muslims inside Egypt and all over the Islamic world are hearing the message of Jesus and embracing the Christian faith. We are confident that the Lord has established His altar in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar at the border thereof. (Isaiah 19:19) God will continue to have His presence in Egypt. The Copts of Egypt will continue to be God’s people, and they will continue to be blessed. (Isaiah 19:25)
ukcopts
Catholic Online6 May 2009
Hundreds of Coptic young girls, including many under aged, are being kidnapped, raped, forced to convert to Islam and marry Muslim men.
We are confident that the Lord has established His altar in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar at the border thereof. (Isaiah 19:19) God will continue to have His presence in Egypt. The Copts of Egypt will continue to be God’s people, and they will continue to be blessed. (Isaiah 19:25)
LOS ANGELES (Catholic Online) - The word “Copt” is derived from the Greek word, “Ai-gypt-os” meaning Egypt. The middle part of the word “gypt” was later pronounced as “Copt” and used to mean Egyptian.
From the time Egypt embraced Christianity in 54AD to the time Islam invaded Egypt in 642 AD, all people of Egypt were called Copts, After the Islamic invasion, some Copts embraced Islam and excluded themselves from the name. Those who remained faithful to their Christian faith clanged to their Coptic identity, and still do.
There is no official count for the Copts of Egypt, today. The Egyptian census bureau, keeps this as a secret. This is seen as a reason to avoid any demands by Copts for equitable treatment. However, reliable statistical sources put the number at more than 12 millions, about 15% of Egypt’s population of 80 millions.
Christianity was introduced to Egypt in 54 AD by St. Mark, a North African Jew and one of the 70 apostles of the early church. St. Mark is the writer of the Gospel of Mark, one of the four gospels of the New Testament. He was the first Patriarch of an unbroken 117 patriarchy of the Coptic Orthodox church. St Mark was the first martyr of many Coptic martyrs who gave their life for the faith. In 68 AD, St Mark was killed when he was seized and dragged with a rope through the main streets of the city of Alexandria.
St. Mark put the foundation of the Church of Alexandria, one of the ancient pillar churches at the time. The other churches were the mother Church in Jerusalem, the Church of Antioch, the Church of Rome, the Church of Ephesus, and the Church of Constantinople. St Mark also founded the school of Alexandria which produced great theologians in the history of Christianity such as Clement of Alexandria and Origen.
In the year 642 AD the Arabs led by Amre Ibn El As invaded Egypt under the banner of Islam thus ending the Coptic era. Islam soon spread in Egypt as a result of imposing a high tax on Copts (People of the Book) called Jizya. Those among the Copts, who were able to pay the tax, did so and remained as Christians. The poor Copts were offered two choices, either to convert to Islam or be killed. Many Copts were martyred.
Those Copts who remained Christians were reduced to the Dhemmi status, a third class citizenship, after the Arab Muslims and the Egyptian Muslims. It is a class of people who are allowed just to exist with little or no rights. Soon the Arabic language was forced onto all Egyptians and the Coptic language was restricted until it completely disappeared except in church liturgy.
Copts in modern times
The Copts in modern Egypt are suffering from discrimination and persecution. They are frequently subject to terrorist attacks on their persons, homes, businesses and churches. Not a month passes by without a major assault taking place. According to a study made by Ibn Khaldoun Research Center, more than 240 major attacks took place just between the years 1972- 2003.
Hundreds of Coptic young girls, including many under aged, are being kidnapped, raped, forced to convert to Islam and marry Muslim men.
The Egyptian Constitution stipulates that all Egyptians are equal under the law. But the discrimination is widely practiced with sanction from the government. Areas of discrimination include but not limited to education, employment, freedom of religion, building churches, and parliamentary representation.
• Many colleges limit the enrollment of Copts by imposing a quota of 1 or 2 % while the Copts are about 15% of the populations. A total educational system, from elementary to college, called Al Azhar which is fully funded by all tax payers does not accept Copts as students or as teachers or administrators
• Many high ranking jobs are out of reach of Copts. Examples are key police and security positions, mayors, police chiefs, deans of colleges, presidents of universities and most diplomatic positions.
• Christians who want to convert to Islam are welcomed with open arms, while Muslims who would like to convert to Christianity are usually imprisoned and tortured, some die from torture.
• Building churches still require a permit from regional governess for repairs. Building new churches still require approval of the President. Even when the president approves, the security apparatus must also investigate to see if the Muslim community would not object. If they object, the church may not be built. Many new communities don’t have churches. A permit to build a church could take as long as 20 years and may never be secured.
• Egypt’s Parliament has just two Coptic elected representatives; one of them was disqualified for holding dual citizenship. This is out of 444 total representatives, which amounts to less than ½ % of the total representatives. The president appoints few more Copts who owe their loyalty to the government rather than to the Coptic people.
As a result of this harsh treatment, many Copts are leaving the country of their forefathers to become immigrants in countries all over the world. In addition, some of those who are weak in the faith among the Copts are abandoning their Christian faith and converting to Islam. A Muslim writer predicted that Christianity will disappear from Egypt within 100 years. Humanly speaking, some may look at that with concern. However, Christianity in Egypt went through much harsher periods than that, under Islam in the last 1400 hundred years, and still stands strong as the great Pyramids.
It is the other way around, with the help of modern technology, we are seeing many Muslims inside Egypt and all over the Islamic world are hearing the message of Jesus and embracing the Christian faith. We are confident that the Lord has established His altar in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar at the border thereof. (Isaiah 19:19) God will continue to have His presence in Egypt. The Copts of Egypt will continue to be God’s people, and they will continue to be blessed. (Isaiah 19:25)
ukcopts
Non-Arabs of the Middle East and Persecution
The Seoul Times
6 May 2009
If we focus on Egypt, then the indigenous Coptic Christians who number between 8 and 12 million, depending on different data; also face enormous problems in their own homeland.
When most people think about the Middle East the usual images arise, for example the religion of Islam and the role of Arabs in this vast region. However, in many societies you have a rich mosaic of differences and the so-called "Arab Street" ignores this rich diversity.
Also, for many minorities who reside in mainly Arab nations in this region, their suffering and pain is being largely ignored. Before focusing on minorities within the Arab dominated nations, it is worth remembering the nations of Iran and Turkey respectively. After all, both societies have very small Arab minorities and the overwhelming majority of people belong to different ethnic groups.
In Turkey, it is clear that the two dominant ethnic groups are the Turks and Kurds and both ethnic groups can be found in other parts of Asia. For the Kurds, they are pressed between competing nationalisms. Therefore, the 25 million plus Kurds face Arab, Turkish, and Persian nationalism in Iraq, Iran, and Turkey respectively, and they also face problems in parts of Syria.
However, while the Palestinian cause gets the majority of the global attention, the more numerous Kurds are largely neglected and the desire for a united Kurdistan remains. Therefore, the Kurdish issue impacts greatly on a vast part of the Middle East region.
If we focus on Egypt, then the indigenous Coptic Christians who number between 8 and 12 million, depending on different data; also face enormous problems in their own homeland. After all, just like the vast majority of Arab dominated nations in this region, the Arabs conquered and colonialized many parts of the Middle East.
However, despite enormous persecution in the past, and continuing problems in modern day Egypt, the Coptic Christians are a further reminder of the rich mosaic of the entire region. Also, the legacy of Coptic Christianity applies to monasticism and the "Christian heart" is still "beating" despite Islamic dhimmitude and inequality.
Christianity is also vibrant in Lebanon, and in Sudan the Christian faith helped different ethnic groups, for example the Dinka and Nuer, to fight-back against Arabization and Islamization. So once more, the dominant thinking of the Middle East is complex because in Lebanon and Sudan you have many non-Arab ethnic groups.
In modern day Lebanon the Christian population is approximately 39% and the Christian Maronites can trace their lineage back to ancient Phoenicia. Also, when a DNA survey was done several years ago it was noticeable that many Maronite Christians carried the male chromosome called the WES1. This chromosome is usually only found amongst West Europeans, at the same time, most Muslims in the test in Lebanon carried the J1 chromosome which is related to Arab expansionism from the 7th and 8th centuries.
So clearly, the "Arabness" of Lebanon is clearly "vague" and you also have a vibrant Armenian Christian community in this nation. While in the religious field it is clear that the Druze community is very different from both Sunni and Shia Islam and this all adds to the rich mosaic of Lebanon.
In modern day Iraq around 23% of the population is non-Arab and this applies to the Assyrians, Kurds, Turkomans, and others. For the Assyrian Christians, Arabization and Islamization is still a great threat and hundreds of thousands have fled since America invaded Iraq. However, the Kurds have a major stronghold in northern Iraq because of military and ethnic factors.
Yet people often refer to Iraq being an Arab nation, however, the Assyrians are the indigenous people and the rich civilization of this nation belongs to the ancient Assyrian Empire. Meanwhile, today, it is clear that Arabization and Islamization is a serious threat to the Christian minority in Iraq.
However, for the Kurds, it is clear that a "real Kurdistan" remains in the offing in the future because the 25 million plus Kurds of the Middle East desire an independent homeland. Therefore, Iraq appears to be the most likely start of this new nation.
Yet for other minorities in Iraq, notably the Assyrian Christians, the Mandaeans, the Shabaks, the Yazidis, and Turkomans; they face a very fragile future and many may not survive the current crisis in modern day Iraq. After all, you have competing nationalistic forces in parts of Iraq which threatens all the minorities. Added to this, you have radical Sunni Islam which is bent on crushing the minorities within Iraq, therefore, Christians, Shabaks, and Yazidis, are under siege.
The current crisis in Iraq, just like in Sudan, does tell us about past history. After all, the African Dinka and Nuer, and other African tribes in Sudan, had to use military force in order to prevent Arabization and Islamization. Therefore, just like in modern day Iraq, where Assyrian Christians, Shabaks, Mandaeans, and Yazidis, face daily persecution, it is clear that past conquests pushed out the indigenous population.
Berbers also face Arabization policies in Algeria and just like the Kurds who are mainly Muslim, it is clear that Islam is secondary because Arab nationalism in more potent. The same of course applies to African Muslims in Sudan. Given this, Arab nationalism is still a major threat to many ethnic minorities and the Berbers in Algeria and African Muslims in Darfur are witnesses to the mass negatives of Arab nationalism.
Overall, it is clear that the Middle East is very diverse and many minorities exist within this vast region. Meanwhile in nations like Iran and Turkey, it is clear that they are mainly non-Arab nation states. Despite this, we often hear about the "Arab street" or the "Arab Middle East."
However, new forces are shaping the Middle East and many ethnic minorities have moved to different Gulf States in order to find work. So while some ethnic groups face Arabization policies, persecution, or assimilation; other new ethnic groups in places like Dubai are changing the ethnic map. Therefore, the next time someone talks about the Arab Middle East, just remember the "real Middle East" which is a patchwork of many different cultures and identities.
Also, I have only "scratched on the surface" because you have many other ethnic and religious groups in this vast region. At the same time, you have great richness within the Syriac world and others. If we lose sight of the past and how minorities are struggling today, then we are also losing out on a rich history which gives beauty to this world.
ukcopts
6 May 2009
If we focus on Egypt, then the indigenous Coptic Christians who number between 8 and 12 million, depending on different data; also face enormous problems in their own homeland.
When most people think about the Middle East the usual images arise, for example the religion of Islam and the role of Arabs in this vast region. However, in many societies you have a rich mosaic of differences and the so-called "Arab Street" ignores this rich diversity.
Also, for many minorities who reside in mainly Arab nations in this region, their suffering and pain is being largely ignored. Before focusing on minorities within the Arab dominated nations, it is worth remembering the nations of Iran and Turkey respectively. After all, both societies have very small Arab minorities and the overwhelming majority of people belong to different ethnic groups.
In Turkey, it is clear that the two dominant ethnic groups are the Turks and Kurds and both ethnic groups can be found in other parts of Asia. For the Kurds, they are pressed between competing nationalisms. Therefore, the 25 million plus Kurds face Arab, Turkish, and Persian nationalism in Iraq, Iran, and Turkey respectively, and they also face problems in parts of Syria.
However, while the Palestinian cause gets the majority of the global attention, the more numerous Kurds are largely neglected and the desire for a united Kurdistan remains. Therefore, the Kurdish issue impacts greatly on a vast part of the Middle East region.
If we focus on Egypt, then the indigenous Coptic Christians who number between 8 and 12 million, depending on different data; also face enormous problems in their own homeland. After all, just like the vast majority of Arab dominated nations in this region, the Arabs conquered and colonialized many parts of the Middle East.
However, despite enormous persecution in the past, and continuing problems in modern day Egypt, the Coptic Christians are a further reminder of the rich mosaic of the entire region. Also, the legacy of Coptic Christianity applies to monasticism and the "Christian heart" is still "beating" despite Islamic dhimmitude and inequality.
Christianity is also vibrant in Lebanon, and in Sudan the Christian faith helped different ethnic groups, for example the Dinka and Nuer, to fight-back against Arabization and Islamization. So once more, the dominant thinking of the Middle East is complex because in Lebanon and Sudan you have many non-Arab ethnic groups.
In modern day Lebanon the Christian population is approximately 39% and the Christian Maronites can trace their lineage back to ancient Phoenicia. Also, when a DNA survey was done several years ago it was noticeable that many Maronite Christians carried the male chromosome called the WES1. This chromosome is usually only found amongst West Europeans, at the same time, most Muslims in the test in Lebanon carried the J1 chromosome which is related to Arab expansionism from the 7th and 8th centuries.
So clearly, the "Arabness" of Lebanon is clearly "vague" and you also have a vibrant Armenian Christian community in this nation. While in the religious field it is clear that the Druze community is very different from both Sunni and Shia Islam and this all adds to the rich mosaic of Lebanon.
In modern day Iraq around 23% of the population is non-Arab and this applies to the Assyrians, Kurds, Turkomans, and others. For the Assyrian Christians, Arabization and Islamization is still a great threat and hundreds of thousands have fled since America invaded Iraq. However, the Kurds have a major stronghold in northern Iraq because of military and ethnic factors.
Yet people often refer to Iraq being an Arab nation, however, the Assyrians are the indigenous people and the rich civilization of this nation belongs to the ancient Assyrian Empire. Meanwhile, today, it is clear that Arabization and Islamization is a serious threat to the Christian minority in Iraq.
However, for the Kurds, it is clear that a "real Kurdistan" remains in the offing in the future because the 25 million plus Kurds of the Middle East desire an independent homeland. Therefore, Iraq appears to be the most likely start of this new nation.
Yet for other minorities in Iraq, notably the Assyrian Christians, the Mandaeans, the Shabaks, the Yazidis, and Turkomans; they face a very fragile future and many may not survive the current crisis in modern day Iraq. After all, you have competing nationalistic forces in parts of Iraq which threatens all the minorities. Added to this, you have radical Sunni Islam which is bent on crushing the minorities within Iraq, therefore, Christians, Shabaks, and Yazidis, are under siege.
The current crisis in Iraq, just like in Sudan, does tell us about past history. After all, the African Dinka and Nuer, and other African tribes in Sudan, had to use military force in order to prevent Arabization and Islamization. Therefore, just like in modern day Iraq, where Assyrian Christians, Shabaks, Mandaeans, and Yazidis, face daily persecution, it is clear that past conquests pushed out the indigenous population.
Berbers also face Arabization policies in Algeria and just like the Kurds who are mainly Muslim, it is clear that Islam is secondary because Arab nationalism in more potent. The same of course applies to African Muslims in Sudan. Given this, Arab nationalism is still a major threat to many ethnic minorities and the Berbers in Algeria and African Muslims in Darfur are witnesses to the mass negatives of Arab nationalism.
Overall, it is clear that the Middle East is very diverse and many minorities exist within this vast region. Meanwhile in nations like Iran and Turkey, it is clear that they are mainly non-Arab nation states. Despite this, we often hear about the "Arab street" or the "Arab Middle East."
However, new forces are shaping the Middle East and many ethnic minorities have moved to different Gulf States in order to find work. So while some ethnic groups face Arabization policies, persecution, or assimilation; other new ethnic groups in places like Dubai are changing the ethnic map. Therefore, the next time someone talks about the Arab Middle East, just remember the "real Middle East" which is a patchwork of many different cultures and identities.
Also, I have only "scratched on the surface" because you have many other ethnic and religious groups in this vast region. At the same time, you have great richness within the Syriac world and others. If we lose sight of the past and how minorities are struggling today, then we are also losing out on a rich history which gives beauty to this world.
ukcopts
Egypt's Mass Swine Killing Is Part of Forced Islamization
A few weeks ago news surfaced about the H1N1 influenza that was spreading from Mexico. This kind of influenza was known but largely ignored. It appeared to be a mosaic of a wild bird form of flue, a human type and a strain found in pigs. It’s interesting to notice that in 2006 the American Association of Swine Veterinarians reported that humans were passing the H1N1 viruses to pigs; this caused widespread illness in swine, especially in the American Midwest. One year later in Ohio an outbreak occurred, sickening many of the pigs but not their human handlers. The cause was a type of H1N1 that was a close match to the Wisconsin strain that may have been spread from human to pig.
Researchers from Iowa State University in Ames warned last year that pigs located in industrial-scale farms were being subjected to influenza infections from farm poultry, wild birds, and their human handlers.
The above was a summary of scientific information published around the world. However, the swine pandemic is spreading around the world as well as the bird flue.
In Egypt however, the swine are handled in small quantities by poor Copts. Those Copts are known as “zabaleen”, an Arabic name for garbage man. In Cairo there is an area with the same name where those Copts are living together with the garbage that has been collected.
Copts reached this level of poverty due to the regime ruling the country in the past sixty years. In order for the “zabaleen” to generate extra income, they began to raise pigs. Swine meat is consumed among Christians of Egypt.
In spite of the fact that there is no case of influenza among Egyptians, the regime made the decision to conduct a mass killing of all the local swine. Various international organizations, scientists from Egypt and elsewhere are curious about this fast and drastic decision. The fact is the regime does not care about the health of its population. The main reason is to damage part of the Coptic source of life, the following are a few examples:
- The water is a vital element for mankind; Egypt had a great gift of water which is the Nile. When in the past the Nile water was potable, now the same water is a great danger for the health.
- The government allows the use of certain fertilizers that turned out to be dangerous; in fact various people developed cancer due to eating certain vegetables.
- The level of air and sound pollution is over the limit of the international scale.
- Egypt has the highest number of deaths resulting from the Avian Influenza (H5N1).
The list could be longer but in order to remain on topic, my question is why the government decided to destroy all Egyptian swine?
The answer is simple, its part of the forced Islamization which has been planned for over fifty years.
The Islamization of Egypt started with Nasser by nationalizing Coptic, Jews, and foreign companies. Jews as well as Italians, Greeks, English, and others were kicked out. Copts were treated in a different way but the final result was to force them to leave the country or to become the poorest citizens of Egypt.
The Zabaleen is one of the sad Coptic realities of Egypt . They are the result of discrimination and oppression.
The plan to remove the swine from the land of Pharos has been pending for over three years in the parliament. When the regime found the right opportunity they were able to kill two birds with one stone:
- The pig is an insane animal as per Muslims, killing it satisfied insisting requests made by their leaders.
- Oppressing that trade would result in making the zabaleen even more poor so they would have to leave the country or their religion.
Voice of the Copts is committed to strengthening the voice of those who are suffering in Egypt; we will not stand without exposing the Egyptian regime’s plans.
We are calling on the sensibility of the governments of free countries and their congresses. The human rights organizations are to press the Egyptian regime to stop that massacre.
Our efforts will not stop until that massacre stops. Copts in Egypt have the right to live their life with dignity and respect and we will fight to achieve that goal no matter the cost.
Dott. Arch. Ashraf Ramelah
Associate AIA
President
www.voiceofthecopts.org
www.lavocedeicopti.org
Researchers from Iowa State University in Ames warned last year that pigs located in industrial-scale farms were being subjected to influenza infections from farm poultry, wild birds, and their human handlers.
The above was a summary of scientific information published around the world. However, the swine pandemic is spreading around the world as well as the bird flue.
In Egypt however, the swine are handled in small quantities by poor Copts. Those Copts are known as “zabaleen”, an Arabic name for garbage man. In Cairo there is an area with the same name where those Copts are living together with the garbage that has been collected.
Copts reached this level of poverty due to the regime ruling the country in the past sixty years. In order for the “zabaleen” to generate extra income, they began to raise pigs. Swine meat is consumed among Christians of Egypt.
In spite of the fact that there is no case of influenza among Egyptians, the regime made the decision to conduct a mass killing of all the local swine. Various international organizations, scientists from Egypt and elsewhere are curious about this fast and drastic decision. The fact is the regime does not care about the health of its population. The main reason is to damage part of the Coptic source of life, the following are a few examples:
- The water is a vital element for mankind; Egypt had a great gift of water which is the Nile. When in the past the Nile water was potable, now the same water is a great danger for the health.
- The government allows the use of certain fertilizers that turned out to be dangerous; in fact various people developed cancer due to eating certain vegetables.
- The level of air and sound pollution is over the limit of the international scale.
- Egypt has the highest number of deaths resulting from the Avian Influenza (H5N1).
The list could be longer but in order to remain on topic, my question is why the government decided to destroy all Egyptian swine?
The answer is simple, its part of the forced Islamization which has been planned for over fifty years.
The Islamization of Egypt started with Nasser by nationalizing Coptic, Jews, and foreign companies. Jews as well as Italians, Greeks, English, and others were kicked out. Copts were treated in a different way but the final result was to force them to leave the country or to become the poorest citizens of Egypt.
The Zabaleen is one of the sad Coptic realities of Egypt . They are the result of discrimination and oppression.
The plan to remove the swine from the land of Pharos has been pending for over three years in the parliament. When the regime found the right opportunity they were able to kill two birds with one stone:
- The pig is an insane animal as per Muslims, killing it satisfied insisting requests made by their leaders.
- Oppressing that trade would result in making the zabaleen even more poor so they would have to leave the country or their religion.
Voice of the Copts is committed to strengthening the voice of those who are suffering in Egypt; we will not stand without exposing the Egyptian regime’s plans.
We are calling on the sensibility of the governments of free countries and their congresses. The human rights organizations are to press the Egyptian regime to stop that massacre.
Our efforts will not stop until that massacre stops. Copts in Egypt have the right to live their life with dignity and respect and we will fight to achieve that goal no matter the cost.
Dott. Arch. Ashraf Ramelah
Associate AIA
President
www.voiceofthecopts.org
www.lavocedeicopti.org
Egypt’s Swine Destruction Threatens Coptic-Run Industry
Government vows to continue slaughter in spite of international criticism.
By Roger Elliott
CAIRO, Egypt, May 5 (Compass Direct News) – Authorities yesterday pressed ahead with the slaughter of Egypt’s pigs – crippling the livelihood of thousands of swine breeders, nearly all Coptic Christians – in spite of World Health Organization (WHO) criticism that the measure was unnecessary for fighting the A(H1-N1) flu strain.
No cases of the so-called “swine flu” have been reported in Egypt, but the government last week ordered the slaughter of the country’s pigs as a precautionary measure, which Copts saw as an attack on the minority Christian population. After WHO criticized the move as unnecessary, the government rebranded the slaughter as “a general public health measure.”
Egyptian human rights lawyer Nadia Tawfiq told Compass the pig slaughter was a form of attack on Christians.
“All of that business is Christian,” she said. “You know that for Muslims, the devil is in the pig.”
An estimated 300 to 400 residents of the Manshiyat Nasr area of Cairo, nearly all of them Coptic, took to the streets on Sunday (May 3) and set up blockades to try to keep government teams from removing their animals. The protest took place in an area where mostly Coptic Christian scrap merchants known as zabaleen raise pigs to eke out a living.
The protesters threw stones and bottles at riot police, who reportedly responded with rubber bullets and tear gas. Eight protesters were reportedly hurt, including two that were bloodied as police dragged them away.
An estimated 250,000 mainly poor Christians in Cairo reportedly make their living from collecting garbage and raising pigs in slum areas.
The government’s decision to destroy as many as 400,000 pigs was also lambasted by the United Nations as having little no or warrant, fueling speculation that the directive was motivated by the Islamic prohibition of pig consumption and the fact that Egypt’s pork industry is run almost entirely by Copts.
“They were not so radical against the birds [during the bird flu scare] as they are now against the pigs,” said the president of the Society for the Protection of Animal Rights Egypt, Amina Abaza. “We would like to ask them, ‘Why?’ Is there a special reason?”
A U.S.-based Coptic rights group has condemned the slaughter as a deliberate targeting of defenseless Christians and a continuation of a long campaign of discrimination against the Coptic community.
“Destroying these families’ livelihood without proper compensation is a clear example of discrimination and a violation of human rights, because it directly threatens the existence of an already impoverished population,” the Coptic Assembly of America said in a press statement.
Copts make up 10 to 12 percent of Egypt’s population, and although the community comprises some of Cairo’s richest residents, it also includes some of the nation’s poorest.
Those in the pig industry say that the slaughter cannot be justified on health grounds; they note that their livestock are healthy and pose no hygienic threat.
“Health comes first, absolutely,” said Helena Morcos of Morcos Charcuteries, a delicatessen with four branches in Cairo and its own small breeding farm. “Health comes before business, money, everything. If it had been proven there was a danger with the pigs, we would have slaughtered them readily.”
Animal rights activist Abaza, who is a Muslim, said she has no qualms about protecting pigs and knows likeminded people who are willing to help.
“Why are we so eager to destroy such a fortune and the people who live with their pigs?” she said. “I think we should give them a chance to raise their pigs in better circumstances with better food. I even have persons who are ready to pay for this, and I am one of them.”
Ripple Effect
The government has denied that the swine slaughter is related to Muslim prohibitions against pork, saying that more hygienic pig farming will begin in two years using imported animals.
Confusion over proposed compensation for the slaughtered swine was compounded by the sentiment that any amount would not equal the sustained livelihood that breeding pigs provides.
The state-run Al-Ahram newspaper suggested that pig owners would receive 1,000 Egyptian pounds (US$180) per head, but there were varying reports about how much the government would actually pay and under what conditions.
“I called the chief vet, and he said they were paying 100 pounds [US$18] for a mature pig, and 50 [US$9] for a baby,” said Abaza. “The real cost of a mature animal is 1,000 Egyptian pounds, so look at the loss.”
Egypt’s agricultural minister has suggested that meat from butchered pigs could be sold, thus rendering compensation unnecessary. This idea is impractical, said pig breeder and delicatessen owner Morcos.
“We are not well experienced in freezing this large an amount of meat,” said Morcos. “We are not sure if many storage houses would agree to rent space for the storage of pork.”
As pigs are considered “unclean” in Islam, finding that freezer space outside of the Christian community might be hard work. Were this possible, there would still be the problem of a saturated meat market and the resulting fall in profits.
Egyptian officials have begun killing hundreds of pigs and maintain that they will continue the slaughter in spite of international criticism, including WHO’s statement that pork is safe to eat.
Girgis Youssef Boulis, head of pork producer Ramsis Meats, told The Associated Press that the slaughter will result in layoffs in the largely Christian-run industry, affecting the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands farmers, producers and meat delivery drivers, among other industry workers.
Although the pig keepers will feel the effects of the slaughter most keenly, Morcos told Compass that businesses such as hers, which offers a wide range of pork products, will also suffer.
“How is this affecting us?” said Morcos. “It could ruin our business.”
By Roger Elliott
CAIRO, Egypt, May 5 (Compass Direct News) – Authorities yesterday pressed ahead with the slaughter of Egypt’s pigs – crippling the livelihood of thousands of swine breeders, nearly all Coptic Christians – in spite of World Health Organization (WHO) criticism that the measure was unnecessary for fighting the A(H1-N1) flu strain.
No cases of the so-called “swine flu” have been reported in Egypt, but the government last week ordered the slaughter of the country’s pigs as a precautionary measure, which Copts saw as an attack on the minority Christian population. After WHO criticized the move as unnecessary, the government rebranded the slaughter as “a general public health measure.”
Egyptian human rights lawyer Nadia Tawfiq told Compass the pig slaughter was a form of attack on Christians.
“All of that business is Christian,” she said. “You know that for Muslims, the devil is in the pig.”
An estimated 300 to 400 residents of the Manshiyat Nasr area of Cairo, nearly all of them Coptic, took to the streets on Sunday (May 3) and set up blockades to try to keep government teams from removing their animals. The protest took place in an area where mostly Coptic Christian scrap merchants known as zabaleen raise pigs to eke out a living.
The protesters threw stones and bottles at riot police, who reportedly responded with rubber bullets and tear gas. Eight protesters were reportedly hurt, including two that were bloodied as police dragged them away.
An estimated 250,000 mainly poor Christians in Cairo reportedly make their living from collecting garbage and raising pigs in slum areas.
The government’s decision to destroy as many as 400,000 pigs was also lambasted by the United Nations as having little no or warrant, fueling speculation that the directive was motivated by the Islamic prohibition of pig consumption and the fact that Egypt’s pork industry is run almost entirely by Copts.
“They were not so radical against the birds [during the bird flu scare] as they are now against the pigs,” said the president of the Society for the Protection of Animal Rights Egypt, Amina Abaza. “We would like to ask them, ‘Why?’ Is there a special reason?”
A U.S.-based Coptic rights group has condemned the slaughter as a deliberate targeting of defenseless Christians and a continuation of a long campaign of discrimination against the Coptic community.
“Destroying these families’ livelihood without proper compensation is a clear example of discrimination and a violation of human rights, because it directly threatens the existence of an already impoverished population,” the Coptic Assembly of America said in a press statement.
Copts make up 10 to 12 percent of Egypt’s population, and although the community comprises some of Cairo’s richest residents, it also includes some of the nation’s poorest.
Those in the pig industry say that the slaughter cannot be justified on health grounds; they note that their livestock are healthy and pose no hygienic threat.
“Health comes first, absolutely,” said Helena Morcos of Morcos Charcuteries, a delicatessen with four branches in Cairo and its own small breeding farm. “Health comes before business, money, everything. If it had been proven there was a danger with the pigs, we would have slaughtered them readily.”
Animal rights activist Abaza, who is a Muslim, said she has no qualms about protecting pigs and knows likeminded people who are willing to help.
“Why are we so eager to destroy such a fortune and the people who live with their pigs?” she said. “I think we should give them a chance to raise their pigs in better circumstances with better food. I even have persons who are ready to pay for this, and I am one of them.”
Ripple Effect
The government has denied that the swine slaughter is related to Muslim prohibitions against pork, saying that more hygienic pig farming will begin in two years using imported animals.
Confusion over proposed compensation for the slaughtered swine was compounded by the sentiment that any amount would not equal the sustained livelihood that breeding pigs provides.
The state-run Al-Ahram newspaper suggested that pig owners would receive 1,000 Egyptian pounds (US$180) per head, but there were varying reports about how much the government would actually pay and under what conditions.
“I called the chief vet, and he said they were paying 100 pounds [US$18] for a mature pig, and 50 [US$9] for a baby,” said Abaza. “The real cost of a mature animal is 1,000 Egyptian pounds, so look at the loss.”
Egypt’s agricultural minister has suggested that meat from butchered pigs could be sold, thus rendering compensation unnecessary. This idea is impractical, said pig breeder and delicatessen owner Morcos.
“We are not well experienced in freezing this large an amount of meat,” said Morcos. “We are not sure if many storage houses would agree to rent space for the storage of pork.”
As pigs are considered “unclean” in Islam, finding that freezer space outside of the Christian community might be hard work. Were this possible, there would still be the problem of a saturated meat market and the resulting fall in profits.
Egyptian officials have begun killing hundreds of pigs and maintain that they will continue the slaughter in spite of international criticism, including WHO’s statement that pork is safe to eat.
Girgis Youssef Boulis, head of pork producer Ramsis Meats, told The Associated Press that the slaughter will result in layoffs in the largely Christian-run industry, affecting the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands farmers, producers and meat delivery drivers, among other industry workers.
Although the pig keepers will feel the effects of the slaughter most keenly, Morcos told Compass that businesses such as hers, which offers a wide range of pork products, will also suffer.
“How is this affecting us?” said Morcos. “It could ruin our business.”
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Egypt's Christians see bias in pig slaughter
USA Today
5 May 2009
Adel Hammouda: "They found in this black epidemic their golden opportunity to wage their religious war against Christianity, hiding behind the pigs," Plainclothes police officers detain farmers demonstrating against their pigs being slaughtered in a nationwide swine flu ruling in al-Mukatam neighbourhood in Cairo, Egypt, on May 3. Many of the demonstrating farmers are young Christians. CAIRO — The Egyptian government is using swine flu as an excuse to get rid of tens of thousands of pigs raised by garbage collectors who live amid the refuse in Cairo slums. But the move has prompted accusations Monday that Muslims are attacking minority Christians, who breed the animals.The government last week ordered the slaughter of all the country's 300,000 pigs as a precaution against swine flu, even though no cases have been reported in the country. But after the World Health Organization criticized the measure as entirely unnecessary, the government expanded the rationale for the slaughter to confront a long-standing hygienic problem posed by pigs and garbage dumps in the midst of densely populated areas of the capital.
An estimated quarter of a million people in Cairo, primarily poor Christians, make their living from garbage collecting and raising pigs in city slums. They collect the refuse, dump it in the courtyards of their house and comb through it for material recycled in crude workshops nearby while the animals feed on food waste.
Muslims consider pigs unclean and most do not eat pork. With pig raising and consumption almost entirely confined to Christians, some see the slaughter as having religious overtones.
The city's garbage collectors say destroying pigs is an attack on their livelihood that will only further impoverish them and they clashed violently with police on Sunday as government workers came to haul the animals away for slaughter.
"This is all because we are Christians. This is the only reason," said one middle-aged garbage collector in Cairo, evoking a common sentiment. He would not give his name because of the sensitivity of the matter.
Christians make up an estimated 10% of Egypt's population of 80 million and for the most part live in harmony with the country's Muslims, though they occasionally complain over discrimination.
The government denies the slaughter has anything to do with Muslim distaste for pork and maintains that new, hygienic pig farms using imported animals will be set up in two years time.
But Adel Hammouda, the chief editor of the weekly al-Fagr and a Muslim, picked up on the religious undertones in his column this week entitled "Sectarian flu in Egypt."
"They found in this black epidemic their golden opportunity to wage their religious war against Christianity, hiding behind the pigs," he wrote.
Egyptian Christian groups in the U.S. have also condemned the move as singling out Christians and targeting their economic lifeline.
"The question is why the government decided to destroy all Egyptian swine? The answer is simple, it's part of the forced Islamization which has been planned for over 50 years," said Archbishop Ashraf Ramelah, head of the U.S.-based Voice for Copts, as Egypt's Christians are known.
The government maintains that it has long been working to move the pig farms out of these slums because their steady diet of scraps and the city's organic refuse, is unhygienic.
According to Isaac Mikhail, the head of Garbage Collectors' Association, pig farmers want to move out of the slums to cleaner pastures, but have been prevented by the local municipality.
"If the government had moved us ten years ago, we wouldn't have faced this problem now. People are desperate to move to healthier location," he said. "We want to separate the pigs from the birds from the humans to prevent the virus."
Other critics of the government decision have pointed out that removing the pigs does not address another major part of the health hazard — the massive piles of rotting garbage in the slums.
Egyptian officials say they have killed about 700 pigs so far and they insist they are pressing ahead with slaughter of all swine in the country despite the mounting criticism.
The World Health Organization says the H1N1 virus that sickened 1,000 people around the world and killed 27 is being spread by humans, adding that pork products are safe to eat.
Egypt's decision threatens to devastate the country's largely Christian-run pork industry in Egypt. Girgis Youssef Boulis, the head of pork producer Ramsis Meats, said pork accounts for about 30% of the country's total meat production.
"There is a 100% impact on sales. They've ground to a halt," said Boulis, whose company — one of the largest pork producers in Egypt — employs about 100 people and runs state of the art farms in the countryside.
"If this continues, one of the first things that I will think about is layoffs," he said. "But more than that, there are the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of people at stake in this industry, from the farmers, to the producers, to the workers and the drivers who deliver the meat."
"I've invested millions of pounds in equipment, including buildings, fridges, etc. Who will compensate me for these millions in investments?"
The move is already having an impact on the market for other meats, he said. Domestic fish prices have surged about 100% as people turn to other lean, protein-rich meats in place of pork.
"If beef prices haven't gone up now, they will in a week," Boulis predicted.
uk copts association
5 May 2009
Adel Hammouda: "They found in this black epidemic their golden opportunity to wage their religious war against Christianity, hiding behind the pigs," Plainclothes police officers detain farmers demonstrating against their pigs being slaughtered in a nationwide swine flu ruling in al-Mukatam neighbourhood in Cairo, Egypt, on May 3. Many of the demonstrating farmers are young Christians. CAIRO — The Egyptian government is using swine flu as an excuse to get rid of tens of thousands of pigs raised by garbage collectors who live amid the refuse in Cairo slums. But the move has prompted accusations Monday that Muslims are attacking minority Christians, who breed the animals.The government last week ordered the slaughter of all the country's 300,000 pigs as a precaution against swine flu, even though no cases have been reported in the country. But after the World Health Organization criticized the measure as entirely unnecessary, the government expanded the rationale for the slaughter to confront a long-standing hygienic problem posed by pigs and garbage dumps in the midst of densely populated areas of the capital.
An estimated quarter of a million people in Cairo, primarily poor Christians, make their living from garbage collecting and raising pigs in city slums. They collect the refuse, dump it in the courtyards of their house and comb through it for material recycled in crude workshops nearby while the animals feed on food waste.
Muslims consider pigs unclean and most do not eat pork. With pig raising and consumption almost entirely confined to Christians, some see the slaughter as having religious overtones.
The city's garbage collectors say destroying pigs is an attack on their livelihood that will only further impoverish them and they clashed violently with police on Sunday as government workers came to haul the animals away for slaughter.
"This is all because we are Christians. This is the only reason," said one middle-aged garbage collector in Cairo, evoking a common sentiment. He would not give his name because of the sensitivity of the matter.
Christians make up an estimated 10% of Egypt's population of 80 million and for the most part live in harmony with the country's Muslims, though they occasionally complain over discrimination.
The government denies the slaughter has anything to do with Muslim distaste for pork and maintains that new, hygienic pig farms using imported animals will be set up in two years time.
But Adel Hammouda, the chief editor of the weekly al-Fagr and a Muslim, picked up on the religious undertones in his column this week entitled "Sectarian flu in Egypt."
"They found in this black epidemic their golden opportunity to wage their religious war against Christianity, hiding behind the pigs," he wrote.
Egyptian Christian groups in the U.S. have also condemned the move as singling out Christians and targeting their economic lifeline.
"The question is why the government decided to destroy all Egyptian swine? The answer is simple, it's part of the forced Islamization which has been planned for over 50 years," said Archbishop Ashraf Ramelah, head of the U.S.-based Voice for Copts, as Egypt's Christians are known.
The government maintains that it has long been working to move the pig farms out of these slums because their steady diet of scraps and the city's organic refuse, is unhygienic.
According to Isaac Mikhail, the head of Garbage Collectors' Association, pig farmers want to move out of the slums to cleaner pastures, but have been prevented by the local municipality.
"If the government had moved us ten years ago, we wouldn't have faced this problem now. People are desperate to move to healthier location," he said. "We want to separate the pigs from the birds from the humans to prevent the virus."
Other critics of the government decision have pointed out that removing the pigs does not address another major part of the health hazard — the massive piles of rotting garbage in the slums.
Egyptian officials say they have killed about 700 pigs so far and they insist they are pressing ahead with slaughter of all swine in the country despite the mounting criticism.
The World Health Organization says the H1N1 virus that sickened 1,000 people around the world and killed 27 is being spread by humans, adding that pork products are safe to eat.
Egypt's decision threatens to devastate the country's largely Christian-run pork industry in Egypt. Girgis Youssef Boulis, the head of pork producer Ramsis Meats, said pork accounts for about 30% of the country's total meat production.
"There is a 100% impact on sales. They've ground to a halt," said Boulis, whose company — one of the largest pork producers in Egypt — employs about 100 people and runs state of the art farms in the countryside.
"If this continues, one of the first things that I will think about is layoffs," he said. "But more than that, there are the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of people at stake in this industry, from the farmers, to the producers, to the workers and the drivers who deliver the meat."
"I've invested millions of pounds in equipment, including buildings, fridges, etc. Who will compensate me for these millions in investments?"
The move is already having an impact on the market for other meats, he said. Domestic fish prices have surged about 100% as people turn to other lean, protein-rich meats in place of pork.
"If beef prices haven't gone up now, they will in a week," Boulis predicted.
uk copts association
All articls of April & march 2009
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Fire damages Coptic church in Ramallah
Brotherhood Says No Women, No Copts To Be Egyptian...
Sharia Law in Swat: Girl Gets flogged as Taliban M...
Egypt: Christian Doctors Run Hospital for Muslim P...
Egypt: Muslims attack Christian-owned shops in Ale...
Obamateurism of the Day-President Obama: What Is I...
Palestinians can learn from Jews
Woman sentenced for jihad leaflet
state talking on arabic&islamic religion Condemns ...
All articls of March 2009
Mubarak congratulates Israel on ind
Egypt orders slaughter of all pigs over swine flu
Free Father Mattaos !
Are Copts Equal Citizens Under Sharea Law?
Popular Egyptian host exposes the severity of the ...
why the greeting of Mubarak's Letter to Coptic Imm...
MB Amends Party Platform; Final Text Rejects Copts...
Convert in Egypt Arrested for Marrying Christian
vedio - islam first & terriosm BBC
Two Coptic Christians shot dead in Egypt as they c...
Sisters speak out in Egypt’s Brotherhood
Egypt Church Issues First Conversion Certificate
In Egypt: A Case of Deliberate Discrimination in U...
Coptic Priest is Imprisoned for five years for Mar...
Fire damages Coptic church in Ramallah
Brotherhood Says No Women, No Copts To Be Egyptian...
Sharia Law in Swat: Girl Gets flogged as Taliban M...
Egypt: Christian Doctors Run Hospital for Muslim P...
Egypt: Muslims attack Christian-owned shops in Ale...
Obamateurism of the Day-President Obama: What Is I...
Palestinians can learn from Jews
Woman sentenced for jihad leaflet
state talking on arabic&islamic religion Condemns ...
All articls of March 2009
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