Coptic Christians protest outside White House against violence in Egypt

Coptic Christians protest outside White House against violence in Egypt
“It is like a horrible nightmare. We watch on TV and see our people being run over by tanks,” said Mary Wassef, 66, who took a bus with friends from her church in northern New Jersey. “This is my church and my homeland. But now they want to force all Christians to convert or leave. If you hang a cross in your car, they pull you out and smash you to pieces.”

Christians in Egypt are a deeply rooted minority of about 10 million in a largely Muslim society of 81 million. Long-simmering tensions between the two groups have escalated since January, when a popular uprising in Cairo led to the fall of longtime ruler Hosni Mubarak but left the country in a state of political turmoil.

Many Christians in the Egyptian American diaspora of about half a million, scattered across a dozen states, have expressed concern that radical Islamist groups are seeking to dominate the post-revolutionary scene and to turn Egypt into a Sunni theocracy. Some placards at the rally Wednesday warned of an “Islamic jihad” against Christians.

The demonstrators also expressed fear that the Egyptian army, a longtime bulwark of Mubarak’s power, is becoming a repressive force against Christians. Many held up bloody photos of crushed torsos and limbs, which they said had been deliberately run over by tanks Oct. 9. Hundreds chanted “shame on the army” and called for the ouster of its national commander, Field Marshal Mohammed Hussein Tantawi.

“We Christians have faced Islamic oppression for 1,400 years, but now it is getting much more ugly,” said Ghada Nasr, 35, a small business owner from Newark, Del., whose parents live in Egypt. “The army should be protecting people, not crushing them. Our religion is peaceful, but it is time for us to act.”

Traditionally, leaders of the Coptic church in Egypt have tried to avoid provoking Egyptian authorities. The rally Wednesday was peaceful, and protesters interspersed chants for justice with hymns calling for God’s mercy in Arabic, English and ancient Coptic. Organizers said the presence of numerous senior Coptic priests — several gray-bearded, one in a wheelchair — had the blessing of their orthodox pope in Cairo.

“We need an Egyptian Martin Luther King to lead our people to freedom,” said George Ibrahim, 66, a retired civil engineer who emigrated from Egypt in the 1940s and lives in Ashburn. Unlike Copts in Egypt, who have long been ostracized, many of those who came to the United States are well established, successful professionals. In the greater Washington area, many work for the federal government.

A major demand of the demonstrators was that the Obama administration, which has continued the long U.S. alliance with Egypt and provides it with hundreds of millions of dollars in financial aid each year, pressure Cairo by conditioning further assistance to improvements in human rights and religious freedom.

“If we are calling them an ally, then we should not be paying with U.S. taxpayers’ money for bullets and weapons that are being used to oppress Christians,” said Michael Ruzek, 30, a medical doctor from New Jersey who attended the rally. Protesters placed a row of black wooden coffins along the sidewalk in front of the White House.

An advocacy group called Coptic Solidarity, which helped organize the rally, also called for an impartial investigation into the Oct. 9 violence, prosecution of official perpetrators, and full enactment of a bill that Congress passed in July that would create a U.S. envoy to the Middle East for religious minorities.

The circumstances of the Oct. 9 clashes in Cairo, in which Christian and Muslim protesters were involved in hours of battles with police and troops, remain confused. The day after the incident, White House spokesman Jay Carney said that President Obama was “deeply concerned” about the violence and “believes that the rights of minorities, including Copts, must be respected,” but he stopped short of blaming the government and called for “restraint on all sides.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/coptic-christians-protest-outside-white-house-against-abuses-in-egypt/2011/10/19/gIQAxRvByL_story.html

October 12, 2011- Religious Violence in Egypt.ts

Coptic Christians Need Protection -- Will the U.S. Help Them? >
www.foxnews.com
Coptic Christians in Egypt, the largest contingent of Christians in the country, are under severe attack — so much so that the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom announced just recently that Egypt made the list of “Countries of Particular Concern.”..
Coptic Christians Need Protection -- Will the U.S. Help Them?
www.foxnews.com
Coptic Christians in Egypt, the largest contingent of Christians in the country, are under severe attack — so much so that the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom announced just recently that Egypt made the list of “Countries of Particular Concern.”..
http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2011/05/20/coptic-christians-need-protection-help/?cmpid=cmty_fb_Gigya_Coptic_Christians_Need_Protection_--_Will_the_U.S._Help_Them%3F

REP ALBO SIRES
October 12, 2011- Religious Violence in Egypt.ts
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=RpwFU8EnUQs

Video of deadly Egypt riots as Christians clash with police, Muslims

Egypt's Military Vows to Get Tough After Clashes


Raw Video: Deadly Sectarian Violence in Cairo


CBC News: Deadly violence in Egypt - October 10, 2011


Deadly violence in Egypt CNN


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAidvI8XS-8

Statement by the Prime Minister of Canada on the situation in Egypt

9 May 2011
Ottawa, Ontario

Prime Minister Stephen Harper today issued the following statement on the situation in Egypt:

“The Government of Canada strongly condemns the violence against Coptic Christians in Egypt.

“Canada is a tolerant, multicultural country with a proud tradition of defending religious minorities around the world. We stand behind the Coptic Christian community and their right to practice their faith in safety and security, free of persecution. This is a universal human right and one which our Government is committed to defending.

“Recognizing that religious pluralism is inextricably linked to democratic development, our Government has committed to creating a special Office of Religious Freedom to monitor and help ensure religious minorities can practice their faith without fear of violence and repression.

“On behalf of all Canadians, I express my deepest condolences to those who have lost loved ones during these events. Our thoughts and prayers are with all Egyptians as they face the difficult challenges ahead.”

An Appeal for Immediate Intervention from the International Community to Protect Egyptian Copts

Voice of the Copts
A non profit human rights organization working to free the oppressed and persecuted Coptic Christians of Egypt.

In light of the current attack upon Copts protesting in Cairo where 36 Copts were murdered and many more injured by Egyptian military forces together with Muslim militants, Voice of the Copts is appealing to the international community for immediate help.

Beginning at 3:30 in the afternoon on Sunday, Oct 9, in Shubra district of Cairo, more than 100,000 Copts and some Muslims marched peacefully together for more than two miles toward Tahrir Square shouting slogans in protest of theMuslim burning of Marinab Coptic Church in Edfo in Upper Egypt a few days earlier.

During an orderly approach by Coptsto the Maspiro area, Muslim groups began throwing stones and malotov cocktails at the crowd of protesters. The military began shooting live bullets into the protesters and then drove speeding armored cars and tanks directly into the crowd. Meanwhile, Copts were unable to get to safety because they were held back by Muslim militant criminals released from jails earlier this yearby the former Mubarak regime at the beginning of the revolution.

The apparent cooperation between Egyptian military forces and Muslim groups who gathered to protect army personnel as requested by National Public TV prior to the start of the Copts' protest, reveals the true nature of Egypt's interim regime. Lingering attachments to the Mubarak regime combined with Islamic interests spells the beginning of the end for Copts and freedom and justice. Equality under the law is now impossible with what seems to be the real aim of those in power -- to annihilate the Copts of Egypt.

Voice of the Copts would like to thank the Muslim citizens who stood in solidarity with the Copts demanding freedom of religion, justice and equality.

Furthermore, Coptic clergy, especially Father Filipert and Father Meytias, are now being intimidated by death threats which indicate that military rulers are plotting to silence them due to their activities among the Coptic population. As a consequence of this and from this point on, we, as Voice of the Copts, deem any murder or accidental death of any Coptic clergy to be nothing less than an assassination carried out by the state.

Voice of the Copts calls for immediate action to be taken by Western governments to protect Egyptian citizens from the violent acts of the Egyptian state military and police force who ignore the law and defy their given responsibility to protect all citizens equally. Military leaders, putting their own greed before the interests of the country and, by doing so, promote Islamic interests, damage any hope of democracy. Field Marshall Tantawi and his henchmen must immediately step down from governing Egypt's post-revolutionary efforts.

revenge from israel islamic army killing copts

By: Nabil Bissada



On Sunday October 9, 2011 more than 150,000 Coptic -Christians of Egypt (with the authorization of the Islamic Egyptian government) gathered in a peaceful protest because of the attacks against the Coptic and their churches by Islamic Egyptian army. Protest took place in Cairo the Egyptian capital.



The Islamic Egyptian Army and their allies have never won a war against Israel. Now the Egyptian army has adopted Nazis tactics against Christian Egyptians.



The Islamic Egyptian army is supported by The Muslims Brotherhood and other Muslims organizations. They are using terror tactics, which include the use of guns, tanks and explosives bullets to destroy the Copts.



The Islamic Egyptian Army has killed in excess of 55 peaceful Copts protesters and wounded over 300. That numbers includes men, women and children.



The Islamic Egyptian Army is using the government run media to conceal their actions.



The Copts are more than 25% of the popular in Egypt. The Islamic Egyptian government are consider them as a 3rd class citizen.( Muslims Egyptian, Muslims from out, the Copts)



We ask The United Nations, United States of America, The European Union, Israel, Russia, and all others country who believe in human rights and freedom of religion to protect over 25 Millions Coptic native of Egypt who are living under threat and siege to push them to convert to Islam religion or to leave Egypt.



The National American Coptic Assembly & the Coptic Nation announced sad days for the genocide and Nazis for the Holocaust against the Copts in Egypt.

Inside Cairo's Riots: The Egyptian Junta's True Colors

Written by Time Mag
11 October 2011

Coptic mourners chanted slogans against the military: "Tantawi you traitor, the blood of Copts is not cheap,"


Clouds of tear gas released and protesters crushed and killed by military vehicles
that reportedly rammed into them

The dead were buried on Monday, more than two dozen Christian Egyptian protesters mowed down by their own military, an army that had won praise back in February for refusing to turn its weapons on demonstrators. After Sunday night's violence, which left 24 dead and more than 270 wounded, according to the Egyptian Health Ministry, the Arab Spring seems a long time ago.

A military council led by Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi is now in charge of Egypt, and it is resurrecting many of the tactics of deposed President Hosni Mubarak to instill fear and keep the citizenry in line, like using state TV to spread sectarian suspicion and conspiratorial talk of "foreign hands" sowing internal discord.
Sunday's march in Cairo by Coptic Christians — with a fair smattering of sympathetic Muslim participation as well — started out as a peaceful protest against the recent burning of a church by ultraconservative Muslims and the perceived lackadaisical response by the ruling military junta to a spate of anti-Christian attacks since Mubarak's ouster. Events rapidly devolved into chaos, with live ammunition fired, clouds of tear gas released and protesters crushed and killed by military vehicles that reportedly rammed into them. Some protesters responded by throwing rocks. (See pictures of the Coptic Christians' march in Cairo.)

State TV had another narrative: a violent mob of Christians sparked the melee by attacking the military, killing several soldiers. Breathless anchors urged "honorable" citizens to head down along the Nile to the national media building at Maspero to help soldiers defend themselves and public property. The clashes reignited on Monday, when Christians pelted security forces with rocks outside the Cairo hospital where the bodies of victims were taken the previous night. The Coptic church on Monday disputed state TV's claims, saying there was no evidence that Christian protesters shot at soldiers. Church officials called for a three-day fast to protest the events.

The Muslim Brotherhood's Essam el-Erian condemns the violence, telling TIME that this is a critical period for the country, a "time for solidarity, to implement a state of law, and to make reconciliation between all sections of society."

Egypt's Christians, who make up about 10% of the country's 80 million or so people, have watched warily as Salafists and other ultraconservative Muslims, long kept underfoot by Mubarak, have begun exercising their political rights — and influence — in the wake of the February revolution. At 8 million or so, Egypt's Copts are easily one of the biggest Christian communities in the Middle East, but unlike the much smaller Christian population in Lebanon, for example, they lack political muscle. (Lebanon is the only country in the Middle East with a Christian head of state mandated by political consensus.) (See TIME's exclusive pictures of the turmoil in Egypt.)

It's a trying period for the Middle East's dwindling Christian communities as secular pan-Arab, anti-Islamist regimes fall by the wayside and leave political vacuums in their place. The precedent of Iraq looms large. There were some 800,000 Christians in the country before the U.S.-led invasion in 2003 toppled Saddam Hussein. Since then, hundreds of thousands have fled the war-ravaged state. In majority-Sunni Syria, the minority Christians have largely sided with Bashar Assad's brutal regime in public, fearful of what may follow it, although many prominent Christians are also part of the opposition. "This is a dangerous period, one that will determine in which direction the country is going," says Emad Gad, a Copt and leader of the Egyptian Social Democratic party. "Are we taking the first steps toward creating a real state or are we going toward sectarian conflict and war?"

Sunday's violence in Cairo has significance beyond the country's religious divisions. This is a wider conflict in which Egyptians of all religions are turning against a military regime that just eight months ago was hailed for ensuring a peaceful transfer of power after Mubarak was forced from office. The fruits of Egypt's revolution have yet to be savored by millions who hoped a quick revolution would bring even quicker economic, social and political benefits. The economy has slumped, and the generals — who initially pledged to hand back power to a civilian administration in six months — seem increasingly comfortable at the helm. Their recently announced electoral timetable would keep them in charge until presidential elections in 2013, much to the ire of many. "I don't think we'll have elections at all," Gad says, echoing a sentiment relayed on Twitter and other social media. "I think that the army let the violence happen so that it could cancel the elections and remain in power."

The Brotherhood's el-Erian warns against any delay to the elections. "We cannot move forward without elections," he tells TIME. "We can overcome all of these trials with solidarity and national consensus ... The people are waiting for elections and to have a new system."

As the exuberance of Arab Spring becomes a faraway memory in the Middle East, a counterrevolution is gaining ground, exploiting the sectarianism that power brokers in the region have long used to keep their populations at bay. Will Egyptians and other Arabs see through it? Or will they be sucked into its vortex? What happens next on Cairo's streets will be critical.