Over 100 Coptic Christian Teenagers Arrested in Egypt
Over 100 Coptic Christian Teenagers Arrested in Egypt
Egypt (AINA) -- Egyptian State Security has intensified its intimidation of the Coptic Church and Christians in Nag Hammadi, and neighboring Bahgoura, by carrying out random arrests of Christian youth. The campaign against Christians started on Friday January 7, 2010 and is continuing; multiple members of families have been arrested without warrants. Most arrests are being carried at dawn. More than one hundred Christian youth have been arrested without charge.
Arrests of Copts after every sedition is the usual scenario as a pressure card in the hands of State Security to force the church and Copts to accept "reconciliation", in which Coptic victims give up all criminal and civil charges against the perpetrators. Because of the reaction in Egypt and worldwide to the shootings and the role of the State Security, Bishop Kyrollos was asked issue statements downplaying the negligence of State Security. It is believed the arrests of the Coptic youth is a pressure tactic to force him to recant his accusations.
Anwar Samuel, a head teacher from Nag Hammadi, told Freecopts that State Security came to their home at four o'clock in the morning, looking for his nephew Mohareb, who happened to be in Kuwait. "Instead they arrested my three other nephews, Fadi, Tanios and Wael Milad Samuel, and took them away in their pajamas." He said they have been subjected to electric shocks.
Coptic News Bulletin contacted several families who confirmed that males as young as 16 were taken away by the police. In an aired interviews, affected families told how the Police tricked their sons into going with them, by telling them that Bishop Kyrollos wanted them to do so for their safety.
Habib Tanios was arrested on charges of firing on people who burnt his home in Bahgoura, although he has no rifle.
Families of the arrested Copts congregated all day near police station waiting for news
According to sources close to Freecopts, strict state security instructions were issued to the clergy in the parish of Nag Hamadi, to suppress any move by the Copts affected by the events and the families of those killed, to demonstrate or protest, accompanied by explicit threats that police will be using live ammunition.
After the Nag Hammadi shooting on January 6, in which 8 Copts were killed and 15 injured as they came out of Coptic Christmas Eve mass (AINA 1-7-2010, 1-10-2010). Bishop Kyrollos of Nag Hammadi Diocese criticized the lack of police protection of the church, which is usual during such events. He held State Security responsible especially that he had received death threats, and was the intended target of the shootings.
Conflict between State Security and Bishop Kyrollos arose due to his insistence on compensation for the Copts of Farshout who lost property and businesses caused by Muslim mob violence against them end November 2009 (AINA 11-22-2009, 11-23-2009, 11-29-2009). None of the state officials attended the celebrations at Church which many took as a sign of their knowledge of the forthcoming shootings.
By Mary Abdelmassih
http://www.aina.org/news/20100113130010.htm
Monday, January 18, 2010
Monday, January 11, 2010
Violence Against Christians Continues in Egypt After Christmas Eve Shootings
Violence Against Christians Continues in Egypt After Christmas Eve Shootings
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Reply |mary abdelmassih
show details 1:02 PM (23 hours ago)
Violence Against Christians Continues in Egypt After Christmas Eve Shootings
Egypt (AINA) -- Violence broke out in the evening of January 8, 2010, in the southern Egyptian town of Nag Hammadi, in the main market and 'Bein el Mehatat' area, spreading as well to the neighbouring town of Bahgoura. Muslim mobs used swords, butane gas cylinders for explosions and Molotov cocktails to loot and torch Coptic-owned homes, shops and cars (video).
Mary Om Boktor Kyrollos, a Coptic widow from Bahgoura, died of fumes after her home was torched yesterday by Muslims while she was indoors. She was buried in the early hours of January 09, 2010.
Reverend Misaeel, pastor of the church in Bahgoura told Coptic News that violence started on Friday at 20:00. In Bahgoura, 3 kilometers from Nag Hammadi, where most of the violence took place, inhabitants confirmed that water and electricity were disconnected in the evening, during the fires. "Fire brigades arrive 90 minutes late, and the vehicles which arrived had empty tanks."
Eyewitnesses said the perpetrators were chanting "Allah is Great" and "No God except Allah" while destroying, looting and torching Coptic property.
"When the State Security forces are not present, the Muslims come to loot and burn, and when the forces return to the area, the Muslims disappear. They simply do not arrest them, they just tell them to go away," an eye witnesses told Coptic News Bulletin in an interview. "State Security is only present in front of the Coptic Diocese."
Complete absence of security forces was confirmed by another eyewitness. "All Copts are terrified and are staying indoors," he said.
According to Free Copts, Muslims mobs were led by elements loyal to the first defendant in the Christmas Eve Massacre on January 6, 2010, when the Christian congregation was sprayed with bullets as they came out of church after celebrating the Coptic Christmas Eve mass. 8 were killed and 15 wounded (AINA 1-7-2010).
Funeral services for the victims of the Christmas shootings took place on Thursday, led by Bishop Kyrillos of the Nag Hammadi Diocese, and was attended by several thousand Copts. (video of funeral). It was reported that Muslims pelted the funeral procession with stones.
By Mary Abdelmassih
http://www.aina.org/news/20100110113120.htm
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Reply |mary abdelmassih
show details 1:02 PM (23 hours ago)
Violence Against Christians Continues in Egypt After Christmas Eve Shootings
Egypt (AINA) -- Violence broke out in the evening of January 8, 2010, in the southern Egyptian town of Nag Hammadi, in the main market and 'Bein el Mehatat' area, spreading as well to the neighbouring town of Bahgoura. Muslim mobs used swords, butane gas cylinders for explosions and Molotov cocktails to loot and torch Coptic-owned homes, shops and cars (video).
Mary Om Boktor Kyrollos, a Coptic widow from Bahgoura, died of fumes after her home was torched yesterday by Muslims while she was indoors. She was buried in the early hours of January 09, 2010.
Reverend Misaeel, pastor of the church in Bahgoura told Coptic News that violence started on Friday at 20:00. In Bahgoura, 3 kilometers from Nag Hammadi, where most of the violence took place, inhabitants confirmed that water and electricity were disconnected in the evening, during the fires. "Fire brigades arrive 90 minutes late, and the vehicles which arrived had empty tanks."
Eyewitnesses said the perpetrators were chanting "Allah is Great" and "No God except Allah" while destroying, looting and torching Coptic property.
"When the State Security forces are not present, the Muslims come to loot and burn, and when the forces return to the area, the Muslims disappear. They simply do not arrest them, they just tell them to go away," an eye witnesses told Coptic News Bulletin in an interview. "State Security is only present in front of the Coptic Diocese."
Complete absence of security forces was confirmed by another eyewitness. "All Copts are terrified and are staying indoors," he said.
According to Free Copts, Muslims mobs were led by elements loyal to the first defendant in the Christmas Eve Massacre on January 6, 2010, when the Christian congregation was sprayed with bullets as they came out of church after celebrating the Coptic Christmas Eve mass. 8 were killed and 15 wounded (AINA 1-7-2010).
Funeral services for the victims of the Christmas shootings took place on Thursday, led by Bishop Kyrillos of the Nag Hammadi Diocese, and was attended by several thousand Copts. (video of funeral). It was reported that Muslims pelted the funeral procession with stones.
By Mary Abdelmassih
http://www.aina.org/news/20100110113120.htm
Thursday, January 7, 2010
8 Coptic Christians in Egypt Shot Dead As They Left Christmas Mass
By: Mary Abdelmassih
Jan 08, 2010
An assassination attempt on the life of Bishop Kirollos in southern Egyptian town of Nag Hammadi was foiled tonight. Eight Copts were killed and 15 wounded as they came out of Church after celebrating the Coptic Christmas Eve midnight mass on Wednesday 6th January at 11.15 PM.
"I was the one intended to be assassinated by this plot, and when it failed the criminals turned round and started shooting and finishing off the young ones." Bishop Kirollos of the Nag Hammagi Diocese told Middle East Christian Association (MECA) today in an aired interview.
Eyewitnesses saw a dark-green "Fiat" 131 without registration, one Peugeot 504 car and a half-truck. The cars were driven by masked men shooting randomly at the congregation as they came out of Church. The cars then went into three nearby areas (15th March Street, 15 May Street and Railway Station Street) shooting Copts.
One eye-witness told MECA that those killed were mostly young men in their early 20s. He said that most people were killed or wounded near the church, but that the cars went around shooting in other areas, resulting in two more death, besides the wounded. It was reported that among the dead was a young man and his fiancé and a 14-years-old boy .
Another witness criticized the absence of security. "Security came as everything was over, instead of trying to catch the criminals, they were interrogating us about the description of the cars." This video shows the shootings.
An eye-witness told Coptic News Bulletin from Nag Hammadi Hospital that the situation is dire, and there is a critical shortage of blood for transfusions. "The Muslims promised us a wonderful Christmas, and I think the message is received now," he said.
The Bishop accused security services of negligence in dealing with the events which led to the massacre, and added: "Not one single security man intervened to prevent casualties." He criticized the absence of adequate State Security forces guarding the church, which is customary on such events and in view of the unrest which took place in the area in November 2009.
According to Wagih Yacoub of MECA Bishop Kirollos had recently received a death threat.
Bishop Kirollos told Freecopts that the assassination attempt was meant to dispose of him in view of his standing position on the rights of the victims of the attacks on Christians in November 2009, in the areas of Farshout, Abu Shusha, Aerky and Alshokeify, part of the parish of Nag Hammadi. The State Security was heavily criticized at the time for the shameful role it played when Muslims assaulted Copts, in addition to looting and burning their businesses. One hundred and sixty three Copts were forcibly deported from their village by State Security following the events. These events were sparked by a rumor that a Copt had indecently assaulted a minor Muslim girl. Many Copts believe that the rape incident was fabricated by the Muslims to use it as a pretext to start violence against them. The accused Copt has not yet been charged by the Police. (AINA 11-22-2009, 11-23-2009).
A state of curfew was imposed tonight on the city of Nag Hammadi, and those inhabitants who were outside could not get back into their homes in the city.
Most witnesses interviewed believe that there was collusion between those carrying out today's shooting and the State Security, as for the first time, none of them attended the Christmas Eve midnight mass, which is customary in those events. "They must have known in advance of the shootings and avoided the embarrassment of participating in the festivities inside church," said one witness.
All Christmas festivities have been cancelled said the Bishop. "Copts are terrified and will be staying indoors."
A similar incident occurred in April 2009 when Muslims opened fire on worshipers as they left the prayer service on Easter Eve in the village of Higaza, Qena Governorate, resulting in the death of Amir Stephanos (36 years) Ayub Said (22) and the injury of Mina Samir (35) Higaza village turned into a military barracks since April last.
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Egyptian Regime Interfering in Swiss Internal Affairs
The behavior of the current Egyptian regime is effectively a continuation of Arab practices during their occupation of Egypt in the past 1430 years. The regime lead by Mr. Mubarak for almost 28 years could be described as anti-democratic, discriminatory and oppressive for all Egyptians. Furthermore, from a Coptic perspective, the Mubarak years could be known as the persecution regime within the last century. The same Egyptian-Arab regime is working hard to show a different face to Western governments and people.
For the last several years, the Egyptian regime has been criticizing Copts in the Diaspora for their activity in bringing to light Coptic suffering under a regime governing in the twenty-first century with a seventh-century mentality. Over the years, Egyptian leaders invited Coptic activists to work inside the country to resolve Coptic problems. Meanwhile, in all those years the same government did nothing to resolve even one minor issue related to Copts.
The Egyptian regime as well as all Arab and Muslim leaders consider anyone with different beliefs or thoughts living under their authority, infidels or at the very least, antagonistic to them. In spite of the fact that the Copts are the original and authentic Egyptians they are treated as aliens without any rights.
The Coptic religion inside Egypt is defamed daily by government media directly or indirectly. Meanwhile, the same regime has recently authored a request presented to the United Nations to prosecute religious defamation. The Western democratic countries where citizens abide in religious freedom seconded this proposal by the Egyptian regime without making a basic inquiry into the record of the Egyptian regime regarding defamation of religion within Egypt .
On various occasions, the Egyptian regime considered any critic of its interior action and treatment against Copts as interference in its internal affairs and disrespectful of its sovereignty, in spite of the fact that those criticism were delivered by human rights organizations and never by governments.
A few days after the result of the Swiss’ referendum of banning the construction of minarets (not mosques), the Arab and Muslim leaders began a hysterical announcement and action against the Swiss people and their free will to decide whatever they believe in their own country. Gaddafi, who has been ruling Libya for almost 40 years, stated that “Christians in Arab-Muslim countries would pay for the result of the Swiss referendum”. The Egyptian Parliament (Al shury) labeled the result of the same referendum as an instigation of hate reminiscent of the Nazis.
I wonder if the 440 members of the Egyptian parliament know anything about democracy in general and the referendum system in particular! Furthermore, this leads me to wonder if the Egyptian parliamentary election process is genuine, or rather just part of a comedy to serve the regime. Moreover, are these members really representing those who elected them?
The Egyptian parliamentary members who voted a few months ago to massacre more than 600,000 pigs, leaving almost 2,000,000 persons without work and income, damaging part of the country’s economics, and generating a lot of waste in the country’s streets, is now interfering in the internal affairs of another sovereign state.
The survival of Arab aggression to take over the West by hiding behind a world religion has been going on for more than 1400 years. Arab leaders know they cannot win a military war. Therefore, to achieve their goals they use the West’s weakest points, democracy and respect for others. Such respect for others, known as political correctness, is shifting to meet only Arab aims.
In fact, when the parliament of a country condemns an action made in another state, it sounds like a declaration of war. The president of the Egyptian parliament, Mr. Safwat Al Sharef, declared on December 15, 2009 as per Al Masry Al Youm (Egyptian Newspaper), that, “the result of the referendum was like a strike against more than 1.7 billion Muslims around the world and was against the basic international law and freedom of religion.”
I am curious at the amount of courage it takes for the president of the Egyptian parliament to talk about freedom of religion when in Egypt there is no freedom at all. More than 18 million citizens cannot live in peace in there own homeland. What about destroying churches and arresting people in their own homes just because they are praying? What about kidnapping girls and women as part of a state plan to force Islamization of the country. Furthermore, what about the freedom of religion for those Muslims that decides to convert to Christianity or any other religion?
Mr. President of the parliament, are you giving the West a lesson in morality and freedom of religion or are you trying to instigate the Muslim world against one of the civil nations on our planet?
Why are the Egyptian government and parliament alarmed about a referendum that took place in a country 3,000 miles away when they do not first try to resolve problems at home? Furthermore, the announcement made by the same parliament stating they seek to work with political forces inside Switzerland in order to alter the referendum result is not acceptable, and the Western governments must take a stand against it.
It is a great opportunity for the Western community to stand against such abuse from those who are using our great democracy to harm us. It is time that our European leaders have to correct the real meaning of political correctness.
Dottore Architetto Ashraf Ramelah
President
www.voiceofthecopts.org
www.lavocedeicopti.org
For the last several years, the Egyptian regime has been criticizing Copts in the Diaspora for their activity in bringing to light Coptic suffering under a regime governing in the twenty-first century with a seventh-century mentality. Over the years, Egyptian leaders invited Coptic activists to work inside the country to resolve Coptic problems. Meanwhile, in all those years the same government did nothing to resolve even one minor issue related to Copts.
The Egyptian regime as well as all Arab and Muslim leaders consider anyone with different beliefs or thoughts living under their authority, infidels or at the very least, antagonistic to them. In spite of the fact that the Copts are the original and authentic Egyptians they are treated as aliens without any rights.
The Coptic religion inside Egypt is defamed daily by government media directly or indirectly. Meanwhile, the same regime has recently authored a request presented to the United Nations to prosecute religious defamation. The Western democratic countries where citizens abide in religious freedom seconded this proposal by the Egyptian regime without making a basic inquiry into the record of the Egyptian regime regarding defamation of religion within Egypt .
On various occasions, the Egyptian regime considered any critic of its interior action and treatment against Copts as interference in its internal affairs and disrespectful of its sovereignty, in spite of the fact that those criticism were delivered by human rights organizations and never by governments.
A few days after the result of the Swiss’ referendum of banning the construction of minarets (not mosques), the Arab and Muslim leaders began a hysterical announcement and action against the Swiss people and their free will to decide whatever they believe in their own country. Gaddafi, who has been ruling Libya for almost 40 years, stated that “Christians in Arab-Muslim countries would pay for the result of the Swiss referendum”. The Egyptian Parliament (Al shury) labeled the result of the same referendum as an instigation of hate reminiscent of the Nazis.
I wonder if the 440 members of the Egyptian parliament know anything about democracy in general and the referendum system in particular! Furthermore, this leads me to wonder if the Egyptian parliamentary election process is genuine, or rather just part of a comedy to serve the regime. Moreover, are these members really representing those who elected them?
The Egyptian parliamentary members who voted a few months ago to massacre more than 600,000 pigs, leaving almost 2,000,000 persons without work and income, damaging part of the country’s economics, and generating a lot of waste in the country’s streets, is now interfering in the internal affairs of another sovereign state.
The survival of Arab aggression to take over the West by hiding behind a world religion has been going on for more than 1400 years. Arab leaders know they cannot win a military war. Therefore, to achieve their goals they use the West’s weakest points, democracy and respect for others. Such respect for others, known as political correctness, is shifting to meet only Arab aims.
In fact, when the parliament of a country condemns an action made in another state, it sounds like a declaration of war. The president of the Egyptian parliament, Mr. Safwat Al Sharef, declared on December 15, 2009 as per Al Masry Al Youm (Egyptian Newspaper), that, “the result of the referendum was like a strike against more than 1.7 billion Muslims around the world and was against the basic international law and freedom of religion.”
I am curious at the amount of courage it takes for the president of the Egyptian parliament to talk about freedom of religion when in Egypt there is no freedom at all. More than 18 million citizens cannot live in peace in there own homeland. What about destroying churches and arresting people in their own homes just because they are praying? What about kidnapping girls and women as part of a state plan to force Islamization of the country. Furthermore, what about the freedom of religion for those Muslims that decides to convert to Christianity or any other religion?
Mr. President of the parliament, are you giving the West a lesson in morality and freedom of religion or are you trying to instigate the Muslim world against one of the civil nations on our planet?
Why are the Egyptian government and parliament alarmed about a referendum that took place in a country 3,000 miles away when they do not first try to resolve problems at home? Furthermore, the announcement made by the same parliament stating they seek to work with political forces inside Switzerland in order to alter the referendum result is not acceptable, and the Western governments must take a stand against it.
It is a great opportunity for the Western community to stand against such abuse from those who are using our great democracy to harm us. It is time that our European leaders have to correct the real meaning of political correctness.
Dottore Architetto Ashraf Ramelah
President
www.voiceofthecopts.org
www.lavocedeicopti.org
Forced Islamization of Christian Girls Supported By Egyptian State
Forced Islamization of Christian Girls Supported By Egyptian State
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|mary abdelmassih
Forced Islamization of Christian Girls Supported By Egyptian State
Cairo (AINA) -- The phenomenon of abduction, rape and forced Islamization of Christian girls in Egypt was shown for the first time on the Christian TV channel "Life TV", which broadcasts from outside Egypt and has nearly 60 million Arab-speaking viewers in Egypt and around the world.
The testimonies of the victims and their families came as a shock to many, including Egyptian Christians, since this issue is taboo for the Egyptian media, "Our role is to expose those behind those crimes," said Rasheed El Maghreby, the program's moderator.
The program was aired in mid-November 2009, and interviewed Mr. Magdi Khalil, an authority on Coptic affairs who has made a complete field study on forced Islamization of Christian minors in Egypt. Mr Khalil explained that this phenomenon in its present form is nearly 40 years old, and most of these conversion crimes, with a few isolated exceptions, are carried out by organized Islamization gangs or "Islamization Mafia", a termed coined by him, which are fully funded by the state and supported by State Security.
"Those highly organized gangs carry out systematic planning," says Khalil. "Besides violent forced abductions, other devious means include allurement, deception, psychological pressure, financial temptation, emotional relationships ending in rape and photographs taken to blackmail the victims into conversion, and spreading fear in the hearts of their families. They turn the minor into a broken, humble, and submissive person who drifts along a road which would have been impossible for her to take under normal circumstances or in an atmosphere of family or legal protection, and of her own free will."
The TV program aired three cases of victims throwing light on the complete disadvantage of the affected families in front of the "Islamization mafia", in view of the complete lack of support, if not collusion, of the authorities.
Ingy Adel, now 16, was abducted at the age of 12 on her way to school by being anaesthetized and bundled into a car. "I was taken into a room by a man called Sultan, who tied my hands behind my back and raped me," said Ingy. Four men followed Sultan in raping her, "I felt as each one of them raped me, that I was their enemy. They have beaten me ferociously." She said that for a whole month she was given drugs and raped, "more than 50 men raped me." After two months and only through the efforts of her father she was found and brought back home. When they reported the crime to the State Security she was beaten by the officer to change her testimony and say that she ran away from her family with her own free will. "Until today they have done nothing about it and will not do anything, because I am a Christian," sobs Ingy (see testimony).
Another victim was Amal Zaki from Mahalla el-Kubra. "I received a phone call at work, informing me that my father was taken ill and lies in hospital and wishes to see me urgently. A work colleague with a Burka offered to accompany me. Outside was a car full of sheikhs, and when I refused to get in, I was pushed inside the car, and woke up in a dark room in Dar el Eftah [Al-Azhar affiliated Islamic Legislation Authority]. I knew that I was married to a certain Ahmed Ramadan, the cousin of my Burqa colleague. He tied me to the bed, after three hours I was taken to hospital suffering with haemorrhage." Amal's father continued the story: "I went to State Security and they assured me that they will get her back, but they were just fooling me; they knew all along were my daughter was. When I reported Ahmad Ramadan to the police, he said in the police report that State Security told him to marry Amal, take her to Cairo for conversion to Islam, and after 9 days, they told him to di!
vorce her. He presented documents to support his claims" Amal was returned 9 months later after her father paid a ransom to her abductors. Although she never went to Al-Azhar to convert to Islam, she still got a conversion certificate.
Another incident was described by a villager who said that his daughter, who was less than 16-years-old, was abducted as she went to the nearby grocery store. When he reported the matter to the police, he was told he was causing 'sectarian strife.' He said: "I asked to see my daughter just for 10 minutes, but they refused. I was detained at the police station until the officer received a phone call that my daughter was taken away." He said that the police forced him to leave the village. "My daughter returned to the village 3 days after I left. They have taken my home by force and now my daughter lives in it with her Muslim husband (see testimony).
"This is thuggery. As long as it is for the benefit of Islam, all authorities join together as if it is an 'armed invasion.' Sharia over the law and Islam over the nation," said Khalil.
The latest fraud mentioned on the TV program is that Muslim gangs who dress as Coptic priests, offer a car lift to Christian girls and then abduct them. "The Coptic Church has warned its congregation against letting any unknown person dressed as a priest into their homes or accepting a lift," said Khalil.
Several international organizations have criticized Egypt regarding forced Islamization of minors, among which is the International Religious Freedom report from 2005 to 2009, the Helsinki Commission Report of November 9th, 2006, Human Rights Watch Report of November 12th, 2007, and on November 10th, 2009, Christian Solidarity International issued a report quoting 25 cases of forced Islamization of minors.
H.H. Pope Shenouda protested as far back as December 17th, 1976, during a conference held in Alexandria, saying: "There is a practice to convert Coptic girls to embrace Islam and marry them under terror to Muslim husbands." He demanded that the abducted girls be returned to their families.
Sheikh Fawzy al-Zafzaf, former head of the Azhar committee for inter-religious dialogue told Al-Destoor Newspaper on November 17th, 2009, that he did not deny the existence of cases of abduction and forced Islamization of Coptic girls in Egypt. He called on the government to intervene to stop such acts by imposing just penalties on people who commit them.
Pope Shenouda warned during a lecture on March 17, 2004 that he received thousands of letters of abduction of Christian girls through certain Islamic store chains which lure them away by being told they won a prize and have to go to an upper floor in the building to collect it.
"Christian activists who work in cases of abductions and forced Islamization have a good idea about who the organizations, State Security officers and businessmen supporting the Islamization gangs," he explained.
According to Ms. Rasha Nour, chief of Egypt4Christ, which specializes in abductions of minors, funding for Islamization comes from a financial network of dozens of companies, charities, and banks such as Bank of Islamic Solidarity, Faisal Islamic Bank, Dubai Islamic Bank, and Islamic Relief Organization, as well as numerous companies created through money-laundering operations, and which are supervised by the Muslim Brotherhood.
Explaining the difficulty in tackling this issue by human rights organizations, Khalil said "Unfortunately no one can discuss this issue, not the Egyptian Family Minister Mosheera Khattab or any research institute, as they would be told 'this issue belongs to the State Security which manages the Coptic Portfolio the way they like." He sees no prospects of any improvement on the Coptic portfolio before it is taken away from State Security and handled as a political issue.
Khalil accused the Egyptian State, with its executive, legislative and judicial authorities of being an accomplice.
The role of the State Security is evident and vital in all abduction cases "They know where the girls are, and withhold information from their families."
Despite the existence of laws in Egypt setting the minimum age of conversion to Islam at 21, as well as legally forbidding marriage of a girl younger than 18 without the consent of her parent or guardian, "we still find fatwas (religious edicts) being issued to justify those criminal acts," says Khalil.
The Chairman of the Al-Azhar Fatwa Committee, Sheikh Abdulah Mogawer, talking to Al-Arabya-net justified the marriage of two underage Christian girls (15 and 17 when abducted) by saying that they accept Islamization at the age of 16 . "According to Sharia, the main criteria for marriage to be valid is for the girl to reach puberty and is not tied to a specific age. Aisha married [consummated] the Prophet at the age of 9. Some girls might reach puberty at 14 or 15 years old, depending on her physical growth," said Mogawer.
"In spite of international and local condemnation, still nothing is being done about this by the State. It is a big shame on the Egyptian government to be an accomplice to these crimes against humanity," commented Khalil .
By Mary Abdelmassih
http://www.aina.org/news/20091223164421.htm
InboxX
|mary abdelmassih
Forced Islamization of Christian Girls Supported By Egyptian State
Cairo (AINA) -- The phenomenon of abduction, rape and forced Islamization of Christian girls in Egypt was shown for the first time on the Christian TV channel "Life TV", which broadcasts from outside Egypt and has nearly 60 million Arab-speaking viewers in Egypt and around the world.
The testimonies of the victims and their families came as a shock to many, including Egyptian Christians, since this issue is taboo for the Egyptian media, "Our role is to expose those behind those crimes," said Rasheed El Maghreby, the program's moderator.
The program was aired in mid-November 2009, and interviewed Mr. Magdi Khalil, an authority on Coptic affairs who has made a complete field study on forced Islamization of Christian minors in Egypt. Mr Khalil explained that this phenomenon in its present form is nearly 40 years old, and most of these conversion crimes, with a few isolated exceptions, are carried out by organized Islamization gangs or "Islamization Mafia", a termed coined by him, which are fully funded by the state and supported by State Security.
"Those highly organized gangs carry out systematic planning," says Khalil. "Besides violent forced abductions, other devious means include allurement, deception, psychological pressure, financial temptation, emotional relationships ending in rape and photographs taken to blackmail the victims into conversion, and spreading fear in the hearts of their families. They turn the minor into a broken, humble, and submissive person who drifts along a road which would have been impossible for her to take under normal circumstances or in an atmosphere of family or legal protection, and of her own free will."
The TV program aired three cases of victims throwing light on the complete disadvantage of the affected families in front of the "Islamization mafia", in view of the complete lack of support, if not collusion, of the authorities.
Ingy Adel, now 16, was abducted at the age of 12 on her way to school by being anaesthetized and bundled into a car. "I was taken into a room by a man called Sultan, who tied my hands behind my back and raped me," said Ingy. Four men followed Sultan in raping her, "I felt as each one of them raped me, that I was their enemy. They have beaten me ferociously." She said that for a whole month she was given drugs and raped, "more than 50 men raped me." After two months and only through the efforts of her father she was found and brought back home. When they reported the crime to the State Security she was beaten by the officer to change her testimony and say that she ran away from her family with her own free will. "Until today they have done nothing about it and will not do anything, because I am a Christian," sobs Ingy (see testimony).
Another victim was Amal Zaki from Mahalla el-Kubra. "I received a phone call at work, informing me that my father was taken ill and lies in hospital and wishes to see me urgently. A work colleague with a Burka offered to accompany me. Outside was a car full of sheikhs, and when I refused to get in, I was pushed inside the car, and woke up in a dark room in Dar el Eftah [Al-Azhar affiliated Islamic Legislation Authority]. I knew that I was married to a certain Ahmed Ramadan, the cousin of my Burqa colleague. He tied me to the bed, after three hours I was taken to hospital suffering with haemorrhage." Amal's father continued the story: "I went to State Security and they assured me that they will get her back, but they were just fooling me; they knew all along were my daughter was. When I reported Ahmad Ramadan to the police, he said in the police report that State Security told him to marry Amal, take her to Cairo for conversion to Islam, and after 9 days, they told him to di!
vorce her. He presented documents to support his claims" Amal was returned 9 months later after her father paid a ransom to her abductors. Although she never went to Al-Azhar to convert to Islam, she still got a conversion certificate.
Another incident was described by a villager who said that his daughter, who was less than 16-years-old, was abducted as she went to the nearby grocery store. When he reported the matter to the police, he was told he was causing 'sectarian strife.' He said: "I asked to see my daughter just for 10 minutes, but they refused. I was detained at the police station until the officer received a phone call that my daughter was taken away." He said that the police forced him to leave the village. "My daughter returned to the village 3 days after I left. They have taken my home by force and now my daughter lives in it with her Muslim husband (see testimony).
"This is thuggery. As long as it is for the benefit of Islam, all authorities join together as if it is an 'armed invasion.' Sharia over the law and Islam over the nation," said Khalil.
The latest fraud mentioned on the TV program is that Muslim gangs who dress as Coptic priests, offer a car lift to Christian girls and then abduct them. "The Coptic Church has warned its congregation against letting any unknown person dressed as a priest into their homes or accepting a lift," said Khalil.
Several international organizations have criticized Egypt regarding forced Islamization of minors, among which is the International Religious Freedom report from 2005 to 2009, the Helsinki Commission Report of November 9th, 2006, Human Rights Watch Report of November 12th, 2007, and on November 10th, 2009, Christian Solidarity International issued a report quoting 25 cases of forced Islamization of minors.
H.H. Pope Shenouda protested as far back as December 17th, 1976, during a conference held in Alexandria, saying: "There is a practice to convert Coptic girls to embrace Islam and marry them under terror to Muslim husbands." He demanded that the abducted girls be returned to their families.
Sheikh Fawzy al-Zafzaf, former head of the Azhar committee for inter-religious dialogue told Al-Destoor Newspaper on November 17th, 2009, that he did not deny the existence of cases of abduction and forced Islamization of Coptic girls in Egypt. He called on the government to intervene to stop such acts by imposing just penalties on people who commit them.
Pope Shenouda warned during a lecture on March 17, 2004 that he received thousands of letters of abduction of Christian girls through certain Islamic store chains which lure them away by being told they won a prize and have to go to an upper floor in the building to collect it.
"Christian activists who work in cases of abductions and forced Islamization have a good idea about who the organizations, State Security officers and businessmen supporting the Islamization gangs," he explained.
According to Ms. Rasha Nour, chief of Egypt4Christ, which specializes in abductions of minors, funding for Islamization comes from a financial network of dozens of companies, charities, and banks such as Bank of Islamic Solidarity, Faisal Islamic Bank, Dubai Islamic Bank, and Islamic Relief Organization, as well as numerous companies created through money-laundering operations, and which are supervised by the Muslim Brotherhood.
Explaining the difficulty in tackling this issue by human rights organizations, Khalil said "Unfortunately no one can discuss this issue, not the Egyptian Family Minister Mosheera Khattab or any research institute, as they would be told 'this issue belongs to the State Security which manages the Coptic Portfolio the way they like." He sees no prospects of any improvement on the Coptic portfolio before it is taken away from State Security and handled as a political issue.
Khalil accused the Egyptian State, with its executive, legislative and judicial authorities of being an accomplice.
The role of the State Security is evident and vital in all abduction cases "They know where the girls are, and withhold information from their families."
Despite the existence of laws in Egypt setting the minimum age of conversion to Islam at 21, as well as legally forbidding marriage of a girl younger than 18 without the consent of her parent or guardian, "we still find fatwas (religious edicts) being issued to justify those criminal acts," says Khalil.
The Chairman of the Al-Azhar Fatwa Committee, Sheikh Abdulah Mogawer, talking to Al-Arabya-net justified the marriage of two underage Christian girls (15 and 17 when abducted) by saying that they accept Islamization at the age of 16 . "According to Sharia, the main criteria for marriage to be valid is for the girl to reach puberty and is not tied to a specific age. Aisha married [consummated] the Prophet at the age of 9. Some girls might reach puberty at 14 or 15 years old, depending on her physical growth," said Mogawer.
"In spite of international and local condemnation, still nothing is being done about this by the State. It is a big shame on the Egyptian government to be an accomplice to these crimes against humanity," commented Khalil .
By Mary Abdelmassih
http://www.aina.org/news/20091223164421.htm
Monday, December 21, 2009
The Holy Virgin Mary appears in Egypt
BikyaMasr
http://bikyamasr.com/?p=7167
The Holy Virgin Mary appears in Egypt
Morris Sadek
21 December 2009 in Featured Blogumnist, Morris Sadek
The Holy Virgin Mary has been appearing at St Mary’s Orthodox church in Al-Warraq, Cairo since October 12, attracting thousands and thousands of Christians and Muslims.
The Bishop of Giza, Anba Theodosius, announces that the Holy Virgin has appeared in a transfiguration at the Church named after her in Warraq al-Hadar, Giza, in the early hours of Friday, December 11, 2009, at 1:00 am. The Holy Virgin appeared in her full height in luminous robes, above the middle dome of the church, in a pure white dress and a royal blue belt. She had a crown on her head, above which appeared the cross on top of the dome. The crosses on top of the church’s domes and towers glowed brightly with light. The Holy Virgin moved between the domes and on to the top of the church gate between its two twin towers. The local residents all saw her.
The apparition lasted from 1:00 am until 4:00 am on Friday, and was registered by cameras and cell phones. Some 3,000 people from the neighborhood, surrounding areas, and passers-by gathered in the street in front of the church to see the apparition.
Since Friday, the huge crowds gathered in the vicinity of the church have been seeing luminous white pigeons soaring above the church during various times of the night, as well as a star, which emerges suddenly in the heavens, travels some 200 meters across the sky, then disappears. The huge crowds gathered around the church do not cease singing hymns and praises for the Holy Virgin.
I personally find no reason to be skeptical about the idea of the Holy Virgin Mary appearing on the domes of her church during the blessed Nativity Fast, especially at this time. Her appearance as such has been confirmed by the Church in the past (e.g. her appearance at Zeitoun, Shoubra and Assiut).
The video footage, coming as it does from a camera phone, isn’t the best of quality, but it is clear enough in my opinion–and in the opinion of the commentators, who, by the way, are not Christian, and who do in fact briefly note and proceed to reply to some obvious typical objections to the footage. The display at 4:50-4:54 shows that the illumined figure is, contrary to the illumined crosses, not attached to the church’s structure. As is clearer to the eye witnesses, the light of the illumined figure differs remarkably from the dull yellow light of the crosses–it is a mixture of a bright blue and white light (the blue light presumably corresponding to her blue attire); eye-witnesses have furthermore noted that it does not retain a fixed position.
The Mother of Jesus was appearing for tens of thousands to see in the land of the pyramids at a Coptic church constructed to commemorate the area in Egypt where she had come with Joseph and Jesus when they all fled from Herod. Starting in April, 1968, her apparitions of light changed the lives of thousands. Her appearances in Zeitun were astounding. She was seen by more than a million people. The apparitions were broadcast by Egyptian TV, photographed by hundreds of professional photographers and personally witnessed by Egyptian President Abdul Nasser.
Her first visit was on the night of April 2, 1968. Two Muslim watchmen at a garage saw a woman walking the roof of the church across the street. Afraid she was going to jump, they ran out shouting at her not to take her life, summoning a crowd below. The priest of the chapel was the first to believe it was an apparition. The longest single appearance was on April 30, 1968, when the vision remained from 2:45 am until 5 am. The nightly apparition attracted vast crowds of both Copts and Muslims, and was declared a genuine miracle by the Coptic Church.
On the eve of Tuesday, March 25, 1986 (Baramhat 16, 1702 am), the Holy Virgin Mary started Her apparitions in the church of Saint Demiana, the martyr in Papadouplo, in the Shoubra quarter of Cairo. The church of Saint Demiana in Papadouplo is a very small and poor Coptic Orthodox church and the surrounding “streets” are very narrow (about 4 meters wide). On this day, our Lady appeared beside the two towers of the church of Saint Demiana and was first seen by people living in the houses overlooking the church’s towers; Her light shone in their houses and they saw Her in Her full body surrounded by a halo of light over the left (western) dome of the church. This apparition was repeated several times, then the news spread and people from all sects and religions came to see the apparitions. The very narrow streets surrounding the church became overcrowded with thousands of night vigils praying and singing doxologies, liturgies and hymns to the Mother of True Light for whole nights.
Also, in 2000, an apparition of the Virgin Mary had been spotted in the small Egyptian town of Assiut. Outside the church, hopeful pilgrims each night chanted “Come Mary, Come,” or “Your Light is on the Cross,” hoping to beseech the Virgin Mary to appear between the two towers of the church, as she had done the previous nights, they say.
It is believed by Christians in Egypt, that the Virgin Mary appears in times of crisis and unrest in order to support them at the time of adversity. She appeared at the Zeitun Church in 1968, the year after a setback of 67 , and these days, when Copts face Islamic persecution from the Egyptian regime and their follow Muslims, she has appeared again.
BM
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Egyptian Christian women forced to marry, convert to Islam, reports say
WASHINGTON (BP)
Coptic Christian women in Egypt are being forced to marry and convert to Islam and that oppression is part of a larger pattern of persecution against Christians facilitated by the Egyptian government, according to two recent reports.
“Cases of abduction, forced conversion and marriage are usually accompanied by acts of violence which include rape, beatings, deprivation of food and other forms of physical and mental abuse,” said a new assessment by Christian Solidarity International and the Coptic Foundation for Human Rights.
At the same time, the 2009 U.S. State Department report on international religious freedom noted the Egyptian government fails to prosecute crimes against Copts and even has taken a hand in destroying church property and, in one case, a government official reportedly raped a woman who had converted from Islam to Christianity.
About 90 percent of the Egyptian population is Sunni Muslim, and the rest primarily identify themselves as Coptic Christians, according to the Human Rights Watch report “Prohibited Identities: State Interference with Religious Freedom.” Copts typically are underprivileged and experience discrimination.
Egyptian sex traffickers entice Coptic Christian women from low-income families by promising an escape from poverty, then force the women into Muslim “marriages” or outright slavery, according to the CSI/CFHR report.
“Such abuse remains covered in a cloak of silence and tacit acceptance, even though it is against the constitutional affirmations of civil rights,” the report said.
Once a Coptic girl is coerced into marriage and Islamic conversion, her family will not take her back, and if she leaves her “husband,” she is considered a “disgrace” to her family, the report said. In addition, the Coptic Orthodox Church excommunicates female members who wed Muslim men, the State Department said.
Since Islam is the “religion of state” in Egypt, conversion to Islam is easy, while returning to Christianity is unacceptable, the HRW report said. The Civil Status Department, which issues national identity cards, sometimes refuses to give Coptic women a new card identifying her as Christian since it is considered apostasy for a Coptic woman to leave Islam, even to return to her religion of origin.
Egyptian law requires every citizen to have an identity card for purposes such as voting, employment and education.
Most of the cases of Coptic women being coerced into marriage are not reported and “observers, including human rights groups, find it extremely difficult to determine whether compulsion was used, as most cases involve a female Copt who converts to Islam when she marries a Muslim male,” the State Department report said.
In two examples of coerced conversion, CSI/CFHR reported Nov. 10:
– An Egyptian woman was raped and beaten since she would not have sex with the man she was forced to marry. The Coptic cross on her wrist was later removed with acid.
– Another woman was forced to marry a Muslim lawyer and work for him in “slave-like conditions” for five years.
John Eibner, CSI’s chief executive officer, urged President Obama in a letter to combat the trafficking of Christian women and girls in Egypt and to make sure the U.S. makes this issue a priority in its relations with Egypt.
“Trafficking of Christian women in Egypt is not a new phenomenon…. But this problem has now reached boiling point within Egypt’s Coptic community, which views it as symptomatic of a much broader pattern of religious persecution,” Eibner said in his letter.
–30–
Cindy Ortiz is an intern with the Washington bureau of Baptist Press.
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