Malak Adel Fawzy, a 19 year old Egyptian Coptic man, was murdered on 4/9/2009 in a savage attack. The tragedy took place in Tanta when Amir Aziz, a friend of Malak Fawzy, had a quarrel with Motaz-Bellah El-Hefny; the quarrel was stopped by bystanders.

Motaz later phoned a few friends to join him near a coffee house where Amir and Malak, were. The gang lurked in an alley and saw Malak leaving the coffee house, who upon seeing them tried to run away.

The prosecution report said that The victim was assaulted by the defendants willfully, deliberately, with premeditation and malice aforethought. They went to the place where he would be present. Defendant Ashraf Shubaki prepared for this purpose a tool (brass knuckles); when they caught him, defendant Motaz intercepted him and Shubaki hit him on his head with the brass knuckle. He fell to the ground, after which, incited by Motaz, they all kicked him with their feet as pre-arranged between them, causing injuries which claimed his life.

Adel Fawzy, the father of the deceased is demanding justice for his murdered son and an appropriate punishment for the culprits according to the law. Fawzy wrote to President Mubarak, the Prime Minister, Justice and Interior ministers, with no response. He even created a group on Facebook in support of his case.

But the father is doubtful that justice will be served. The Chief Prosecutor in Tanta changed his original classification of the crime from deliberate and premeditated killing to assault leading to death. The report of the prosecution concluded the defendants did not intend to kill him, but death was caused by a fatal blow, and four of the five defendants are under the age of 18 years.

According to Magdy Khalil, Coptic political analyst and researcher, All violations against the Copts are deliberately falsely described in a misleading manner. Christian advocacy groups believe that the Egyptian police routinely tamper with evidence and use faulty classification of violations against Copts, in order to help Muslims avoid murder convictions, since according to Shariah law the blood of the Muslim should not be shed for the blood of an unbeliever.

In spite of the many Copts having been killed over the years, not one Muslim has ever been convicted. A recent example was the 5-year sentence handed down to two policemen for throwing a Coptic mand to his death out of a window.

Father Estefanos Shehata sent an urgent plea to Middle East Christian Association (MECA) as the village elders issued a death fatwa against him for wanting to open a prayer hall.

He has also been banned from entering the village of Ezbet Dawood Youssef, where he serves and where his family lives.

He said that the village Muslim's reaction was absolute anger at his request to convert a space in his family's home to be used for conducting funeral services and for marriage ceremonies: I know we are not allowed to have a proper church in Egypt, but until now I pray for the dead and hold marriage ceremonies in the street.

I appeal to President Hosny Mubarak, Interior Minister, State Security and the human rights organizations, that we are Egyptian citizens and we have the right like everyone else to place our dead in a dignified place.

I went to the state security to get the necessary licences for using this space in my family home, but they told me I need first to obtain the 'permission' of the village Muslims, as they (state security) want no problems in the village


When Reverent Stefanos told the villager Muslim elders of what he was intending to do, they called for a meeting with the elders of the neighbouring villages: They were extremely angry at my proposal and instead a death Fatwa was issued against me! I am banned from entering my village for over a month now, I cannot even go to see my mother.

Demanding justice and the rule of law for Egyptian Copts
Tuesday 18th August 2009, 10am-4pm
The White House, Washington, USA

President Mubarak of Egypt will visit the USA for the first time in five years and meet with President Obama in the White House on Tuesday, 8/18/09.

During Mubarak rule of 28 years, there have been more than 1500 violent attacks against the Egyptian Christians (Copts) which resulted in loss of lives, injuries and destruction of churches and property.

Lately, such attacks increased significantly in frequency and severity and the attacking criminals are encouraged by the total impunity as the government does not/not prosecute them.

In the rare cases when the cases went to trials, as a face saving by the government, the charges were dismissed by the fanatic judges regardless of graveness of the crime and the overwhelming evidence.

To protest this blatant discrimination, demand justice and rule of law, the American Copts will hold a peaceful demonstration in front of the White House, on Pennsylvania Ave., between Madison and 15 Streets, from 10:00am to 4:00pm. Please come, invite others, and join us.

Update: Open Letter to Barack Obama

15th August 2009

Dear President Obama,

Your speech to the Islamic World from Cairo on June 4, 2009 was historic. You were the first American President to identify and to address the plight of Egypt's Coptic Christians by name. Now you have the chance to translate your words into actions.

On August 18, 2009, President Mubarak will visit you in the White house to discuss plans for peace in the Middle East. We wish you success as we fully understand world peace is impossible without peace in the Middle East. However, we want to remind you of a woefully neglected issue that is critical to peace in the region.

The Copts of Egypt total around 12 million representing approximately 15% of Egypt's population of 80 million. Yet, they have been neglected and marginalized and most commonly are targeted for systematic discrimination and persecution.

• 15% of Egypt's population is represented by less than ¼ % of its parliamentary elected officials. Mr. Mubarak has done nothing to rectify the shameful imbalance.
   
• During the Mubarak Era, Copts have suffered over 200 major terrorist attacks on their persons, homes, businesses and churches. Most often, perpetrators are not arrested, and those arrested are seldom convicted. The attacks are on the increase with over 20 occurring within the last 3 months alone.
   
• A government policy limits hiring and promoting Copts to high ranking jobs. Many influential positions are completely out of reach for Christians.
   
• An antiquated law from the Ottoman Empire governs church constructions and refurbishing. Building a new church requires a Presidential Decree and repairing existing ones requires permits from regional governors.

President Obama, Please remind Mr. Mubarak that while it is nice to help others, charity begins at home. The Coptic citizens of his nation are badly in need of his intervention to address their plight. Without solving the Coptic issue there will be no real peace in the Middle East.

Update: Report from the Washington Protest

22nd August 2009, Based on article from pakistanchristianpost.com, thanks to Morris Sadek

Dear President Obama,

Egyptian Coptic leaders included Voice of the Copts' president Dr. Ashraf Ramelah and National American Coptic Assembly's Morris Sadek, representatives of the American Coptic Union, and other Egyptian Coptic leaders representing the Coptic American organizations around the country.

During the  August 18 protest near the White House, Coptic leaders called for President Obama to demand that Egyptian President Mubarak recognize the human rights and dignity of Egyptian Coptic Christians who are oppressed in Egyptian. Speakers pointed out the ongoing oppression of Egyptian Copts, who are treated as second-class citizens, how Egyptian Copts are pressured into accepting "Islam by force," and how Egyptian Coptic girls are kidnapped and raped. Coptic leaders called upon Americans to contact President Obama and to contact their Congressional representatives and demand support for the human rights and freedom of religion of Christians Copts oppressed in Egypt.

Protesters included people of all ages chanting and marching together for the human rights for the Copts, including a number of girls, boys, and small children who bravely held signs and stood responsible for Copts inalienable human rights.

Protesters chanted for freedom, equality, and justice for the Christians in Egypt, stating that "Christian blood is not cheap," demanding an end to kidnapping and raping of Christian girls, and calling for equality for Christians in Egypt as citizens.

A controversial Fatwa prohibiting the construction of new churches in Egypt has provoked considerable discussion and spiraled into a crisis, involving the Fatwa Council, Al-Azhar Grand Sheikh, Christian and Muslim religious personalities, and the media.

It was also reported on 8/26/2009 that the jurists who issued the Fatwa are under investigation on orders of the Grand Mufti and the Justice Minister.

The Fatwa in question was issued by the Al-Azhar affiliated Dar el-Eftta -- Fatwa Council for Islamic interpretations of laws in Islam. It stated the will of a Muslim towards building a Church is a sin against God, just as if he left his inheritance towards building a nightclub, a gambling casino, or building a barn for rearing pigs, cats or dogs.

It was issued in response to an inquiry sent to the Fatwa Council by Dr. Naguib Gabraeel, President of the Egyptian Union Human Rights Organization (EUHRO), asking its opinion as to what he read in an article written by a prominent writer about what was stated in a textbook taught to third year students, Muslims and Christians, at the Faculty of Law, Cairo University, on Inheritance and execution of wills. Gabraeel's inquiry pertained specifically to a quotation from the textbook: it is forbidden for a person to donate money for what would lead to sin, such as donating in his will money towards build a church, a nightclub, a gambling casino, towards promoting the alcohol industry or for building a barn for rearing pigs, cats or dogs. He went on to inquire So what is the Shari'a position to what was mentioned especially concerning the will of a Muslim to donate for the building of a church or a monk's cell? If the answer is prohibition, aren't these houses ! where the name of God is mentioned? Is not Christianity a recognized religion according to the Egyptian constitution? There are also a lot of wealthy Copts and Coptic businessmen who donate towards the building of mosques.

The Fatwa Council replied affirming the correctness of what came in the textbook and issued a Fatwa on September 10, 2008 (document number 1809), which is also published on its official website.

According to Mohammed el-Maghrabbi, deputy chief of the Faculty of Law, and author of the controversial textbook, what he wrote is a principle agreed upon by all Islamic jurists. He added that a will, if devoted by a Christian for building a Church, is forbidden and sinful and is considered in Islam as separation from God. So it is also illegal if a non-Muslim wills his inheritance towards building a Church or a Synagogue.

Christians were angered and considered it a clear and explicit insult to all Christians. The renowned theologian Reverend Abdelmassih Bassit, Professor at the Coptic Orthodox Clerical Institute, called it a shocking Fatwa.

On August 30, 2009 Egyptian police forces in the town of Aswan, launched an unprecedented and unconstitutional campaign to enforce the Ramadan fast, arresting 150 for publicly eating, drinking or smoking.

These arrests were seen by many as a step closer towards adopting an Egyptian model of the Saudi Arabian Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice religious police.

There is no such offence in the Egyptian law, said lawyer Khaled Ali, executive director of the Hisham Mubarak Law Center. The Interior Ministry, to justify the arrests, has twisted "violating public decency," which is punishable under Egyptian law, by making eating and drinking publicly in Ramadan to fall under this category.

Faced with a public outcry, the Ministry of Interior denied the arrests, and the Aswan head of Criminal Investigations stated, contrary to published reports, that the arrests never happened at all.

Coptic lawyer and activist, Mamdouh Ramzy called on the Minister of Interior to investigate the police officers involved in these campaigns, and failing that, Ramzy threatened to file a complaint with the Attorney General.

Ramzy fears that Egypt is becoming another Taliban State, and described the Interior Ministry's actions as persecution of Christians, who naturally don't fast during Ramadan and are prone to arrests. He cites these actions as strong evidence of the radicalization of the Egyptian police forces.

The Coptic Church of Saint Paul and Saint Peter in the town of Shebin el Kom was burnt on 9/1/2009, No casualties were reported.

There were conflicting reports as to the cause of the fire, the Egyptian police claimed that it was caused by a "short circuit" even before carrying out an arson investigation, while others believe it was arson.

Church authorities are keeping tight-lipped over the fire and refusing to comment before the results of the investigation are out. According to Free Copts, the priest and witnesses dismissed the possibility of an electric short circuit or a candle as the cause of the fire.

The fire started at about 3:00 PM, when the church was closed, after having had a morning service. It began at the central entrance door and spread inside to damage the church's interior. When the fire brigade arrived, the inside of the church was completely gutted.

Several sources close to the church were interviewed, who asked to remain anonymous, believed that the fire was arson, caused by Muslim neighbors who were against having the church in their vicinity. They said that they have received numerous threats to have the Church firebombed. We were enraged when they told us that the police report would be issued, as usual, blaming a short circuit for causing the fire, or in the worst scenario the arsonists would get off scot-free through the State Security's unofficial reconciliation meetings, in which Copts are forced to give up their rights for criminal charges, said one church member.

Coptic News Bulletin aired an audio with members of the Church who said that two Muslim men were always hovering near the Church since its inauguration a year ago, threatening and intimidating the congregation. Everytime the Church priest reported them to the State Security, they disappeared for a while before coming back with more threats, said a Church member.

Egyptian authorities have prevented Maher El-Gowhary, a Muslim-born Christian convert, from leaving the country. He was detained at Cairo Airport. His passport confiscated and he was advised that he is barred from traveling on orders from a higher authority .

Maher and his 15-year-old daughter, Dina, who also embraced Christianity, were traveling to China on a two-week holiday.

Ibrahim Habib, chairman of United Copts GB, who spoke with El-Gowhary during his detainment at the airport, said that Maher was treated very badly by airport security, and was told of his travel ban less than an hour before departure.

Human rights lawyer Nabil Ghobrial joined Maher at the airport. He filed an incident report at the airport police station. According to Ghobrial it is against the law to prevent a citizen from traveling unless there is a legal reason. He says the so-called higher authority should have been named and that his client will file a lawsuit against the Prime Minister and the Interior Minister, besides a compensation lawsuit for damages.

In an aired interview with Coptic News Bulletin on September 17, Maher El Gowhary said The authorities are trying to pressure us [he and his daughter] to convert back to Islam, but this will never happen, even if we have to live on the streets. We love our Lord Jesus, and we have left Islam for good.

Bishop Agathon, 75 clergy and nearly 150,000 Copts from parishes all over the Diocese of Maghagha & Edwah have staged a sit-in in Maghagha since Sunday 25 July 2010, protesting against the intransigence of the Governor of Minya.

During the sit-in, the Copts held banners asking for their rights to have a church, amidst chants of With our soul and our blood, we will build our church.

Governor Ahmad Dia-Eldin has suspended the licence obtained for the renewal of the diocese in Maghagha, including the church after the old complex was pulled down as agreed. The pretext given was that the 45 sq. metres rooms where the Bishop lives and the public toilettes were not pulled down as well. The Bishop said that during negotiations, the Governor agreed verbally in front of all those present to keep the Bishop's rooms until new ones have been built. Otherwise where will I put my head to sleep and keep my papers? Said His Grace: The Governor now changed his mind and insists on adhering to the written agreement without his 'giveaways' and requires as a condition their immediate removal.

After nearly three and a half years of negotiations and appeals to President Mubarak, an agreement was reached early March 2010, between the Governor and the Bishop. The signed conditions were that the old buildings of the Coptic Diocese of Maghagha including the falling-apart church, which was built in 1934 through a Royal decree, were to be pulled down and in exchange the Governor of Minya would issue a licence for the renewal of the Diocese on adjacent land owned by the Church.

After the church was pulled down, the Bishop and congregation celebrate masses since March 16, 2010, in a make shift tent in the summer heat exceeding 45C. Where stones are hurled inside the tent at us by Muslims, said one local Copt.

On September 7 a 300-man security force, backed by a large number of cars and armored vehicles, attacked the monastery of St. Macarius of Alexandria in Wadi Rayan, Fayoum province. The monks in the monastery were assaulted with tear gas, batons and stones. Three monks were seriously wounded.

The security forces prevented the delivery of limestone bricks to be used for the construction of cells for the monks within the grounds of the ancient Monastery. The forces also attempted to confiscate bricks already delivered but the monks sat on the bricks and refused to move.

Security forced surrounded the Monastery until 12 AM the following day, but withdrew after seeing the insistence of monks to assert their rights, said Father Boulos elMakkary, one of the 85 monks living in the monastery. They left with the commander promising to be back soon.

The monks believe that the government wants to prevent any construction on the premises to prevent any increase in the number of monks living there, though cells for the monks are badly needed, said Father Boulos. Presently 5-8 monks share one cell, when each should be living alone.

The Monastery of St. Macarius, also called the Buried Monastery as most of its cells are caves in the mountain, has been uninhabited for a long time due to desert conditions and being without electricity or water. Monks have, however, lived there from time to time until 1996, when they decided to remain there permanently and obtained permission from the Minister of Environment to live there.

Problems with the authorities started with the increase in the number of monks and the need for cells. Two years ago newly built cells were demolished on orders from the Environmental Affairs Agency. We got fined 2 million Egyptian pounds for supplying the monastery with water, we went to court and won through reconciliation, monk Mina said. Police in Fayoum, State Security and the Agency collude against the Monastery and they do not give us any permits. They want us to get a Presidential decree from President Mobarak, he added.

A group of nearly 50 Coptic men from the village of Azeem in Samalout, Minya province, have exposed slavery-related practices against Copts by certain radical Muslim families in their village. They called on human rights organizations for support. They met with activists from Coptic NGOs and appeared on US-based Coptic human rights channel Hope-Sat, which promised support through their lawyers in Egypt.

Bassem Shehata said in an aired interview with Coptic activist Wagih Yacoub: We live in utter slavery. If Copts, some of whom are landowners, disobey orders of the big Muslim families, they are flogged. Bassem said that last year his 14-year-old brother Shenouda was tied by members of a Muslim family to a pole, beaten and tortured in front of his father just because the father did not lend them his tractor. Each time my father begged for mercy for his child, he was also beaten. He said despite the family feeling broken inside his father refused to report the incident, fearing reprisals from the Muslim family.

Bassem said that young Christians work without pay on Muslim land. I had to go because I was afraid they would harm my father.

Protester Kamil Sami said We came out in the open because we cannot take this injustice any longer. He added they feel sorry for their families who have inherited the trait of giving up their rights. We feel obliged to help our families to change the circumstances under which they are living.

Isaac Bebawy summarized the problem by saying the nearly 1000 Copts in the village of 3000 live in servitude to Muslim families, especially a large one called Al-Khawaimin, which includes the mayor, the village Shaikh, a large number of relatives and their friends. Copts are not allowed to sell their livestock on the market but have to sell it to Muslims in the village at a fraction of their fair price, and hire agricultural machinery only from village Muslims at the highest prices. If Copts do not obey, they are subjected to harsh punishments, he said. These include threats of killings, abduction of girls, destruction of crops, burning of houses and beatings.

After presenting a complaint at the Ministry of Interior in Cairo and meeting with Pope Shenouda's secretary, the group returned to their village where they were approached for a reconciliation.

They presented their demands, which were published on Freecopts' website, among which was freedom to sell their cattle, land and property to anyone, not to be prevented from going to the cattle market, not to have their land torched, the freedom to hire agricultural machinery from any source, not to interfere with opening hours of Coptic small businesses, to stop subjecting Coptic school children and youth to harassment by Muslim families while moving about in the village or while going to religious services, pledging not to demand that Copts of any age go to work without pay , and finally not to subject Copts of any age to harassment, threats or beating. They also wanted Security authorities present during reconciliation.

Muslim families refused their demands, especially selling cattle on the open market. There were other freedom restricting conditions, surprisingly they wanted Copts not to walk together, said Abdallah Bouchra to Freecopts.

To see that nowadays Muslims force Coptic men to work for free, that farmers have to sell their livestock and property only to certain Muslims at a fraction of their price, or prevent people from taking buses to go and pray in another village is slavery, commented Wagih Yacoub: It is something that the whole world needs to know is happening in our day and age in Egypt.

Thousands of Copts staged a sit-in inside and outside the Church of the St. Mary in Talbiya, in the Pyramids area, since the morning of November 11, to protest the storming of the church premises by dozens of security forces to stop construction work and demolish stairs and toilets inside the church, despite the church having obtained the necessary permits.

As soon as news of the arrival of security forces at the church became known, hundreds of Copts arrived to congregate. The angry protesters vowed to remain in the church, having heard that security is waiting for them to leave the premises so as to come back and seal it off. They said they are adamant that this is their church and no one is going to stop them from praying there. Even if President Mubarak himself comes, the church building will go on, said Mansour el-Sharkawy in the interview. They are just finding excuses to put their foot in, then start demolishing the church.

More than one million Copts live in the Talbiya area, without a single church to serve them, having to travel for miles every Sunday with their children to the nearest church. The protesters pointed out that the area is full of mosques without licenses, but when it comes to the Copts, they toil for years to obtain a permit for a church, then security comes out with some sort of excuse to stop them from praying there.

The standoff started on Thursday morning, when the Omrania local authorities committee came under the pretext of completing the papers for the construction works and found that builders were building a second staircase, as well as toilets, which they considered to be in violation of the permit granted. It was the Civil Defense authorities who asked the church to erect a second staircase to relieve congestion inside the church in case of emergencies and the necessary permit amendments were made, said Shehata, adding that if a fire broke out, how do you get hundreds of people out of church with just one staircase, and if women and children want to use the toilets, where should they go?

According to Shehata they were in church when the security forces arrived in huge numbers, to force them to stop construction. As a means of intimidation, the forces tried to break the church door down, arrest the builders and take away the children as young as seven years old who were present at church.

I would like to know what wrong have we committed, we are just asking for our rights to have a place of worship, said Shehata to Coptic activist Miriam Ragey. The moment the Muslims saw the Church domes being built, they went mad, she added.

A Standoff took place on November 22 between Copts and security forces, which stormed the Church of St. Mary and St. Michael, in Talbiya, Giza to stop the construction of the church. It was the second time in less than 10 days that security forces stormed the church premises to seal it off.

The siege began at midnight and lasted until six AM. Priests and parishioners had anticipated the visit from security. All priests were inside the premises, and a great number of the parishioners were inside the church since 9.00 PM, praying, a witness said.

Security forces surrounded the church and prevented the builders from working, and confiscated four concrete mixing vehicles containing ready-mixed concrete, which were on their way to church. The concrete was spoiled, being kept for over 10 hours, costing a loss of 400.000 Egyptian pounds, reported Wagih Yacoub.

Nearly two thousand Copts came to the church as soon as they heard that security forces had stormed the church and are continuing their sit-ins and demonstrations in front of the church until the matter is resolved.

Protestors are adamant that they have all necessary construction permits, condemning the decision of the chief of the local authorities in Omraniya to stop work on the church, which is nearly complete except for the domes.

It was also reported that the Governor of Giza is going to the church premises to negotiate with the thousands of Copts from Talbiya and Giza who are still continuing their sit-in in front of the church.

Clashes broke out between Christian protesters and Egyptian security forces over the construction of St. Mary and St. Michael church in Talbiya, resulting in the killing of two Copts, hundreds of injuries and the arrest of more than 200 Copts.

Nearly 5,000 security forces with over 45 vehicles cordoned off the church site at 3:00 am on November 24 , while builders were working on the roof. They used tear gas, rubber bullets and live ammunition.

Later on Muslims joined security forces in pelting Copts with stones from under the bridge of the ring road overlooking the Church.

This was the second time within three days that security forces stormed the Church, but this time they successfully entered and occupied the building. According to eyewitnesses, security forces fired tear gas inside the church, where nearly 200 people were keeping vigil, afraid that security might enter and demolish the building.

The forces arrived and told us over the microphone to stop working and leave the church, then they started firing tear gas and rubber bullets, one of the witnesses said. They went to church and fired tear gas on women and children who were in church. They ran after us over a quarter of a mile to arrest us.

Copts said they were unable to hide inside the church, so security tracked them down in the streets surrounding the church and inside the neighboring houses where they fled. Over 200 Copts were arrested.

Later in the early hours of November 25, authorities charged 170 Copts with 14 various offenses, including attempted murder of Assistant Security Director of Giza, attacks on the Central Security Forces, attempts to kill officers at police station construction, and vandalizing central security cars, robbery of auto batteries of central security, congregation in violation of the law, riots, and the use of lethal weapons and firearms without a license, not carrying identity cards, and throwing bricks.

In what is viewed as a precedent by right groups, Egyptian state security forces opened fire on November 24 on Christian Copts, killing four, wounding 78, detaining hundreds and charging 170 with grievous charges -- enough to keep them behind bars for 10-15 years, says Coptic political analyst Magdy Khalil.

Working at the construction site of their new church in Talbiya, Omraniya, an area south of Cairo densely populated by poor Christians, the congregation was surprised at dawn by nearly 5000 security forces, opening fire on them with live ammunition, rubber bullets and tear gas. They responded by hurling stones or throwing back at them their tear gas bombs (video). To protest against this attack, nearly 3000 area Copts went to the Governorate building, where they were met again with a hail of live ammunition and tear gas; many were wounded and arrested. Coptic youth hurled stones, broke glass and two kiosks.

Rights lawyers learned lately of 22 Coptic minors were arrested by security from the church site. Some, as young as 16, were hiding inside the church building but hunger brought them out after 2-3 days, when forces caught them, saying they would send them to their families, but instead arrested them, reported Mariam Ragy.

Lawyer Adel Mikhail, who represented two of them on December 1, said: They are just overwhelmed and terrorized kids, mostly 16-year-olds, who had nothing to do with the protests. They were at church doing odd jobs like moving sand. Police interrogated them on the day of the incidents without the presence of lawyers, who were prevented by security. They were all charged with attempted and premeditated murder, destruction of state property with intention of terrorism, theft of Interior Ministry's property, intentionally disrupting public transport, and rioting.

The Governor of Giza went on national TV to justify his actions, claiming the Copts hid by some sort of material a dome which indicates that the building would become a church for religious services and not a community services center as claimed. But prior to the demonstrations the Governor had sent to the Church congregation his secretary, who congratulated them on the Governor changing the permit to allow the building to be a church.

Thousands of Egyptian American Copts, led by Coptic bishops and clergymen representing other Christian denominations, protested on December 14 in front of the United Nations in New York against the on-going persecution of their Coptic brethren in Egypt.

The message given by the bishops of the Coptic church was Enough is Enough and that Copts will no longer keep quiet as they have reached the limit of their endurance of persecution and must speak out. They condemned the use of live ammunition on Coptic protesters and the Media attack on Pope Shenouda III.

The rally at the United Nation was preceded by a joint prayers service at the Armenian Orthodox Church of St. Vartan in Manhattan, in which bishops of the Coptic Church in the United States, Canada and Australia, were joined by the Armenian Orthodox Bishop, representatives of Iraqi churches, including Reverend Andrew of the Syriac Catholic Church, which suffered a bloody terrorist attack on Our Lady of Deliverance church in Baghdad on October 31.

After the joint church service, Coptic Bishops gave speeches in which they for the first time criticized President Mubarak, who do not want to give us the right to pray, and the Egyptian government which is not doing enough to protect its Coptic citizens from Muslim on-going attacks on them, and openly accused State Security of instigating attacks against the Copts.

They condemned the Egyptian police for firing at unarmed Coptic citizens. They asked for equal rights in their Egyptian homeland and freedom of religion.

The Bishops called on Copts and Christians worldwide to keep up the pressure on the Egyptian government to abandon its discriminatory policies against the Copts, as we pressured the racist regime of South Africa until it abandoned racism.

After the church service, the march, led by the clergy who were holding photos of Pope Shenouda, went to the United Nations.

Christians held photos of victims of Muslim violence and of Coptic girls abducted, raped and forced to convert to Islam. They chanted Why, why. do we have to die? and We Need Justice as well as other slogans asking for killing of Christians in Egypt to be stopped, as well as the burning of churches and Coptic homes.

The rally then went on to the headquarters of the Egyptian mission to the United Nations where Bishop David presented a petition on behalf of the Copts with demands to the Egyptian government so that peace would prevail in Egypt.

The car explosion that went off in front of Saints Coptic Orthodox Church in Alexandria killed 21 and injured 96 parishioners who were attending a New Year's Eve Mass.

According to church officials and eyewitnesses, there are many more victims that are still unidentified and whose body parts were strewn all over the street outside the church.

The body parts were covered with newspapers until they were brought inside the church after some Muslims started stepping on them and chanting Jihadi chants (video showing dead bodies and limbs covered with newspapers in the street).

According to eyewitnesses, a green Skoda car pull up outside the church shortly after midnight. Two men got out , one of them talked shortly on his mobile phone, and the explosion occurred almost immediately after they left the scene. On the back of the Skoda was a sticker with the words the rest is coming.

It was reported that the bomb, locally made, had 100KG of explosives in addition to having nails, glass and iron balls inside. The strength of it not only caused glass panes to be shattered in all the neighborhood, but also made body parts fly into the building's fourth floor, and to the mosque facing the church.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility but officials hastily blamed either Al-Qaida or the Israeli Mousad of being behind the blast, but none of them mentioned the Egyptian state security which is viewed by Copts as the real culprit.

To clear his security forces of negligence, the Minister of Interior said that the blast was an individual case, caused by a single suicide terrorist detonating his vest, and has nothing to do with an exploding car. The governor of Alexandria claimed the attack as being aimed at Muslims and Christians alike.

After the blast, traumatized Copts were angered by chants of Allah Akbar from Muslims and began hurling stones at the mosque. Immediately security forces which were absent during the car blast and the ensuing events, appeared and starting shooting tear gas at the Copts, and they in turn hurled stones at them, said an eyewitness. Fifteen Copts were rounded up from their homes by the authorities.

Following the massacre of the congregation at Our Lady of Deliverance Church in Baghdad on October 31 2010, Al-Qaida threatened the Coptic Church and demanded the release of Muslim women supposedly held by the church, else Christians everywhere would be their target. As a result Egyptian authorities supposedly stepped up protection around Copt places of worship after President Mubarak said he was committed to protecting the Christians faced with the forces of terrorism and extremism.

El-Gezeiry asks why this Skoda vehicle was allowed to park in front of the church in an area cordoned off by security, when it was known that Al-Qaeda had already announced its intention of carrying out criminal acts against churches.

Eyewitnesses confirmed that security forces guarding the church withdrew nearly one hour before the blast, leaving only four policemen and an officer to guard such a big church and nearly 2000 people attending the midnight mass. Normally they would have waited until the mass was over, said el-Gezeiry. He also commented on the Muslim's schadenfreude at the massacre at the church, who were heard chanting Allah Akbar.

On January 6 2010, just before the Christmas Eve Massacre in Nag Hammadi, security withdrew its forces from guarding the church a couple of hours before the shooting of the Coptic congregation took place.

Attorney Mamdouh Nakhla, Head of Al-Kalema Human Rights Center, wondered if state security is an accomplice or just too cowardly to confront the Islamists in Egypt who carried out the Church massacre. The crime is local and those who committed it are known, in addition there was a demonstration on the same day using the same rhetoric like al-Qaida. The Al Mujahedeen website threatens to repeat the attack in more churches. The site has addresses of churches and even how to make a bomb. Does security not know about it?

On January 1, the funeral of the 21 people killed in the church massacre took place at St. Mina's Monastery in King Mariout, 50 km from Alexandria. It was attended by representatives of the President, Minsters, the governor of Alexandria, as well as nearly 10,000 Copts who traveled from Alexandria. After the funeral, the Copts, angry with the governor of Alexandria, shouted resign and we do not want you.

Update: Protests

3rd January 2011. See article from bbc.co.uk

Egyptian Coptic Christians angered by a deadly bombing at a church in Alexandria have clashed with police for a second day. Hundreds demonstrated in Alexandria, Egypt's second city, and Cairo, the capital, calling for better protection for Christians.

In Cairo, protests were reported at St Mark's Coptic cathedral and elsewhere.

Egyptian security forces are holding seven people in connection with the terrorist bombing of a church in Alexandria that killed 21 people, in Egypt's worst sectarian violence in a decade.

Update: Interior Minister Accused

14th June 2011. See article from aina.org

The Egyptian attorney general has reopened the investigation into the bombing of the Two Saints Church in Alexandria on New Year's Eve, which killed 24 Copts and injured more than 90. On May 25 Coptic Church attorney Joseph Malak presented a petition to the Attorney General to reopen the investigations into the church bombing. The petition accused former Minister of Interior, Habib el-Adly, of criminal responsibility and collusion.

The Attorney General assigned the case to the Supreme State Security Prosecution to question the former Minister of Interior, who is presently in prison on other charges, including ordering the shooting of more than 900 protesters in Tahrir Square on January 28.

We expect el-Adly to appear for interrogation before prosecution within the next few days, said Malak in an interview on Egyptian TV. He said that everyone was surprised when in mid April it was reported that all 20 Muslim suspects in the church attack were released and that they had been held as political detainees.

Six Copts were shot by an off-duty policeman on a train between Assiut and Cairo on Tuesday. One Copt was killed and five remain in critical condition.

The gunman, identified as Amer Ashour Abdel-Zaher, was on his way to work in Beni Mazar police station when he boarded the train at approximately 17.00 hours in the town of Samalout. He shot the six Copts after chanting Allahu Akbar (Allah is Great) then attempted to flee but was apprehetnded by passengers.

Fathy Ghattas, a 71-year-old Coptic Christian, died immediately. His wife Emily Hanna underwent an operation to remove her left kidney and spleen. She is in intensive care. Another Coptic woman, Sabah Saniod underwent an operation on her liver. Three of the injured Copts, Marianne, Maggie and Ashraf, were flown by helicopter to Kasr-el-Aina teaching hospital in Cairo for further treatment.

The communique issued by the Egyptian interior Mministry said the gunman shot randomly at the train passengers, while according to the Egyptian newspaper al-Masry al-Youm the assailant had checked passengers for the green cross traditionally tattooed on the wrists of Coptic Christians in Egypt. After identifying several Copts, the gunman shot at them.

An Egyptian state security court has sentenced a Muslim man to death for killing six Coptic Christians and a Muslim police officer in a drive-by shooting on Coptic Christmas Eve in January 2010.

Mohamed Ahmed Hussein known as Hamam Kamouni, had been charged with the premeditated murder of the Christians and the police officer and with intimidating citizens in Nagaa Hamady in southern Egypt after mass on the eve of Coptic Christmas. The shooting, in which nine Copts were injured, provoked protests by more than 1,000 local Copts.

The judge said Hussein's sentence would be sent to the Grand Mufti for confirmation, a reference to Egypt's top religious authority who is called on to confirm death sentences. This is a procedural step that almost always results in confirmation of the sentence.

The court said Hussein's two accomplices, Kurashi Abu Haggag and Hindawi Muhammed Sayyid, who were charged with aiding in the murder and possession of weapons, would be announced on February 20.

Last week a Muslim policeman was charged with shooting dead a Christian man on a train in the town of Samalut in southern Egypt and he will be tried for premeditated murder.

Unusually bad winter weather in Upper Egypt all last week focused attention once again on the controversial restrictions on church building. The rainy weather caused roofs of dilapidated churches -- which have been waiting for years to receive construction permits -- to collapse.

Much of the on-going sectarian strife in Egypt is related to the ability of Christians to build churches. Most human rights organizations in Egypt have called on the Egyptian government for the last 15 years to promptly adopt a unified law governing construction of the houses of worship. believing that this law would eliminate more than 90% of the sectarian tension.

Presently church building in Egypt is still partly governed by the Hamayouni Decree of 1856, and the 1934 el-EzabI Decree that stipulated 10 conditions that must be met prior to issuance of a presidential decree permitting the construction of a church. The conditions include the requirement that the distance between a church and a mosque be not less than 100 meters, the approval of the neighboring Muslim community, the number of Christians in the area and whether or not the proposed church is near the Nile, public utilities or railways. Copts view these regulations as confirmation of their Dhimmi or second-class citizenship status.

After the November 2010 parliamentary elections, Copts kept getting mixed messages about the long awaited law on places of worship, which was promised to be introduced to Parliament this session. On the opening session of the new parliament, however, President Mubarak did not introduce the church building law.

On the 9th January 2011 the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) said it was considering a unified law on places of worship for Muslims and Christians. However, the final draft of the bill has yet to take shape.

On January 17, Dr. Mostafa El Fekki, Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, Shura Council, said that the law on places of worship will not be adopted due to procedural considerations, pointing out that this law opens the door to sedition in the community, and may encourage a Muslim to build a mosque on an area of 100 acres just like some of the monasteries for Christians do. He believes that this situation could only be solved by a presidential decree or by new legislation repealing the old and starting anew.

They cannot keep giving us excuses as if we are mentally retarded, said Coptic activist Mark Ebeid. Gone are the days when we could be pacified with hollow promises, honeyed rhetoric, and citizenship rights which are never implemented.

Last week thousands of Copts staged peaceful rallies to protest local governors' decisions to halt their church permits, or to order demolition of parts of their new churches, under pretexts of deviations in the the blueprints of the church drawings. It all boils down in the end to the emergence of a dome in the construction, says activist Wagih Yacoub.

In the Governorate of Minya, more than 5000 Copts in Maghagha staged a sit-in because the tent in which they have been using as a church since March last year collapsed due to the profuse rain on January 17. They called on the Governor of Minya to issue the rebuilding permit for the Diocese of Maghagha Church, which was demolished to be replaced by a new one. However, since March 2010, the situation has come to a standstill. Because after demolishing the buildings, the Governor insisted that for a new diocese to be built the Bishop has also to demolish his 45 square meter home and should find somewhere else to sleep.

In the Governorate of Beni Suef thousands of Copts protested ten days ago inside the newly-built church in Ezbet Gaffer, Al-Fashn, after a decision by the city's administration office to demolish the church's dome, citing that its builders did not adhere to the licensing conditions, as the Presidential Decree came with no dome. The church was built years ago and was developing cracks in its walls, but Al-Fashn Diocese asked for a permit for demolishing the old building and replacing it with a new one, which would serve three villages. The Governor intervened to pacify the Copts and sent the drawing to Cairo to see the possibility of amendments.

Only two months ago a similar situation took place at the new Coptic Church of St. Mary and St. Michael's, in Talbiya, Giza, which ended with deadly consequences for Copts and a huge human rights scandal for the government. State security forces opened fire with live ammunition and used tear gas on women, children and youth who were present at the church, in order to halt construction of the church and demolish the building. Upon seeing a dome being erected, the governor of Giza and the local authorities sent at dawn on November 24 nearly 5,000 security forces, which surrounded the church, shot at the congregation with live ammunition, rubber bullets and tear gas The clashes between security and the Copts resulted in the death of three Coptic men from bullet wounds and a four year old child from tear gas being thrown inside the chapel. More than 79 Copts were wounded, some severely, and 157 people were detained, including women and children, and were all charged with premeditated murder of a police officer, assaulting security officers, rioting, theft and destruction of public property

Muslims have broken into the home of a Coptic family and abducted their 18-year-old daughter Nesma Sarwat. The home belongs to the building contractor who built the controversial St. Mary and St. Michael church in Talbiya, Giza.

The abductors wrote messages on the home's wall, the messages said Islam is the solution and The Church has to be demolished. The abductors also wrote the names of the other family members on the wall.

Neighbors heard voices, but no one saw the abductors as the whole operation took less than ten minutes and blood was found on the stairs and in the flat, reported Coptic activist Mariam Ragy of Free Coptic Voice advocacy. I believe writing the names of the rest of the family might mean that their turn is coming, said the neighbor.

St. Mary and St. Michael church was the scene on November 24, 2010 of severe clashes between State Security forces and Copts protesting over the closure of their church, during which the forces used tear gas and live ammunition against the protesters, resulting in the killing of three Copts, hundreds of injuries and the arrest of 176 Copts.

During the protests in Tahrir Square which, culminated in the ousting of President Mubarak, a period which witnessed the complete absence of the security forces from the streets, the congregation of St. Mary and St. Michael church was guarding the church, which was closed on November 24. On February 6, as soon as a few security officers came back on duty, they stormed the church and evicted the priest and the congregation who were keeping vigil there and holding services praying for peace in Egypt.

On September 15, 2010, an Islamic Jihadist Forum called Islamic Atahadi (Challenge) Network, which is said to be an affiliate of Al-Qaida, published on its website under the title Images of the Church under construction in the Pyramids and how to demolish it. The Forum showed photos of St. Mary and St. Michael church in Talbiya, which was still under construction, gave its members instructions on how to demolish the church by using sugar; An easy and affordable way for the demolition of the church before its completion, no need for demonstrations, no need for the use of weapons or explosives, you only need to introduce certain quantities of sugar, yes normal sugar. They went on to explain how to introduce reasonable quantities of sugar inside the forms prepared for pouring the columns, because sugar affects concrete and cancels the chemical reaction which makes the sand and gravel hold together with the cement. They advised in their step by step instructions that timing was very important in the process; the best time being immediately before pouring the roof.

Dr. Naguib Gabriel, head of the Egyptian Federation for Human Rights Organization, presented on February 10 a complaint to the Attorney-General on behalf of the people of the Omraniya area, against the Governor of Giza, and the former director of security in, Giza accusing them of being the cause of the murder of three of the Ormaniya Copts and causing sectarian strife.

One monk and six church workers were shot and wounded last week when the Egyptian Army attacked a Coptic Orthodox monastery in order to destroy a wall monks had built to defend their property from raiders, sources said.

The attack with small arms, heavy machine guns and armored personnel carriers happened on Feb. 23 at the Anba Bishoy Monastery in Wadi Al-Natroun. After a brief argument with monks and workers outside the monastery wall, soldiers opened fire on the crowd, sending them running for cover, sources said.

The soldiers then used armored personnel carriers to bulldoze the wall, they said, as the monks sang a prayer in unison, declaring, God is merciful.

Seven people today remained in the Anglo American Hospital in Cairo, two of them in critical condition. Reporters were unable to talk to the wounded because soldiers have been posted in their hospital rooms.

In the wake of political upheaval, the Anba Bishoy Monastery had recently come under attack from raiders and criminals set free from prisons. When the monks had asked for protection, the military told them to fend for themselves, according to public statements made by the monastery leadership. The monks then built a brick wall with a metal gate to control access to the monastery grounds.

The army later claimed the monastery had not acquired the proper permits and issued a deadline for the wall to be torn down. The monks refused to demolish the wall, and the army moved in.

At least two monks were arrested in the attack but have since been released, according to monastery leaders.

Update: Church of the Two Martyrs St. George and St. Mina

16th March 2011. See article from compassdirect.org

A Muslim mob in a village south of Cairo last weekend attacked a church building and burned it down, almost killing the parish priest after an imam issued a call to Kill all the Christians, according to local sources.

A local imam, Sheik Ahmed Abu Al-Dahab, issued the call during Friday afternoon prayers, telling area Muslims to kill the Christians because they had no right to live in the village. The attack started several hours later.

The Rev. Hoshea Abd Al-Missieh, a parish priest who narrowly escaped death in the fire, said the clamor of the church being torn apart sounded like hatred.

I was in the attack, but I can't describe it, he said. The sound of the church being destroyed that I heard -- I can't describe it, how horrible it was.

According to villagers, the mob broke into the Church of the Two Martyrs St. George and St. Mina, and as they chanted Allahu Akbar [God is greater], looted it, demolished the walls with sledgehammers and set a fire that burned itself out the next morning. Looters removed anything valuable, including several containers holding the remains of venerated Copts -- most of whom were killed in other waves of persecution -- then stomped and kicked the containers like soccer balls, witnesses said.

After the fire went out, the mob tore down what little remained of the church structure. The group of Muslims then held prayers at the site and began collecting money to build a mosque where the church building once stood, said the assistant bishop of Giza the Rev. Balamoun Youaqeem.

Christian Copts staged a massive demonstration on February 28, against the Governor of Minya Ahmed Dia-el-Din, calling for his resignation. The demonstration was prompted by the governor's decision to demolish a church community center for the care of the handicapped, located in the village of Deir Barsha, in Minya Governorate.

Over 10,000 demonstrators, mainly from the village of Deir Barsha, were joined by Copts from the neighboring village of Deir Heness. They marched to the local council in Deir Barsha, holding slogans calling on the governor to resign and chanted Go, go after your master [Mubarak] and We stopped giving bribes, so now you want to demolish the center.

After the demonstration was over, more than two hundred Copts refused to leave the handicapped center and staged an open-ended sit-in until the governor revokes his demolition order.

The 5-storey community center, which cost four million Egyptian pounds, belongs to the Coptic diocese of Mallawi and serves children and youth with special needs from 75 villages all over Minya governorate. It has a workshop to teach them a suitable vocation, as well as a free day clinic.

The Governor wanted to demolish the services building in January 2011, but could not because of the Coptic anger and demonstrations all over Egypt after the massacre of the Two Saints Church in Alexandria on New Year's Eve, where a bomb killed 25 Copts and injured nearly 100.

Those children and youth, some of them cannot talk or do anything for themselves, said to one demonstrator, so why deprive them of the place which can help them. It is utterly inhuman. This building was inaugurated by the governor himself four years ago and all licenses and papers are fully correct. Suddenly he wants to demolish it.

In another incident in the series of continued provocation of the Copts, the Governor of Minya ordered the demotion of ten newly built homes belonging to three Coptic families in the village of Saeed Abdelmassih, 30 km from Minya, without any reason.

Villagers said that the Governor asked the families to pay one million pounds as a voluntary contribution to the governorate in order not to pull down the houses and when they refused they were asked to donate one-fifth of the land to build a mosque near St. Demiana Church. The owners also denied his request as all inhabitants of the village are Copts and no Muslims live there. This prompted the governor to carry out the demolition of the homes on February 28 by the police and army forces.

A group of Muslims attacked Ayman Anwar Mitri, a 45 year old Christian Coptic man in the Upper Egyptian town of Qena, cutting off his ear. The Muslims claimed they were applying Sharia law because Mitri allegedly had an illicit affair with a Muslim woman. The Muslims called the police and told them We have applied the law of Allah, now come and apply your law, according to Mitri in an interview for the Egyptian Human Rights Organization.

Mitri, a clerk at a secondary school, had rented his flat to two Muslim sisters, Abeer and Sabrin Saif Al-Nasr, through an agent. After nine months he learned the sisters had been indicted for prostitution, so he asked them to leave and they did.

On Sunday, March 20 Mitri was informed by a friend via a phone call at 4am that the flat where the Muslim sisters lived was on fire; he went to the flat. While waiting in the torched flat a Muslim named Alaa el Sunni came and berated him for renting his flat to prostitutes. I tried to calm him down, said Mitri, and told him I knew nothing about the two women since they came through an agent. Alaa suggested they would go somewhere quiet to clear the misunderstanding. They went to the flat of Mitri's friend Khaled, a policeman, where 12 Muslims were waiting for him. They started beating him and saying We will teach you a lesson, Christian and This serves your right for renting your property to prostitutes.

Believing this was the end of the episode, they asked him to call the Muslim woman, so that they would send her to her father. When the woman refused to come, they asked a female Muslim neighbor to call her, saying that her belongings are with her. The woman, Sabrin, came and was told to say that she had a relationship with Mitri. At first the woman refused, but after being beaten, she agreed, said Mitri.

Remembering his ordeal, he said that they sat him on a chair and a Muslim named elHusseiny cut his right ear off. I felt so shocked that I do not even know what tool he used. They also made a a 10cm cut at the back of his neck, cut his other ear, his face and his ar. Mitri said they wanted to throw him off the fifth floor but Khaled objected, saying he would get into trouble for just being there, since he is a policeman.

Mitri said that the Muslims tried to convert him to Islam, but he refused. The Muslims then called the police and told them to come and get the Copt saying We have applied the law of Allah, now come and apply your civil law.

The police came and rescued Mitri and Sabrin, who told the police the Muslims forced her to lie about the illicit relationship between her and Mitri. A police report was issued, but no arrests were made.

Anba Kirollos, Bishop of Nag Hammadi, called on the armed forces to intervene and put an end to this thuggery in the name of religion so that this infection does not spread to other areas. He said if thuggery is put above the law the dignity and prestige of the State would be lost.

Hundreds of Muslims staged a protest in front of the State Council this morning, during the hearing of the case filed by a number of Muslim clerics with the administrative judiciary court, claiming the detention of Camelia Shehata and Wafaa Constantine by the Coptic churche.

After a three-months pause Muslims resumed their demonstrations today against the Egyptian Coptic Church, demanding the release of Camelia Shehata, a the priest's wife, and her sisters in faith, whom they allege converted to Islam and are imprisoned by the Church and tortured to give up Islam.

Pope Shenouda III told Al Ahram newspaper at the beginning of this crisis in August 2010 that Camelia is a Christian and no one has the right to know her whereabouts or ask where she is. Camelia later appeared on a video taken by the independent newspaper ElYoum7 and confirmed she is a Christian, never converted to Islam, and is staying of her free will in a place belonging to the church.

Demonstrators held photos of Camelia and chanted slogans demanding her release, saying she was being held in one of the monasteries after she converted to Islam. They also distributed a statement entitled from Camelia Shehata to Muslims, urging Muslims to defend her and set her free.

The demonstration was covered by the media due to the propaganda that preceded the event. Muslims announced on the web that any woman seen without Hijab or not covering her head would be killed, which frightened many Christian women. This prompted the Egyptian Union of Human Rights Organization (EUHRO) to file a complaint against the Muslims with the office of the Head of the Military Council, accusing them of terrorizing Christian women.

Dr. Mohamad Moneer Megahed, head of the organization Egyptians Against Discrimination condemned this threat and called on Coptic women to go out in the streets in defiance. The Media heavily criticized this threat both on TV and in newspapers, with Amr Adib, a prominent show master on Orbit Channel calling it political suicide on the part of the Muslims.

On the morning of May 19 two Coptic priests went to St. Mary and St. Abraham Church in Ain Shams and opened it together with some of the Coptic residents, but later in the day thousands of Muslims surrounded the church to protest its opening, hurled stones at the church building and the Copts, who responded by throwing stones. The army and the police stood there watching and did not intervene.

Unable to secure the church, the army and police closed it and arranged for a reconciliation meeting between the Coptic priest and the Salafi sheikhs. They also arrested eight Copts, one of them 13-years old, and three Muslims. They were all charged with rioting, violence and causing injury to citizens.

Father Filopateer Gameel said that during a meeting with the Minister of Interior he was told he cannot choose the churches to be reopened because it was all planned with the Salafis and the security authorities so that when we go, there will be no problems. He confirmed the minister had himself suggested the names of the three churches to be reopened.

At the end of the belligerent conciliation meeting, a joint statement was read by the Imam Kerdassi, which said It was decided to close the place and no Christian prayers is to take place there until permission is granted. If there is permission then we should respect it and since there is no permit at present then all parties agreed to close the place permanently, no one to approach it and no one of us to harm it until the authorities have issued a ruling. We all have to love each other, so that Egypt would remain strong and secure as Allah wanted it to be.

Hundreds of Muslims surrounded the church of St George in the village of Beni Ahmed West, vowing to kill its priest Father George Thabet, who was serving the morning mass and was locked in the church with a number of parishioners. Security forces arrived five hours later and escorted Father George in a police car to the Coptic Diocese in Minya. Father George looked as if he was the criminal, leaving his church in a police car. said one of the eye-witnesses. The Coptic youth who were attending mass remained inside church to defend it from Muslim attacks.

Eyewitnesses reported the Muslim mob, in their white dresses and long beards, chanted We will kill the priest, we will kill him and no one will prevent us. One of their leaders said that they will ...cut him to pieces.

It was reported that no police or security of any kind was present during the events.

The attacks on St. George Church trace back to March 23, 2011, when Muslims had surrounded the 100-year old church, which held a renovation license, and ordered the church officials to stop construction immediately and undo what they had completed, otherwise they would demolish the church after Friday prayers. They had placed several demands on the church authorities, including the banning of Father George Thabet from Beni Ahmad village and gave him a time limit of 35 days, later extended to 50 days, to leave the village with his family. Muslims accused him of making extensions to the church and of causing sectarian strife. The Archbishop of Minya had sent a priest two months ago to assist Father George, in order to diffuse the situation, but the Muslims resumed their pressure on the church.

Muslims started congregating near the church in small numbers since the evening of June 21, after learning that Father George is returning to the village. It is believed they were angry and wanted to kill him because he defied the ban they placed on him.

Muslims have attacked Christians in the village of Nazlet Faragallah, in the southern Egyptian Minya province.

One Copt was murdered and homes were looted and torched when Muslims from Nazlet Faragallah together with Muslims from four neighboring villages started their violence at approximately 8 PM, after breaking their Ramadan fast.

According to eyewitnesses, thousands of Muslims entered the village from all sides, firing automatic weapons (mostly in the air), looting and throwing Molotov Cocktails at several homes. They even destroyed our irrigation pumps, said one witness.

The first attack was on the house of Father Youanes, pastor of St. George Church, which lies at the head of the village. He was beaten and his home was looted and torched.

Maher Nassif Tobias, an employee at the local council, was murdered in his home. He was found by his son. His house was completely looted, including his livestock.

Security forces arrived 4 hours after the attack began and there were too few of them. They only had batons in their hands, and were unable to control the situation, said a Coptic village resident. Our village is surrounded by corn fields. The Muslims came into the village to loot and quickly disappeared in the fields, the police could not follow them. They were coming from all directions at the same time.

Three Muslims were arrested along with three Copts. None of the Copts were involved in any incident, and one of them had broken his leg two weeks before. Security is doing its balancing act again, said one of the villagers. They will use these Copts, who were arrested at random, to bargain for their freedom in exchange for village Copts giving up their rights during the 'reconciliation' meeting.

The Coptic Orthodox Church in Egypt issued a statement on October 10, expressing horror at the events in Maspero, where 24 Copts were killed and over 200 and wounded. The church stressed that the Christian faith rejects violence. The church blasted the government for failing to find solutions to problems that occur repeatedly and go unpunished. The Church demanded from all Copts to fast continuously for three days starting tomorrow in order to have peace in Egypt.

Some interpreted this demand, which the church has made only three times in its long history, as a way to implore God's help for the Copts, commented Coptic activist and writer Nader Shoukry.

In Cairo, thousands of Copts marched to attend the funeral of the victims of what they termed the October 9 Military Massacre. They congregated in front of the Coptic hospital where most of the dead and injured were transported, and which was attacked the night before by Muslims, who hurled bricks and Molotov Cocktails at the victims' families.

A funeral service presided by Pope Shenouda III was held for the Copts killed in Maspero, at St. Mark's Cathedral in Abbasiya, Cairo, and was attended by over 10,000 Copts. The funeral was for five Copts only, as the rest of the victims are awaiting for autopsies, on the advice of Coptic lawyers. This is to safeguard the rights of the dead, said attorney Dr. Ehab Ramzy, otherwise the families could lose their case. We need proof.

According to priests and Coptic lawyers who were present at the Coptic Hospital, where the victims were brought, the death certificates issued by the authorities were misleading and did not reflect the true cause of death, which might let the assailants get away with the crime. Certificates showed the cause of death as being stab wounds and cardiac arrest caused by fear.

The families insisted on having the autopsies done, which were carried out on 17 bodies lying in the Coptic hospital. Independent doctors observed those who came from the Public Morgue to carry out the autopsies.

Dr. Maged Lewis, a director at the Forensic Medicine Institute, commented that he had never seen corpses in this deplorable state before. Bodies were mashed and bones were crushed; many had fractures and laceration of the intestines; while in others, death was caused by gun shots.

Eyewitnesses reported the army disposed of nine bodies by throwing them in the Nile. Two bodies remain unidentified, making the number of killed uncertain.

Later, friends and relatives of the dead, carried the 17 caskets from the Coptic hospital to St. Mark's Cathedral for the second funeral service. Near Ghamra bridge, bricks were hurled at the cortege, but the procession carried on to the Cathedral.

On their way back after the burial ,the mourners were attacked by armed thugs who blocked the way and hurled Molotov cocktails at them; gun shots were heard. They sought shelter and called the army emergency phone line for help, they waited until the morning but no one came.

A march by Coptic Christians in Cairo to demand protection and an end to discrimination ended in clashes with Egypt's security forces, and unidentified persons in plainclothes, that left at least 25 people dead.

Our Information from Egypt is that at least 40 copts have been killed and the number is rising.

There are conflicting accounts of the bloodletting, which is now being described as a massacre by Coptic Christians.

State television, initially only reporting two soldiers' deaths, claimed that the military came under fire from Copts. Witnesses on the ground, however, said the march was attacked by thugs in plain clothes, who later mingled with the military. Others described how the army used lethal force against the Copts were attacked.

The clashes come just over a week after an arson attack on two churches in the south of the country. Since then, Copts have marched twice to demand greater protection.

Ahram Online, reported on Sunday 9 Oct 2011 Egyptian military attacked Alhurra TV office in Cairo tonight preventing its daily night program Alyoum from going on air to prevent broadcast of the army's violent attacks on protesters. Allso the office of TV 25, which broadcasts from the Maspero area, was attacked by the Military Police. Both channels were transmitting live coverage of the clashes in Maspero between protesters, mainly Coptic, and the army.

Offsite: Egypt's Bloody Sunday

21st October 2011.  See article from indexoncensorship.org by Yasmine El-Rashidi
See also Egypt's Bloody Sunday from merip.org

I watched as Muslims butchered Copts. I watched mobs chanting for an Islamic state, vowing to kill any Christian they could lay their hands on, assaulting Copts as if they were cattle. Coptic blood, one young man boasted as he emerged from a crowd in whose midst two young, until then perhaps hopeful, Copts lay. They were a couple, newly engaged. And I watched the soft-faced Vivian Magdy hold the hand of Michael Mosad, her fiance', gripping it, refusing to let go. I won't leave him, she sobbed, as she sat beside his body in the morgue. He had been dragged beneath an army APC, his legs almost severed, his organs ruptured. As he lay on the sidewalk, gasping for breath, he was then brutally beaten; by a Muslim who screamed at a sobbing Vivian who was crying for help, calling her an infidel. They too were newly engaged --- two months. Michael was twenty-three.

...Read the full article

Update: Rowan Williams

21st October 2011. See article from bbc.co.uk

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, has attacked Egypt forces over Christian deaths in clashes in Cairo this month.

Archbishop Williams told peers part of the underlying problem was a prolonged failure by the security forces to guarantee the safety of Christian personnel and property.

He called on ministers to press the Egyptian government to make sure the inquiry into the deaths was characterised by objectivity and proper distance of that inquiry from the military establishment.

Foreign Office minister Lord Howell agreed to put pressure on the Egyptian Government to get to the truth.

Update: Suing the Government

24th October 2011. Based on article from anhri.net

The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information has filed a lawsuit against the Military Council, Prime Minister, and Minister of Information for the misinformation and incitement against the protesters by the state TV during the events at Maspero.

A group of Egyptians organized a peaceful March on 9 October that started from some areas in Cairo, heading to the area of Maspero. Once they had arrived there, violence erupted and no body knows who instigated it. On the other hand, the Egyptian TV deployed all its vast potentials to outrage and incite the public opinion against the peaceful protesters, aiming at dredging up sectarianism amongst the Egyptian people. Intending to spread chaos and violence incitement, some state TV presenters even asked the Egyptians to take to the streets and protect the army whose soldiers were being killed and shot by the Coptic protesters as unprofessionally described by the TV, in such an inciting and sectarian manner that ignores the fact that other sects of the Egyptian people were in the demonstration.

Strife and chaos instigators at this crucial stage experienced by Egypt must be rapidly penalized. All the corrupt leaders of the Radio and TV Union have to be brought to trials. A new plan for the media has to be applied for the next phase so that it becomes a constructive tool, not a demolition one added ANHRI.

Hundreds of Coptic Christians mobilized last week in front of the Monastery of the Virgin and St. John the Beloved, located on the Desert Road from Cairo to Ismailia.

Although the Monastery has the necessary permits, the army had sent a message to the monastery that they would come on the next day, October 25, to demolish its fence, which guards it from unauthorized visits and criminals.

The official website of the Monastery warned of threats of a new massacre by the Egyptian Armed Forces, and the removal of its fence, pointing out that the Monastery was built in 2002 and is under the supervision of the secretariat of H.H. Pope Shenouda.

When the Army vehicles with demolishing equipment arrived at the monastery, they were met by priests, monks, deacons and Copts all dressed up in white for mass, holding wooden crosses, praying and singing hymns.

Other Copts flocked to the Monastery, which lies 80 miles from Cairo, on hearing of the news.

Upon seeing this congregation of Copts in front of the Monasteery, Brigadier Shukry, who issued the demolition order, ordered his unit to withdraw. Church sources said that this might mean that he intends to implement the removal orders without prior warning to avoid the gathering of Copts.

Army engineers later came to the monastery, filmed the fence and the crowds, and said that the images will be sent to the commander of the army to decide what will be done.