Over 100 Coptic Christians were killed in 2017 in a wave of deadly attacks by militants belonging to, or inspired by, the Islamic State group, which has vowed to “wipe them out”. Egypt’s Copts, who account for around 10 per cent of the population, were also targeted in 2013, after they were perceived as supporting the ousting of President Mohamed Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood government. Scores of churches across the country were attacked and burned.
A dozen Coptic-owned houses were vandalised and three others were looted, as were four Coptic-owned shops, during the 25 Nov. attack in Al-Naghameesh village. World Watch Monitor Two weeks after a Coptic community was attacked over rumours it planned to open a church in the village, one of the Copts […]
After the ratification of a law on the building of churches in Egypt in September, Copts and rights organisations have voiced concerns that this will not aid in turning the tide on discrimination against Egypt’s Orthodox Christian minority. For decades the construction and renovation of churches has been obstructed by […]
A girl shows ‘unacceptable’ (left) vs. ‘acceptable’ school dress code.Watani When 12-year-old Rahma Salem refused to wear a hijab to school in the Delta in northern Egypt, teachers ordered her to leave lesson after lesson and would not let her take part in any activity. “I was made to […]
Archbishop Mouneer Anis. Michael Adel, Bridges Cultural Center A senior Anglican archbishop from the Global South called for the Church to be “ready to sacrifice their lives for the sake of Christ” in the face of persecution, restrictions, terrorism, and violence carried out in the name of religion. Archbishop […]
Coptic organisations outside Egypt commemorate this weekend the 5th anniversary of an attack by the Egyptian Army against a peaceful Christian protest march, which resulted in 27 Copts killed and scores of others injured. Known as the “Maspero massacre” it mainly took place (on 9 Oct. 2011) outside the huge […]
Four Christians, including a child, on Sunday (2 Oct.) became the latest of hundreds of Egypt’s Copts to fall victim to kidnapping and extortion. Brothers Emad and Ramy Lamei, both day labourers, together with their relative Marzouq Ashamallah and his nine-year-old son Amir, were lured with the promise of a […]
Christians feel “under siege” in Egypt after a series of attacks this summer, and continued difficulties faced by the community in building churches, the New York Times reports. In Minya (Upper Egypt) alone, Copts continue to “suffer violence and humiliation”. Houses have been burned, Copts attacked on the streets and […]
Four Coptic teenagers sentenced to five years in prison for “blasphemy against Islam” have escaped from Egypt, via Turkey, to apply for religious asylum in Switzerland. They flew out of Istanbul on 1 Sept. under special “humanitarian” visas granted by the Swiss government. Since early April, they had lived in […]
The Coptic Orthodox Church has voiced its dismay at amendments to a draft law that was hoped to put churches on a par with the country’s numerous mosques. “The Church did not expect to see so many unacceptable amendments and impractical additions,” the country’s largest Christian body said in a […]
The Egyptian parliament should affirm equality and freedom of religion, a US-based Coptic group has said, urging Egypt to “abandon the historically systematic discrimination against Copts”. “Draconian stipulations, related to the historical condition of Dhimmitude, make construction or even renovation of a church in Egypt a near impossibility,” Coptic Solidarity […]