Tag: Copts

Egypt couple’s murder marks second attack on Christians during Copt Christmas

January 11, 2017 Egypt Alexandria, Copts, Egypt, Tala

Two Egyptian Coptic Christians found dead in their bed on 6 January – the traditional Christmas celebration for Copts – were murdered because of their faith, according to the brother of the dead woman. Police said robbery was the motivation for the deaths of Gamal Sami, 60 and his wife, Nadia, 48, . . . Read More

Egypt: bombed church restored in less than a month

January 3, 2017 Egypt Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Cairo, Copts, Egypt, Islamic extremism, Pope Tawadros II

The Egyptian church in which a suicide bomber killed 27 people has been fully restored less than one month after the attack, reports Coptic news site Watani. The Boutrossiya chapel, which is adjacent to the Coptic Orthodox Cathedral of St. Mark in Cairo, was restored following a pledge from President . . . Read More

Sisi under fire after Coptic church attack

December 15, 2016 Egypt Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Bishop Angaelos, Cairo, Copts, Islamic State, Muslim Brotherhood

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi (R) attends the funeral ceremony for the victims of the 11 December bomb attack on St. Peter and St. Paul Coptic Orthodox Church. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi faced sharp criticism following Sunday’s (11 Dec.) bomb attack on a Coptic church in Cairo, in which . . . Read More

Egypt’s Copts mourn after ‘deadliest attack in recent memory’

December 12, 2016 Egypt Cairo, Copts

Egypt’s Christian community is in mourning following what the BBC has referred to as the “deadliest attack on the Coptic community in recent memory”. At least 25 people were killed and more than 40 injured during the bomb attack on a chapel adjacent to the Coptic Orthodox Cathedral of St. . . . Read More

‘We have a right to build churches’ says Copt after latest attack

December 12, 2016 Egypt Cairo, Churches, Copts, Islamic extremism, Sohag

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 . . . Read More

Fresh criticism for Egypt church construction law

November 18, 2016 Egypt Churches, Copts, Egypt, Middle East, Muslim Brotherhood

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 . . . Read More

Christian children ‘singled out for bullying’ in Egyptian classrooms

November 1, 2016 Egypt Copts, Hijab, Islamic extremism, Samalut, Sharqia

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 . . . Read More

Cairo bishop urges Church to be ready for martyrdom

October 14, 2016 Egypt Berbers, Cairo, Copts, North Africa, Refugees, Tunisia

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 . . . Read More

5 years since Maspero, Egypt’s Copts denied permit to remember 27 dead

October 7, 2016 Egypt Copts, Hosni Mubarak, Luxor, Maspero

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 . . . Read More

Four Copts, including child, abducted for ransom

October 5, 2016 Egypt Asyut, Children, Copts, Egypt, Kidnapping, Qena

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 . . . Read More

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