Tag: Minya

Egypt: Copt in court for ‘blasphemous’ Facebook post that led to riot

July 24, 2018 Egypt Blasphemy, Copts, Egypt, Islamic extremism, Minya, Prophet Muhammad

Following Adel's facebook post in July an attempt by a mob to attack the Coptic Saint Tadros Church in Menbal village was prevented by security guards. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

A Coptic Christian whose allegedly blasphemous Facebook post caused riots in his Egyptian village earlier this month is scheduled to appear in court today (24 July) on charges of contempt of religion.* Abdo Adel, 43, from Menbal village in Minya governorate, has been in detention since his arrest on 6 July . . . Read More

Egypt: Copts celebrate first Mass in new church, seven years since closure of previous building

July 23, 2018 Egypt Churches, Copts, Egypt, Kom El-Loufy, Minya

Copts in Kom El-Loufy celebrate the first mass in their new church. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

Seven years after their previous church was closed by local authorities because of “security reasons”, the Coptic community in the Egyptian village of Kom El-Loufy, 250km south of Cairo, held a first Mass in their new church yesterday, 22 July. The 1,600 Copts from the village in Minya governorate were marking the completion of the first stage . . . Read More

Egypt: Mob attack encouraged by police promise ‘No church will be allowed here’

July 17, 2018 Egypt Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Churches, Copts, Egypt, Islamic extremism, Minya

A mob attacked a church in Minya, Egypt, on 13 July protesting against its legalisation and received a police officer’s approval, World Watch Monitor has learnt from local sources. The only church in Ezbet Sultan Pasha village, where about 20 percent of the population is Christian, was built in September . . . Read More

Egypt: Copts attacked after Facebook post ‘showing contempt of Islam’

July 11, 2018 Egypt Blasphemy, Copts, Egypt, Islamic extremism, Minya, Prophet Muhammad

An attack by a Muslim mob on Copts in a village in the Egyptian governorate of Minya on Monday (9 July) has left the Coptic community holed up in their houses, while security forces patrol the streets. A local source told World Watch Monitor the situation is still very tense . . . Read More

Coptic mother’s agony at trauma of son who saw Islamists kill his father

May 25, 2018 Egypt Copts, Islamic State, Minya

One year ago Hanaa, a 42-year-old Egyptian mother of four, took a phonecall that changed her and her family’s life forever: her son called to say he and his brother had just seen their father shot by Islamist militants. On 26 May 2017 a convoy of Copts was travelling to . . . Read More

Egypt: Coptic mother recalls Minya bus attack that killed her son

May 18, 2018 Egypt Beni Suef, Copts, Egypt, Islamic extremism, Minya

26 May 2018 will mark the first anniversary of the attack on two buses carrying Coptic Christians on their way to St. Samuel’s Monastery to celebrate Ascension Day*. The convoy was stopped at 9.30am on a remote desert road, close to the border between the Minya and Beni Suef provinces, by masked . . . Read More

Egypt: Families of beheaded Copts finally reunited with remains of loved ones

May 16, 2018 Egypt Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Cairo, Copts, Egypt, Islamic State, Libya, Minya, Pope Tawadros II, Ramadan, Samalut, Upper Egypt

After a three-year wait and a number of broken promises, the Egyptian Coptic families of 20 men beheaded by IS in Libya in 2015 have finally received their loved ones’ remains. The leader of the Coptic Church, Pope Tawadros II, accompanied by several bishops, priests and deacons, welcomed the 20 . . . Read More

New promise that bodies of 21 beheaded Christians will be returned to families

May 11, 2018 Egypt Copts, Egypt, Islamic extremism, Islamic State, Libya, Minya, Samalut

For the third time since February, the families of the 20 Egyptian Copts and one Ghanaian Christian beheaded three years ago in Libya by IS have been promised the imminent return of their loved ones’ remains. The head of investigations at the Libyan Attorney General’s Office, Siddiq Assour, ordered on . . . Read More

Kidnapping fears for missing Coptic newlywed

May 8, 2018 Egypt Aswan, Beni Suef, Copts, Egypt, Giza, Kidnapping, Marriage, Minya, Qalyubia, Qena, Samalut, Sharqia, Sohag, Upper Egypt, Women

A Coptic Christian woman who had been married for two weeks went missing from her school last Wednesday, sparking fears that she may have been kidnapped. Her disappearance brings to eight the number of Coptic women in Egypt who have gone missing since April, according to research by World Watch . . . Read More

Egypt’s disappearing Coptic women and girls

May 1, 2018 Egypt Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Beni Suef, Cairo, Children, Copts, Egypt, Giza, Kidnapping, Marriage, Minya, Qalyubia, Qena, Sharqia, Sohag, Women

At least seven Coptic Christian women and girls disappeared in Egypt last month, in what is becoming a recurring phenomenon. In each case, the family of the woman says she was abducted by a Muslim who wished to convert her to Islam and marry her. All of the disappearances have been . . . Read More

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