Tag: Muslim Brotherhood

Egypt: Series of fires in their churches ‘not a coincidence’, say Copts

November 11, 2019 Egypt Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Cairo, Copts, Egypt, Mansoura, Mohamed Morsi, Muslim Brotherhood

Three Coptic churches in the Upper Egypt region were hit by fires in the last three weeks which, the Copts say, is “not a coincidence”. On Friday morning 1 November a fire started in an adjacent hall of the Mar-Girgis (St George) al-Gyoushi Church in the Shubra district of the . . . Read More

Egypt’s Copts nominated for Nobel Peace Prize

September 28, 2018 Egypt Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Copts, Egypt, Giza, Islamic extremism, Islamic State, Mohamed Morsi, Muslim Brotherhood, Pope Tawadros II

In October last year the Coptic church in Sohag, Minya governorate, had its electricity and water supply cut by police, who said they had received complaints from Muslim villagers (Watani)

Egypt’s Coptic Christians have been nominated for the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize for choosing peaceful coexistence over retaliation in the face of persecution, reports the US-based news site PR Newswire. It is believed to be the first time in the 116-year history of the prize that an ethnic religious group . . . Read More

Saudi Arabia to ban ‘extremist ideologies’ from schools and universities

March 23, 2018 Saudi Arabia Education, Islamic extremism, King Salman, Mohammad bin Salman, Muslim Brotherhood, Religious freedom, Saudi Arabia, Sunni, UK, USA

Sign portraying Saudi King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who wants to be known as a reformist, in the capital Riyad. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

Saudi Arabia has pledged to ban the “extremist ideologies” espoused by the Muslim Brotherhood from school curricula and books, and to dismiss staff who support the group’s views. In a statement released on Tuesday (20 March), the Minister of Education, Ahmed bin Mohammed al-Isa, said the ministry is working to . . . Read More

Egypt’s elections and the man dividing the country’s Copts

March 14, 2018 Egypt Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Arab Spring, Aswan, Asyut, Bahrain, Cairo, Catholics, Churches, Converts, Copts, Egypt, El-Ghad Party, Elections, Faiyum, Hosni Mubarak, Islamic extremism, Islamic State, Minya, Mohamed Morsi, Muslim Brotherhood, Pope Tawadros II, Protestants, Samalut, Sinai, Sohag, Sunni, Tanta, Terrorism, Upper Egypt

Walking around Cairo you would be forgiven for thinking that President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi was the only candidate running in the elections later this month. His is the only grandiose face bearing down on passers-by, while billboards of his rival, Mousa Mostafa Mousa, are nowhere to be seen. Egypt’s 26-28 March presidential elections have . . . Read More

Egypt rejects US claim of Copts’ persecution as ‘lies’

January 26, 2018 Egypt Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Copts, Egypt, Muslim Brotherhood, USA

The Foreign Relations Committee of the Egyptian Parliament is preparing a report in response to the US Congress “Coptic Solidarity” memorandum alleging persecution of Copts in Egypt. The memorandum was introduced last month and claimed that Copts were subjected to “systematic bigotry” and “treatment as second-class citizens in Egypt”. Described . . . Read More

Egypt’s human rights move dismissed as ploy to win back US aid

January 10, 2018 Egypt Copts, Egypt, Human rights, Kidnapping, Minya, Muslim Brotherhood, Sohag

Efforts by the Egyptian government to improve its record on human rights are aimed primarily at persuading the US government to reinstate its generous aid package, Coptic activists have said. Last month Egypt announced it would set up 60 human-rights departments across the country to record complaints from citizens of . . . Read More

‘Mixed feelings’ for families after IS cameraman reveals where beheaded Copts were buried

October 3, 2017 Egypt Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Anba Macarius, Copts, Islamic State, Libya, Minya, Muslim Brotherhood, Upper Egypt

The families of the 20 Egyptian Christians beheaded on a beach in Libya in 2015 say they have “mixed feelings” after the cameraman who filmed the beheadings reportedly told the authorities where the bodies were buried. Coptic news site Watani spoke to the families of 13 of the murdered Christians, . . . Read More

Why are attacks on Egypt’s Coptic Christians getting worse?

July 14, 2017 Egypt Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Arab Spring, Cairo, Copts, Egypt, El-Arish, Hosni Mubarak, Iraq, Mohamed Morsi, Muslim Brotherhood, Salafism, Syria, Yemen

Attacks on Christians in Egypt have intensified in brutality because of an influx of arms and foreign jihadis, lax border security and increased local hostility to non-Muslims, according to a leading UK academic. Dr Mariz Tadros of Sussex University’s Institute of Development Studies said that the suicide attack on a . . . Read More

Murder of fifth Copt in six weeks creating ‘state of fear and terror’ among Egypt’s Christians

July 12, 2017 Egypt Cairo, Copts, Muslim Brotherhood, Upper Egypt

A fifth Copt has been murdered in Egypt in six weeks, aggravating fears among Christians that Islamist extremists are targeting them with impunity. Nadra Mounir, 26, was found dead in her flat in Cairo last Thursday evening (6 July), and religious icons in her home had reportedly been desecrated. Her . . . Read More

Bomb near Egyptian church defused amidst growing insecurity

April 4, 2017 Egypt Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Copts, Egypt, Gharbia, Islamic State, Muslim Brotherhood, Tanta

Egyptian security forces in the western province of Gharbia dismantled a bomb outside the Mary Girgis church in Tanta last week. Three days later, a group linked to the Muslim Brotherhood bombed a police training camp in the same city, killing one and injured 16. It was in Tanta, Egypt’s . . . Read More

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