Egyptian Convert Sentenced to Five Years
Wednesday a judge in Egypt’s Minya Criminal Court sentenced the first Egyptian to legally challenge his official religious status to five years in prison and a fine, according to Morning Star News.
Egypt
Egypt: Over 500 Christian Girls Kidnapped and Forced to Convert since 2011
Hundreds of Coptic Christian women in Egypt have been kidnapped and forced to convert to the Islamic religion of their abductors, according to Christian Today.
Egyptian Christian Teacher Sentenced for Blasphemy
An Egyptian appeals court has upheld the blasphemy conviction of a Coptic Christian living in exile, sentencing her to six months in prison and overturning an earlier ruling that only imposed a fine, according to Yahoo News.
Islamists torch Christian-owned shops in southern Egypt
A mob of Islamists burned down several Christian-owned shops in southern Egypt near Luxor, according to Jewish and Israel News.
Eygpt: Exiled Christian Teacher Awaits ‘Blasphemy’ Appeal
One year after Islamists in upper Egypt accused her of committing blasphemy in front of a class of Muslim students, a Coptic Christian teacher fled to France where she remains in exile, according to Morning Star News.
Egypt: Killed for a Cross
On a Friday afternoon late last month, a young woman was killed over a cross after she drove to the Ain Shams neighborhood of Cairo to deliver food and medicine to the elderly, according to International Christian Concern.
Egypt: Radical Islamist Militants, Attack Tour Bus Occupied by South Korean Christians
Four South Korean Christians touring Egypt were killed and over 30 injured Sunday after a militant Islamist group exploded a bomb on their bus as it was about to cross into Israel, according to the Associated Press.
Kidnappers target Christian children in Egypt
A 25-year-old Christian on his way home from Minya City last week was kidnapped at gunpoint and then held for ransom; it was the latest in a long list of Christian kidnappings in Upper Egypt, 125 miles south of Cairo, according to World News Group.
Egypt: Muslim gangs behind anti-Christian campaign busted
Earlier this month, government security forces launched a major operation to cripple a coalition of Muslim gangs that have been brazenly preying on the Christian community in Egypt’s Assiut province, according to Barnabas Aid.
Egypt’s Christians Still Support New Constitution
Although Egypt’s Christian leaders are urging the faithful to support the country’s new constitution for the sake of national stability, detractors claim that it fosters a medieval Islamic supremacy within the framework of a modern Egyptian society, according to Morning Star News.
Why the Muslim Brotherhood targets Christians
A pogrom against Christians is in keeping with the Muslim Brotherhood’s supremacist ideology, but according to PJ Media’s Andrew McCarthy, that pogrom says more about Egypt than the Brotherhood because this murderous Muslim movement came out of Egypt’s own Islamist culture.
New Constitution to remove restrictions on churches in Egypt
A 50-member committee tasked with revamping Egypt’s current constitution has removed the document’s repressive restrictions on church construction, according to Barnabas Aid.
Egypt: Churches, Schools Razed to Erase Any Christian Presence
After the ouster of Egypt’s Muhammad Morsi, many of his followers took out their frustrations against the Christian houses of worship, schools and orphanages of Minya Governorate, according to AsiaNews.
Shame on Obama if He’s a Christian
An Egyptian Christian cleric has chastised President Barack Obama and his administration for not speaking out against the Muslim Brotherhood’s persecution of the Church, according to the Christian Broadcasting Network News.
Bishop: Egyptian Christians Live in Fear as Brotherhood Attacks Continue
Bishop Joannes Zakaria said that although Christians in Egypt are running out of food, they’re afraid to leave their homes because of the incessant attacks by the Muslim Brotherhood, according to the Catholic News Agency.
Egypt Vows to Rebuild Churches
Defense Minister Gen. Abdel Fattah El-Sisi has ordered the repair of all churches that were damaged during the Muslim Brotherhood’s violent protests after Egypt’s military removed President Mohamed Morsi from office, according to a report by the Mid-East Christian News.
Muslim Brotherhood Burns Churches, Scapegoats Christians
Supporters of ousted Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi took out their frustrations on church property and Christian-owned homes and businesses in response to Wednesday’s destruction of two Muslim Brotherhood encampments in Cairo after negotiations had broken down between the Brotherhood and Egypt’s interim government.
‘Voice of the Copts’ speaks to EU High Rep
The following are excerpts of an open letter published Sunday by the Pakistan Christian Post from Ashraf Ramelah, founder and president of “Voice of the Copts,” to the EU High Representative Catherine Ashton.
Egypt: Security Forces Abandon Coptic Christians During Deadly Attack
Egyptian security forces failed to intervene during a sectarian attack in Luxor that left four Copts dead and four others seriously injured, according to Amnesty International.
Morsi Muslims ‘Rage’ Against Copts
Mobs of Muslims enraged over the forceful removal of the Muslim Brotherhood-backed Mohamed Morsi from office have retaliated against Christians across Egypt, according to Morning Star News.