Among the Copts

Christianity Today published a long article by Cornelis Hulsman about H.H. Pope Shenouda and Father Matta el-Meskeen, two major reformers in the contemporary Coptic Orthodox Church. The article is presented in this issue of the RNSAW with permission of Christianity Today. You will find here presented the text before it was edited by Christianity Today. It is slightly longer than the printed version. Hulsman wrote a special article for the RNSAW, which gives background information concerning how this article developed, with mention of the sensitivities that had to be addressed.

Drs. Cornelis Hulsman had been invited to give a lecture on his work for the RNSAW at a conference on "Media and Interreligious Dialogue" in Vienna, Austria on November 8 and 9. The conference had been organized by the International Press Institute in Vienna, the Department of Communication Science of the University of Vienna and the city of Vienna in Austria. The text gives a good overview as to what led to the foundation of the RNSAW.

In his interview with Drs. Cornelis Hulsman, Khaled Hamza, asked him about his opinion concerning the relationships between the Muslim and Coptic communities in Egypt as well as about his opinion on both Pope Shenouda and the Sheikh of Al-Azhar. In addition to this he was asked to comment on the case of the Ibn Khaldoun Center.