Arab West Report Egyptian press summaries and media research for dialogue

Hundreds of thousands of Egyptians on Tuesday (March 20) attended the funeral of Coptic Orthodox Pope Shenouda III that started at Saint Mark Cathedral in the Cairo district of al-‘Abbāssīyah amidst unprecedented security measures to control the pope-loving masses who tried to enter the cathedral to get a last look on the deceased prelate. [‘Imād Khalīl and Dālyā ‘Uthmān, al-Misrī al-Yawm, March 21, p. 1] Read original text in Arabic

Differences between the Muslim Brotherhood and Salafists over the constitution have taken a new turn after al-Nūr Party and the Building & Development Party called for amending Article II of the Constitution to clearly indicate that the Islamic sharī’ah is the main source of legislation while Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) stuck to the current text that reads “the principles of Islamic sharī’ah are the main source of legislation”. [Wā’il ‘Alī, Hamdī Dabash, Hānī al-Wizīrī and Mahmūd Ramzī, al-Misrī al-Yawm, March 7, p. 1] Read original text in Arabic

Grand Shaykh of the Azhar, Ahmad al-Tayīb, has resumed his meetings after Eīd al-Fitr, with intellectuals and thinkers from various spectrums on the activation of the Azhar document after approval from the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF).

On Wednesday, al-Maydān published an interview with Dr. Ahmad al-Tayyib, the Grand Imām of the Azhar.

Al-Tayyib said that those who carried out the bombing of the Church of the Two Saints in Alexandria on New Year’s Day are “enemies of the Prophet.”

The interviewer told the Grand Imām that some Egyptians had commented that his visit to Pope Shenouda after the bombing was confirmation that Muslims had carried out the attack and that the visit was tantamount to an apology.

After being told by the interviewer that some Egyptians consider the Grand Imām’s post-attack visit to Pope Shenouda to be an apology, al-Tayyib responded that he, like Pope Shenouda, is from southern Egypt, where the offering of condolences is a duty.

“I felt that such an act was directed against Egypt as a whole…it was an expression of solidarity between the brothers of one nation,” said al-Tayyib.

Regarding the recent Azhar decision to freeze dialogue with the Vatican following Pope Benedict’s alleged intervention in Coptic affairs, the Grand Imām said that “we could never criticize someone like the Vatican Pope” if his statements did not represent illegitimate interference in sovereign Egyptian matters.

Al-Tayyib added, “We are waiting for the Vatican Pope to make an initiative in directing a good word toward Muslims, which would dispel their fears and remove some of the [negative] holdovers and misunderstandings that arose because of previous statements.” 

Umniyyah ‘Ādil interviews Egypt’s Minister of Endowments Dr. Mahmūd Hamdī Zaqzūq about the rising sectarian tension between Muslims and Copts in Egypt.

Zaqzūq expresses his doubts in al-fitnah al-tā’ifīyah, describing them as every day disputes between Egyptians. He blames the media for covering only those conflicts that occur between Muslims and Copts, labelling them as al-fitnah al-tā’ifīyah.

He emphasizes how good the relationship between the Church, the Azhar and the Ministry of Endowments has been for centuries, pointing out the three parties’ agreement to maintain dialogue over time. Zaqzūq further highlights the fact that Muslims and Copts have been living in Egypt side by side for fourteen centuries, which makes it difficult for external forces today to drive a wedge between them.

Finally, Zaqzūq reveals his support for a ban of extremist satellite channels and emphasizes his ministry’s role in choosing and hiring a small selection of highly qualified Imāms each year.

The Evangelical Church devoted special attention to the role of women in the church in addition to different social and development activities that took place in the church.

The Episcopal Church in 2007: a visit to China, Iran and to Libya where two churches were inaugurated after four centuries of imposed absence due to political reasons.

A number of Coptic men have signed an announcement calling to cancel any Christmas celebrations in Egypt.