‘Urfī

The ‘urfī (conciliatory) council of the elders of Muslims and Copts in Asyut governorate managed to restore calm to al-‘Adar on the third day of sectarian incidents in the village and some other neighboring villages, sparked after a Coptic high school student has reportedly published cartoons offensive to Muslims on his Facebook page. [‘Abduh Hasānyn and Ahmad al-Asyūtī, Al-Wafd, Jan. 2, p. 5] Read original text in Arabic 

A reconciliatory session is expected to be held between Muslims of al-Nazlah village and Copts of the village. It was rumored that the family of a previously Coptic woman who married a Muslim and converted to Islam, abducted her and tried to force her to leave her Muslim husbands and revert to Christianity. Upon the abduction, Muslims of the village attacked Copts businesses and destroyed their possessions.

The Legislative Committee of the People's Assembly has decided to remove a number of debatable articles that were suggested as amendments to the Child Law.

The Egyptian Shūrá Council approved the suggested draft law about children’s right in Egypt. The law stimulated heated discussions in and outside the council. The new law prohibits female genital mutilation and gives children the right to file claims against their parents if subjected to physical violence. The law also gave the children born outside marriage the right to be registered and given a surname. Opponents of the new law claim that the law is against the social and religious values of the Egyptian society and that it is another form of the increasing Western influence in Egypt.

The article discusses the need for non-partisan reporting and removing emotions from articles, using Arab-West Report to exemplify the importance of such.

The Egyptian press continues to concentrate on the current controversy surrounding the second marriage of Coptic divorcees and the Supreme Administrative Court’s ruling in this regard that obliges Pope Shenouda III to give Coptic divorcees who have obtained a divorce by a court ruling permission to re-marry

Personal testimony from Governor Ahmed Dia al-Din on the recent tensions in his governorate.

Drs. Hulsman discusses his trip to Mallawi, and his concerns regarding the effect that misinformation is having on grassroots Muslim-Christian relations.

The article discusses the potential origins of the conflict surrounding the monastery of Abu Fana.

Arab-West Report presented a text for Wikipedia on the background of Abu Fana.