Arab West Report Egyptian press summaries and media research for dialogue

As Egyptian opposition protests enter their third day, some leaders in the Coptic Orthodox Church are urging their members not to participate, which has caused a reaction by some Christians who feel the church should be involved...

Pope Shenouda III has not attended his biweekly sermon in Alexandria for four straight months, according to al-Shurūq al-Jadīd.

Pope Shenouda returned to Egypt last Monday after having received medical treatment in the United States.

Egyptian and Israeli media trade accusations, Yūsuf al-Qaradāwī tells the Vatican Pope to "leave us alone," and investigators continue their hunt for evidence in this latest roundup of Egyptian newspaper coverage of the New Year's Day church attack in Alexandria...

Egyptian news coverage on Tuesday followed the statements of various government officials regarding the possibility of two Copt-related bills: a unified law for building places of worship and a personal affairs law for Christians...

AWR continues its media monitoring of Egyptian news coverage of the Alexandria church bombing. In this press review, Hānī Hamdī summarizes the Sunday's newspaper stories that deal with the aftermath and investigation of the attack...

AWR's Hānī Hamdī recaps weekend Egyptian newspaper coverage of the Alexandria church bombing...

This editorialist says that the loss Egypt suffered as a result of the recent church attack in Alexandria is similar to the defeat suffered by Israel during the 1967 war. Only this time, he says, one part of the Egyptian community [implying Coptic community] views the bombing as an attack on themselves only.

The author predicts that the attack will lead to a harsh security crackdown, as Egyptian authorities fight their "war on terror." He says that such a war will take considerable time and have questionable results, citing America's failure to capture Usāmah Bin Lādin after the attacks of September 11, 2001.

Furthermore, he calls on the National Democratic Party to reconcile with opposition parties, criticizes the Muslim Brotherhood for their "die-hard ideology" and disloyalty to Egypt, and accuses Copts of "revolting."

Muslims celebrated alongside Christians at Coptic masses in churches nationwide on Thursday night, as extra security measures were taken after the New Year's attack on a church in Alexandria.

Pope Shenouda led mass at St. Mark's Cathedral in Cairo, which witnessed the presence of Muslim statesmen and government officials amid a heavy security presence.

The investigation is still under way. This article in the Egyptian Gazette says that various statements by eye witnesses show contradictions. Authorities last week released a reconstruction of the face of the suspected suicide bomber. 

The attack at the Church of the Two Saints, Saint Mark and Pope Peter in Alexandria was not only a shock for Egyptians, but for people all over the world. According to this media review piece found in Al-Ahram Weekly, the danger is not just for Egypt, but for all the Arab world.

The article claims that Egyptians shoud not merely blame external forces for the terror act, but instead should sit down with each other and take an honest look at themselves.

Many Arab newspapers hope that al-Qā‘idah is responsible, since this would mean that Egypt is domestically secure. Others, in contrast, do not exclude an internal involvement.

The attack has even been described by some as an attack on Egypt's national unity and religious diversity.

Finally, others believe that the only target of the attack was Christians, and that the call for their protection should be rejected, as it interferes with the country's internal affairs.

According to this media review piece in Al-Ahram Weekly, most Egyptian newspapers agree that the aim of the recent church attack in Alexandria was to target national unity. They also disagree that efforts to confront terrorism should expand, with the cooperation of all Arab states.

Meanwhile, clashes that erupted after the bombing have been defined as a catastrophe that threatens national security.