Asyut / Egypt

Mamdouh Mahran, chief

editor of the weekly al-Nabaa, claimed that a former Coptic monk had

practiced prostitution inside the

church. Mahran was highly criticized in Egyptian media and was
accused of

damaging national unity. His

article provoked angry protests by Copts in Assiut and in the main cathedral in Cairo.

The protests became

stronger when he was released on bail. The Coptic Church issued a statement saying that the

monk had been

expelled him from the monastery in 1996.

The number of

articles published about Christmas reflects the attention the Egyptian press paid to celebrations of it.

The

article gives a list of the articles published in five newspapers.

Jamāl Badāwī refers to the importance of a book by Coptic historian

Sawirus Ibn al-

Muqaffa^c entitled, ‘Tārīkh alĀbā’ al-Batārikah’ [The History of

Patriarchs]. The book presents a clear picture of the relationship between Copts and Muslims during the

early Islamic

state.

On Tuesday, thousands of Copts and 80 bishops converged in St. Mark’s Cathedral in al-‘Abbāsīyah to celebrate the 35^th anniversary of Pope Shenouda’s consecration as the pope of Alexandria. The celebration was marked by speeches from bishops from the Coptic Orthodox Church, and coincided with the convening of the laymen’s conference on church reform, entitled, "Laymen’s Vision of the Problems of the Church."

Majdī

Khalīl discusses the forced disappearance of Coptic girls. The phenomenon is not new, however it being announced more

frequently. Khalīl discusses the reasons why Coptic families are more often daring to announce the disappearance of

their girls, and the reasons behind the increase of the phenomenon.

Al-Ahali published a photo of Virgin Mary

on its front page under the title of "The First Photo of

the Holy Virgin." It mentioned that a Muslim woman took this photo

when the strong lights shone above the

towers of the Saint Marcos church in Assiut. al-Akhbar wrote that the Bishopric of

Assiut decided to form

a committee to examine the photo published by al-Ahali. In a five page report titled, "Is this the

photo of

Virgin Mary?," Akher Sa’a, commented on what al-Ahali published. Watani pointed out the healing miracles that

accompanied the apparition of the Holy Virgin.

The spiritual

phenomenon and lights,

which accompanied the apparition of the Holy Virgin in the province of Assiut have continued for the

third

month. Thousands of people go there wanting to see her and get blessed. Some of them have reportedly been

miraculously

cured of dangerous diseases.

International

and local media have pursued the spiritual phenomena of the apparition of the Madonna in

Assiut, where more than 10,000

Muslims and Christians have gathered to witness the miracle, which started

on August 17th.

In the past some Copts have

been complaining that the Egyptian press has not given

(enough) attention to Christian religious feasts. This is why we have

listed the articles related to

Easter.

The transcript of an interview conducted by Cornelis Hulsman with Kamāl Zākhir Mūsá, in which Mūsá provides a background of his work and publications. Mūsá further describes his own experiences and confrontations with the Coptic Orthodox Church in Egypt.