Arab West Report Egyptian press summaries and media research for dialogue

The Good Shepherd channel, patronized by Bishop Maximus, who broke away from the Coptic Orthodox Church and founded a new Orthodox Christian community, is back again after a hiatus of more than one year.

The channel is now transmitted on the NileSat after it was showing only on the European satellite HotBird broadcast satellite. [Author Not Mentioned, Rose al-Yūsuf magazine, Feb. 4, p. 53] Read text in Arabic

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 

The Supreme State Security Court on Sunday decided to postpone trying suspects accused of igniting sectarian strife in Imbaba. The decision to postpone the trial, which is now scheduled to begin on 2 November, was taken in order to hear witnesses' testimonies.

Giza Emergency State Security Criminal Court resumes hearing witnesses for prosecution in Imbābah case in which 48 are accused of murdering 13 people and injuring 52 others, jeopardizing national security, setting the church on fire intentionally, possessing unlicensed weapons to execute a terrorist act and sparking the Imbābah fitnah.

The Supreme State Security Court in Giza witnessed a rough squabble between the judges and a member of the defense counsel during the second trial of 48 suspects in Imbābah's fitnah. 

The National Justice Committee has drafted a unified law on places of worship, aiming to curb fitnah ṭā’ifīyah, which will offer new approaches in aspects such as transfer of licenses, regardless of religion or location.

These plans come in the wake of the May attacks on churches in Imbābah.

After getting a verdict of separation from her Christian husband, 'Abīr Tal'at Fakhrī's [allegedly kidnaped by the church] lawyer filed a new report with the Public prosecutor accusing the priest of of Saint Mina Church in Imbābah of kidnapping her and keeping her in a house attached to the church and sparking fitnah.

The report showed that the priest released 'Abīr after the clashes erupted between salafists and Copts and before opening fire by 'Ādil Labīb, one of the suspects, which indicates that the priest was the sedition-monger in these incidents.

 Al-Giza criminal court decided with regards to the first trial of 48 defendants in Imbābah incidents to postponed the trial to September 4, 2011.

Muslim and Christian defendants were separated in the dock, and the trial was under tight security measures.

Only 26 defendants were in the trial, however, the rest are still fugitives.

[Reviewer's Note: News story was also covered in al-Shurūq al-Jadīd, page 6, July 4, 2011]

Read original text in Arabic

Under tight security measures, al-Giza criminal court held its first trial for 85 suspects in the Imbābah church incident, accused of gathering, malicious meditated and attempted murder, jeopardizing general security, sedition-mongering, intentionally setting the church on fire, and possession of weapons.

Read original text in Arabic

 'Abīr Tal'at Fakhrī, an Imbābah sedition-monger, was sentenced to three to seven years in prison for three accusations: adultery for having relations with someone other than her husband, fraud for claiming to be unmarried when in fact she was, and sparking fitnah in Imbābah.