Arab West Report Egyptian press summaries and media research for dialogue

The main text was written by nuns of Saint Demiana’s Monastery. Introductions to the main text were written by Cornelis Hulsman and the Christian Treasures Organization.

Introduction: Cornelis Hulsman

We are very pleased to present the detailed life story of Saint Demiana and the 40 virgins which was presented to Arab-West Report for publication on our website by the Monastery of Saint Demiana and the Christian Treasures Organization. The name of the organization and the story of St. Demiana make it clear what is meant with ‘treasures.’ Stories such as that of St. Demiana are important to the spiritual life of millions of Christian believers in Egypt and as thus they are ‘treasures.’

The following article lists examples of Muslim-Christian incidents since 1996 with an analysis of the different causes leading to such unfortunate incidents. This report was presented to the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and National Council for Human Rights.

Salwa Refaat wrote the National Egyptian Heritage Foundation( NEHRA), the Ministries of Culture and

Environment and

the Antiquities Authority made great efforts to revive the sites on the Holy path.

On the same page was an

interview with Mr. Mounir Gabbour, Chairman of

NEHRA.



In: "The Holy Book" article, Bishop Daniel of Maadi

spoke of the historical

importance of the Virgin Mary Church in Maadi. Watani also spoke on the same page about "al-Mahama"

and the

cave of the Holy Family in Mustorod.

‘Ādil Zāhir compares Bishop

Bīshūy’s newspapers to that of Watanī.

In his article, ‘Ādil Zāhir notes Copts’ disapproval

of the current situation in the Coptic Orthodox Church where people are constantly accused and judged. Zāhir

points out Bishop Bīshūy’s transgressions in this regard, where he has made accusations that touch even

respectable figures of the church, like Father Mattá al-Miskīn.

Bishop

Bīshūy is a controversial figure in the Coptic

Orthodox church. He is known for his traditional stands,

but also for his reforms and important

achievements.

The article discusses the

way the church deals with sinning Christians, particularly girls.

Christian clerics say the church always keeps the

door open for girls who have sinned with Christian men,

but girls who have sinned with non-Christian men are

advised to keep away and receive intensive care.

The author sheds light on the life of Egyptian Orthodox nuns inside a convent and their

rebellion against the convent head, Archbishop Bīshūy, for his strict orders separating them

entirely from

the outside world.

Christianity Today published a cover page article of Cornelis Hulsman about the Coptic Orthodox tradition of the Flight to Egypt. The article is presented in this issue of the RNSAW with permission of Christianity Today. You will find here the text before it was edited by Christianity Today. It is slightly longer than the printed version. Hulsman wrote a special article for the RNSAW, which gives background information concerning how this article developed, with mention of the sensitivities that had to be addressed.

[This article was written on the request of Christianity Today. See also their web site: http://www.christianitytoday.com]

The killings in Al-Koshh were preceded by escalated tensions in which different parties, including exaggerations in the Western press about Al-Koshh in 1998, the role of activists in the West and the responses to that in the Egyptian press played a negative role. This negative role should, however, never serve to justify these killings. All available reports about Al-Koshh until January 12 have been used.