Arab West Report Egyptian press summaries and media research for dialogue

One year ago this evening Egypt was rocked by an explosion in Alexandria, killing twenty-one and injuring over 170, at the Two Saints’ Church in the Sīdī Bishr region. One year before that, at Coptic Christmas on January 7, six Christians were killed along with a Muslim security guard at a church in Naj' Hamādī, in the governorate of Qena, when a Muslim opened fire as they exited following mass.

Shihāb was speaking on a television program on Sunday evening.

Practically all Egyptian newspapers devote massive coverage to the announcement on Sunday that the Palestinian Army of Islam, a Gaza-based group said to be linked to al-Qā‘idah, was responsible for the bombing of the Church of the Two Saints, Saint Mark and Pope Peter, early on New Year’s Day.

Īmān Ibrāhīm visited the street in Alexandria where the attack on the Church of the Two Saints, Saint Mark and Pope Peter took place.

'Amr 'Abū Khalīl, Professor of Psychiatry in Alexandria, says that when clashes take the form of sectarian aggression, this is simply an outward expression of inner social stress.

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.

The governor of Minya says that ignorant religious dialogue on behalf of certain clerics and priests is the reason behind the recent sectarian aggression in Egypt.

Ahmad Diyā’ al-Dīn also blames exaggerated media reports for the tension. As an example, the governor tells how he read a story printed in a government newspaper that was headlined, “Christian Woman’s Cow Killed by Motorcycle Driven by Muslim.”

Commenting on the recent train shooting in Minya that killed a Christian man, al-Dīn said that it was a barbarous act committed by a person who wanted to spread fear.

The article of ‘Abd al-‘Azīz reports about the Azhar’s indefinite suspension of interfaith dialogue with the Vatican.

Pope Benedict XVI’s repeated criticism on Islam and his calls for increased protection of Christians in Egypt and the Middle East are named as main reasons for the Azhar’s freeze of interfaith relations.

Pope Benedict's recent comments on the Alexandria church bombing have been perceived as interference in the country’s internal affairs.

Ahmad Kamāl 'Abū al-Majd says that the unified law for building places of worship must be passed. He also supports a law to combat discrimination based on origin, gender, or religion.

'Abū al-Majd alleges that the only one who has an interest in creating division in Egypt is the one who want to get rid of Egypt's role in fighting the Zionist Israeli encroachment, implying that Israelis played a role in the recent church attack in Alexandria.

Finally, he says that while the Egyptian constitution calls for equal rights and duties for Muslims and Christians, the present societal situation does not offer such possibilities.