Arab West Report Egyptian press summaries and media research for dialogue

The author discusses the dominance of Islam in the school curriculum in Egypt, considering this a “cultural purification” against people of other religions that contradicts international human rights resolutions. He has prepared a study of the Arabic language curriculum in elementary and preparatory schools and supports his argument with abstracts and examples from the book.

Tony Blair’s conversion to Catholicism should set the example for conversion in Egypt. Blair’s conversion took place after a long period of preparation and catechism. In spite of the bloody history of the relations between the Anglican Church and the Catholic Church, neither of the churches have reacted violently to the event.

Interview: Cornelis Hulsman

The following article presents an interview between His Royal Highness Prince Hasan Ibn Talal of Jordan, and Drs. Cornelis Hulsman. Issues discussed include Christian emigration from the Arab world, reform, and political issues in the Middle East.

The article focuses on the various interpretations of secularism and discusses the advantages of the ideology.

The article discusses recent comments made by Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran regarding the world’s current focus on Islam.

This article deals with S. R. Leeder’s, ’Modern Sons of the Pharaohs’ which was recently translated by Ahmad Mahmūd. The book studies Copts’ conditions in Egypt before the 1919 Revolution and cites some incidents showing that the Muslim-Coptic relationship was cordial long before the revolution and that it was the British occupation that brought conflict and disunity.

Umar Bakrī Bakrī describes the sentence issued against ‘Iz al-Dīn as unjust and unfounded, and reveals the double standards as well as the injustice inflicted upon Muslims who reject the U.S-British invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan.

The author presents a series of three articles reviewing memoirs of Moroccan ‘Umar al-Nāsir – the pseudonym of a spy who infiltrated al-Qā‘idah in Afghanistan at the behest of European intelligence agencies.

Cornelis Hulsman commemorates the life of Metropolitan Marcos, an unconventional Dutch member of the Coptic Orthodox Church who served as a bishop for 34 years.

The following lines provide a resume of the history of the celebration of the Holy Family celebrated annually in the Upper Egyptian village of Jabal al-Tayr. Moreover, the media shed light on the influence of the financial crisis in Egypt on the celebration.