Arab West Report Egyptian press summaries and media research for dialogue

Several Coptic clergymen and activists criticized the Evangelical Synod of the Nile's approval to ordain the first female priest in Egypt, to the awe of other Christian denominations in Egypt. [Jamāl George, al-Fajr, Jan. 27, p. 14] Read original text in Arabic

Some think that Egyptians should not harbor any fears about the Salafīs and that we should not be exaggerating, but what is happening on the ground does not augur well at all.

Copts in Egypt, according to a Civil Registry Department official citing birth certificates and National ID cards, are 20 million.

The crisis of remarriage in the Coptic Orthodox Church surfaced again but this time with more violent steps on the part of seekers of remarriage licenses after they announced that they "resigned" from the Orthodox denomination but would not join another.

Shaykh Yāsir Burhāmī, a senior salafist who sparked hue and cry over his recent remarks, views that the "Crescent and the Cross" slogan is one that is harām (religiously impermissible from an Islamic point of view).

In light of the law on division of constituencies the old calculations have changed and the search for voting blocs is becoming hectic among the candidates, some of whom hope for the Copts' votes while others believe they would not be effective under the new election law.

It was a clear news report that the Supreme Council for Sufi Orders, which is organizing a conference on Sufism and reform in association with the al-'Ashīrah al-Muhammadīyah society, rejects businessman Najīb Sawirus' financing of its conference scheduled for September 25-26.

A Coptic Orthodox woman, chaperone at one of Alexandria's churches [she refused to give the church's name] called Heidi Ghubriyāl, had accused one of the Coptic Orthodox Archbishops of sexually harassing her [Reviewer's Note: She did not mentioned the name of the Archbishop]. Furthermore, when she went to the Papal See to meet Coptic Orthodox Pope Shenouda III to tell him about her story, one of the friends of the Archbishop who harassed her, also an archbishop, beat her which led to breaking a number of her vertebrae.

Much of this week's coverage was dedicated to Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkish Prime Minister, and his visits to Egypt in which he promoted interfaith dialogue and the concept of a secular state. He met with leaders of Azhar, officials from the Coptic Church and various political representatives.

 Tahrir square and other revolution squares are filled with women demanding their privileges, meanwhile, Islamists [mainly salafists, al-Jamā'ah al-Islāmīyah and the Muslim Brotherhood party] are preparing their upcoming legislative agenda.

The laws, concerning women, drummed up interest from political Islam movements, especially the divorce law [al-Khol'], al-Ro'yah law [visitation or contact law, regulating the visits of a non-custodial parent for his/her child], and personal status law. Al-Ro'yah law was the most firmly rejected.