Arab West Report Egyptian press summaries and media research for dialogue

Grand Shaykh of the Azhar Dr. Ahmad al-Tayyīb sent a cable on Tuesday (January 24) to Dr. Muhammad Sa’d al-Katātnī congratulating him over his election as speaker of the first parliament after the January 25, 2011 revolution. [Ashraf Sādiq and Muhammad ‘Abd al-Khāliq, al-Ahrām, Jan. 25, p. 22] Read original text in Arabic

Lawyers of the martyrs’ families called for applying “the severest penalty” – execution – against ousted President Husnī Mubārak, his sons Jamāl and ‘Alā’, former interior minister Habīb al-‘Ādlī and six of his top aides on charges of involvement in killing demonstrators during the January 25, 2011 upheaval. [‘Isām Milījī, Khālid Abū al-‘Iz, Samīrah ‘Alī ‘Ayyād and ‘Amr ‘Alī al-Fār, al-Shurūq al-Jadīd, Jan. 10, p. 1] read original text in Arabic

A once reluctant United States is reaching out to the Muslim Brotherhood in a nod to Egypt's new political reality, but concerns linger about the group's attitude toward minorities, women and the peace treaty with Israel, according to a report by the Agence France Presse (AFP). [Author Not Mentioned, al-Ahrām, Jan. 9, p.3] Read original text in Arabic

The Maspero Youth Union, the largest political Coptic advocacy group, announced it would not receive the Coptic Christmas greetings from “officials involved in the killing, mowing and dragging of the revolutionaries, nor from the Islamist movements that called months ago for burning and attacking churches. [Yūsuf Rāmiz, Al-Shurūq al-Jadīd, Jan. 4, p. 3] Read original text in Arabic

Asyut Governor Maj. General al-Sayyīd al-Bura’ī expressed content over the conduct of students of the Manqabād secondary school, to which the Coptic student involved the anti-Islam images troubles during the past few days belongs. [Muhammad Munīr, Al-Akhbār, Jan. 3, p. 4] Read original 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 

Copts are making about 5% of an Egyptian population of 81 million, which is growing by 4500 souls daily, said Abū Bakr al-Jindī, the president of the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS). [Majdī Salāmah, Al-Wafd, Dec. 29, p. 12] Read original text in Arabic

In a step that is expected to spark row, Egypt Free Shops Company (EFSCO) received instructions from the finance ministry to refrain from selling liquor and cigarettes in its branches outside airports. [Hishām Yassa and Yūsuf al-'Ūmī, al-Misrī al-Yawm, Dec. 26, p. 4] Read the original text in Arabic

Coptic businessman Najīb Sawirus said the Muslim Brotherhood’s attacks on him and “false allegations” is yet another episode in the MB’s standard practice of turning political rivalry into religious battles. [Author Not Mentioned, al-Misrī al-Yawm, Dec. 24, p. 8] Read the original text in Arabic 

Coptic Orthodox Pope Shenouda III will lead the Christmas mass, said Bishop Marqus of Shubrā al-Khaymah, denying rumors that the church was going to cancel this year’s celebrations of the Eastern Christmas on January 7, 2012. Read the original text in Arabic