Al-Yawm al-Sābi‘

Pope Shenouda III, pope of Alexandria and head of the Coptic Orthodox Church, has begun an investigation into Bishop Bula and Father Royce Aweidah, Chariman and Secretary of the Clerical Council respectively, about what happened during the Coptic sit-in on Monday.

Months after the Alexandria “Two Saints Church” bombing in January, the Coptic Church is threatening to sue the Interior Ministry which it claims has failed to produce those responsible and bring justice. Despite sending many requests to the Ministry regarding the bombing which killed 24 people, the Church has been largely ignored. 

The church released an official statement about the demonstrations of Copts in front of the Clerical Council demanding civil marriage.

In the statement, Archpriest Ruways 'Iwayda, Secretary of the Council, said the Council itself is not entitled to give legislation, but rather an organization that implements the laws, that are governed by the teachings of the Holy Book.

Church leaders have said that the recent speech given by Prime Minister Dr. 'Isam Sharaf mainly aimed to appease the situation in the country after protesters staged a sit-in in al-Tahrīr Square.

The social solidarity ministry staff are organising campaigns and visits to Coptic hostels for girls, based on a notice to the ministry from the public prosecutor, to search for Kāmīliyā Shihātah, a church source revealed.

On July 10, a group of 15 lawyers for the Coalition to Support New Muslims lodged a complaint with Public Prosecutor 'Abd al-Majīd Mahmūd demanding him not to hand over the two Minya girls, Christine and Nancy, who they said wish to convert to Islam.

The complaint relied on an incident when a Coptic woman named Suzan converted to Islam in 2007 while she was then aged 17.

The church launched a political campaign to encourage Copts to participate in political life and face political religious movements.

The Virgin Mary and Archangel Church in al-Khalafāwi, Shubrā, hosted writer Fatimah Na'ūt to talk about the importance of political participation for Copts.

Church youths made a play about a citizen who does not know anything about politics and an intellectual young-woman, and she started telling the citizens about political parties in Egypt.

A number of members from al-Jamā'ah al-Islāmīyah, the church, civil society, and the social fund, launched the first treatment convoy from Muslims and Copts for victims of Imbabah's fitnah incidents, even for patients that were not injured in the incidents.

Investigations are still going on to arrest the culprits who murdered a salafī preacher and his wife inside their apartment in the Giza district of al-Haram.

Neighbors of the murdered man told al-Yawm al-Sābi' newspaper that Shaykh Ahmed was a driving force behind Islamic da'wah (call) and set up a page on the social networking web site Facebook to spread Islam.

The witnesses added that he managed to get five Christians to Islam recently and even helped two of them get married to Muslim girls.