Waṭanī

“Lots of rumors have spread nowadays; some of the most recent fallacies circulated concern the church of the Holy Virgin in ‘Ain Shams, the re-opening of which, after three years of closure, triggered a crisis,” says Yūsuf Sīdhum, author of the article.

Peter Ramsīs, the lawyer in the Imbābah, incidents stated that the following individuals have been acquitted in Imbābah's incidents on June 3, 2011. They are accused of illegitimate gathering, meditated murder, possessing firearms, and robbery.

Coptic Orthodox Pope Shenouda III has stated in an official statement that he does not have a consultant or a spokesperson in Egypt. The statement was directed towards Hānī 'Azīz, the President of Egypt’s Peace Lovers Association.

Following the Pope's statement, within hours 'Azīz blamed the media who wrongly attributed him as being the Pope's consultant.

[Reviewer's Note: News story was also covered in al-Ahrām, page 3, June 3, 2011; al-Misrī al-Yawm, page 6, June 6, 2011;and Watanī, page 1, June 5, 2011

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Major General Mansūr al-'Isawī, Minister of Interior Affairs, said that the issuance of a unified law for building worship houses will occur soon.

He added that the church affairs will be under the pretext of local councils, not the Ministry or any other Security Apparatuses.

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No sooner did the authorities issue a decision to reopen a number of churches which had been closed by the former security apparatus than a crisis erupted—one in a long line of attempts to hijack the 25 January Revolution by forces opposed to democracy, freedom, and citizenship rights. Among the first churches picked for reopening was that of Holy Virgin in the eastern Cairo district of Ain Shams. Once the building was reopened and a number of Copts entered, a Muslim crowd gathered outside, chanting their opposition to the move: “No to the church”. We know of no reason for such an objection, other than that this crowd wishes to see no church opened and no Copts performing prayers—as though the church were some evil place that threatens the community’s peace or stability. In all cases, the reopening of the church in 'Ayn Shams was thwarted.

Subhī Sālih, Muslim Brotherhood (MB) figure, said in the public conference organized by the group in al-'Abāsīyah, that choosing Coptic thinker Rafīq Habīb as the Deputy President of the MB's party Freedom and Justice will be a message to the United States of America to not interfere in Copts affairs in Egypt.

He added that Habīb will be the MB party spokesperson outside of Egypt.

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In the immediate aftermath of the tragic attack against the Copts in Imbabāh a fortnight ago—the latest in a series of episodes by salafis and thugs aimed at hijacking the 25 January Revolution—the National Council for Human Rights (NCHR) dispatched a fact-finding commission to Imbabāh. The commission investigated the situation on the ground, talking to eyewitnesses, members of the clergy, and the hospitalized injured, and came up with an accurate account of the events. It released a candid report analyzing the unhealthy climate which allowed the disgraceful events to take place. Praiseworthy is that the commission did not stop at finding the facts, but offered recommendations to prevent the recurrence of similar attacks.

Dr. Mahmūd 'Azab, spokesperson of the Family House initiative, said that after the Lady of Salvation Church incident in Iraq, Grand Shaykh of the Azhar Dr. Ahmad al-Tayīb began thinking of establishing an initiative that will include all denominations of Christianity and Islam. 

A group of Muslim thugs attacked Copts in Dayr al-Muharraq in Asyut governorate after a fight that left three Copts wounded by gunfire.

The fight started on May 23, 2011 morning when Copts hit a truck owned by Muslims because it was trying to hit a motorcycle belonging to Copts from Rizqah village in Dayr al-Muharraq.

After the problem ended, armed Muslims went to al-Muharraq and detained Copts inside their homes.

Some Copts came out of their homes defending themselves, but Muslims fired bullets at them, injuring three Copts: Eliya Sharoubim, 'Isām Ibrāhīm and Bahā' Sābir.

The thugs were not arrested so far.

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A number of lawyers and human rights activists filed a report with the Public Prosecutor about the news story published in al-Wafd Newspaper entitled, "Muslim girl says Copts kidnapped her, tattooed cross on her hand [translation of the article by AWR]".

Filers of the reports said that the details published in the newspaper are false and intended to spark fitnah, jeopardizing the national security of the country and inciting vengeance from Copts especially with the state of aggression witnessed by the county these days [between Muslims and Christians].

Raghdah was allegedly kidnapped in the midst of March 2011. Why did she not file a report then with the military police?

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