“Out of respect for people’s demands in the Coptic street not to accept congratulations from those with hands dipped in the blood of their honorable sons, the Maspero Youth Union announces its refusal to accept their greetings as well as the greetings of those who advocated the disruption of the nation and played a key role in the fitnah,” the Union said in a statement on January 3.
“Taking into account the massacres committed against the people, the destruction and burning of churches, mowing of civilians and dragging of young girls on the ground the nation has been going through last year, we confirm our full respect for Coptic Orthodox Pope Shenouda III and the church but reject his invitations to the political Islam groups to attend the Coptic Christmas Mass,” read the statement.
Regarding the participation of Salafists in the protection of churches, the statement wondered, “How should we accept calls for the protection of our churches by the very persons who attempted to raid churches and announced we’re infidels”. [Yūsuf Rāmiz, Al-Shurūq al-Jadīd, Jan. 4, p. 3] Read original text in Arabic
Bīshūy Fawzī, a member of the Union’s politburo, called for a symbolic stand of protest outside the Saint Mark Cathedral in the Cairo district of al-‘Abbāssīyah to send a message to Pope Shenouda that invitations to Islamists or members of the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) should never have been extended in the first place.
Coptic activist Rāmī Kāmil, who called for a sit-in at the cathedral, wondered “how should we accept applause Muhammad Salīm al-‘Awwā, who was the first one to speak about alleged weapons inside churches, or ‘Ādil ‘Abd al-Maqsūd, the leader of the Salafī al-Asālah (Authenticity) Party, who said he would never congratulate Copts on their festivities, or the Muslim Brotherhood members who have been sowing the seeds of extremism and the notions that Copts are second-class citizens?” [Rānyā Nabīl, Al-Ahālī, Jan. 4, p. 3] Read original text in Arabic
A group of Salafī young men launched an initiative called Salafists for the Guarding of Churches through coordination among Islamist groups and parties, security agencies and church officials. [Author not mentioned, Al-Jumhūrīyah, Jan. 4, p. 3] Read original text in Arabic
The church’s insistence on the invitations it has sent to SCAF members and Islamists on one hand and calls by the opposition to stage protests off the cathedral on January 5-8 on the other are putting both sides on the horns of a dilemma, reads an opinion article in al-Ahrām daily.
Many Coptic activists raised question marks about the significance of celebrating this year’s Coptic Christmas while all Copts are overshadowed by a “state of sadness over the martyrs of last year,” wondering what should prevent the church from showing solidarity with the relatives of the martyrs and settling only for holding the Christmas Mass without any jubilant aspects.
The activists said that church’s invitation to Islamists and SCAF “was not a message of love but rather yet an attempt at politics the church is still playing while disregarding the Copts’ problems”.
The church, they said, shows interest only in the clergyman. “The church acted only in the Kāmīliyā Shihātah issue but in the meantime ignored hundreds of young girls others abducted. It acts only when a priest is killed but turns a blind eye to dozens others killed.” [‘Alā’ al-Dīn Sālim and Ashraf Sādiq, Al-Ahrām, Jan. 4, p. 3] Read original text in Arabic
Meanwhile, Asyut Governor Major General al-Sayyīd al-Bura’ī on Tuesday paid visits to the villages of al-‘Adar, Sallām, Bahīj and Manqabād, which have been the scene of sectarian strife during the past few days, and appealed to panicked Coptic teachers and students to head for their schools.
An Asyut Coptic high school student, Jamāl ‘Abduh, has reportedly published cartoons offensive to Muslims on his Facebook page. [Ahmad al-Asyūtī, Al-Wafd, Jan. 4, p. 3] Read original text in Arabic
