Arab West Report Egyptian press summaries and media research for dialogue

Pastor Rif'at Fikrī, Chairman of the ETSC's information committee, said that the decision is awaiting the approval of the Synod of the Nile, the top legislative body for the Coptic Evangelical community.

The decision is observing the teachings of the Holy Book that do not differentiate between men and women, said Fikrī. ['Imād Khalīl, al-Misrī al-Yawm, Jan. 21, p. 3] Read original text in Arabic

Calm has returned to the area of Ibn al-Hakam, Shubrā al-Khaymah, al-Qalyubia governorate, 30 kilometers north of Cairo, where a rumor on turning warehouses into a church was about to spark confrontations between Muslims and Copts.

Copts wanted to hold the Epiphany Mass inside a warehouse owned by a businessman. Local residents thought the patriarchy would turn this warehouse into a church. [Hassan Sālih, al-Shurūq al-Jadīd, Jan. 21, p. 3] Read original text in Arabic

Meanwhile, security forces managed to restore tranquility to the village of al-Rahmānīyah Qiblī, Naja' Hammādī, Qena governorate, after clashes between Muslims and Christians broke out after differences over a plot of land own by the state. [Amīr al-Sarrāf, al-Wafd, Jan. 21, p. 3] Read original text in Arabic