The pope also wished a speedy recovery for the injured.
Bishop Marqus of Shubrā al-Khaymah said the Egyptian church, which is part of the nation and feels the agonies felt by any citizen, is offering condolences for the families of the dead and quick recovery for the wounded.
"The church is praying for Egypt's restoring of its security and peace nationwide," said Bishop Marqus.
Dr. Safwat al-Bayyādī, the head of the Coptic Evangelical denomination, also expressed condolences for the families of the fatalities and wounded and called on the government to resign for failure to bring about security after a state of lawlessness that ran rampant all over Egypt. [Husnī Mīlād, al-Akhbār, February 3, p. 7] Read original text in Arabic
Dr. Nājih Ibrāhīm, a member of the al-Jamā'ah al-Islāmīyah's shūrá (consultative) council, in an opinion article in Rose al-Yūsuf newspaper, said Michael Meunir (Nabīl), who was recently released from jail, was neither wise nor reasonable during his interview with TV talk show host Dīnā Rāmiz on the Sadá al-Balad channel when he announced in broad daylight that he is atheist.
[Reviewer's Note: The author of the article has mistakenly wrote Michael Meunir, the Coptic activist and politician, whereas he spoke all through the article about Michael Nabīl, a young blogger who was jailed after he was found guilty of insulting the army.]
With his statements on that talk show, Meunir (Nabīl) has awed many Egyptians – Muslims as well as Christians – and even lost a large asset by many of the Christians who were sympathizing with him.
Ironically, Meunir (Nabīl) has explicitly announced that he is atheist in a time when the Russians are beginning to renounce atheism and returning once again to Orthodox Christianity.
Of course everyone has the freedom to believe in whatever they want but on the other hand should not shock millions of Muslim and Christian Egyptians by a stupid pompous discourse that only disregards the feelings of the Egyptian people.
The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) did very well to release him so that the people may listen to what he was saying and consequently despise him after many believed that he was worthy of support and defense. [Nājih Ibrāhīm, Rose al-Yūsuf newspaper, Feb. 3, p. 4] Read original text in Arabic
Meanwhile, al-Rahmah newspaper, owned by Salafī preacher Muhammad Hassān, published the full text of the amendments to the law regulating the Azhar affairs, lashing out at passing the law only four days before the first session of the new parliament was convened.
The paper said that Grand Shaykh of the Azhar Dr. Ahmad al-Tayyīb had issued a decision no. 108 of the year 2011 to set up a legal panel to prepare a new draft law to restructure the top Sunni Muslim establishment in a way to achieve its lofty message.
The move was in response to sit-ins staged by the Azhar Youth Coalition that called for reforming the religious institution and purging it of the remnants of the dissolved National Democratic Party, including the Shaykh of the Azhar himself, who was a member of the NDP policy secretariat.
The paper says that Shaykh Tayyīb chaired a committee that brought him to guarantee the top post until his death and whoever is survived by him becomes a grand shaykh, adding the law is a "joke" that does not realize independence but rather makes some stratagems reminiscent of the dissolved NDP tricks.
It noted that Tayyīb has dedicated himself to a political role away from the Grand Shaykh post and mistakenly thought that he was the actual president of Egypt although his opponents are growing in number.[Mulham al-'Isawī, al-Rahmah, Feb. 3, p. 12] Read original text in Arabic
In al-Fath newspaper, the mouthpiece of the Salafī al-Nūr Party, published a cartoon depicting two mathematical equations. The first one draws a flag of Egypt minus a copy of the Qur'ān equals a flag of Israel while the first one draws a flag of Egypt plus a copy of the Qur'ān equals dignity. [Muhammad Muhammad, al-Fatah, Feb. 3, p. 13] see original cartoon in Arabic
