Egyptian female Christian Teacher Sentenced for 'Insulting Islam'.

Egyptian female Christian Teacher Sentenced for 'Insulting Islam'.(AINA).

A Coptic Christian school teacher has been sentenced to six months in prison on charges of insulting Islam.

Demiana Emad, a 23-year-old social studies teacher, was arrested on 9 May 2013 after the head of the parents' association of Sheikh Sultan Primary School in Luxor filed a complaint accusing her of insulting Islam.

In June 2013, Emad was sentenced to pay a LE100,000 fine. Sunday's jail sentence was ordered by the court in response to an appeal filed by the defendant on last year's fine.

According to a year-old report by the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR), Emad didn't insult Islam, only "presented a comparison between religions in ancient, middle and modern ages as mentioned in the curriculum".

The report, which warned of similar cases becoming "a tool to oppress minorities", added that during investigations the majority of Emad's students denied that she had insulted Islam in her class.

Charges of insulting religion go back to the regime of ousted president Hosni Mubarak, widely used then as a pretext to crack down on political activists. However, occurrences of the charge significantly rose under the rule of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) and Islamist president Mohamed Morsi, who was removed from power last July.

A report issued by the EIPR last September revealed that since the 25 January 2011 revolution until the end of 2012, a total of 63 citizens, both Muslims and Christians, were charged with insulting religion.

Article 98 of Egypt's penal code says anyone convicted of offending religion in any form can face up to six years in prison.Hmmmm.....plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose. Literally “The more it changes, the more it's the same thing.”

The brother of Al-Qaeda chief Zawahiri to stand trial in Egypt.

The brother of Al-Qaeda chief Zawahiri to stand trial in Egypt.(Taz).

Al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri's brother is to stand trial with 67 others for forming a "terrorist group" and plotting attacks after Islamist president Mohamed Morsi's ouster, Egyptian state media reported Sunday, AFP reported.

Mohamed al-Zawahiri was arrested last August, a month after Morsi's ouster by the army, and has been called to go on trial by the state prosecutor.

The military-installed authorities have since launched a crackdown against Morsi's supporters that has left more than 1,400 people dead and thousands jailed.

Zawahiri and the other suspects are accused of having set up an "Al-Qaeda-linked terrorist group" that plotted attacks against government installations, security personnel and members of Egypt's Christian minority, state news agency MENA said.

The group was seeking to "spread chaos and undermine security" across Egypt, it said.

MENA did not say whether the group had actually carried out any attacks, nor did it give a date for the trial.
It said 50 of the accused were in custody, while others are on the run.

Judicial sources said investigations revealed the group had pressed members to go and fight the regime in Syria, but they were ordered to return to Egypt after June 30, 2013.

They were called back to confront Egypt's new authorities following Morsi's ouster, the sources added.
Morsi was ousted by former army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi after millions took to the streets on June 30 demanding his resignation.

Sisi is now running for president and is expected to win an election on May 26-27.

Judicial sources said Zawahiri was being charged with having formed the group, armed its members, and trained them in manufacturing explosives and planting bombs.

They said the authorities had evidence that the group's members were trained at secret locations in the Nile Delta city of Sharqiya and in Cairo's Matareya and October 6 districts.

Since Morsi's ouster, Sharqiya has been hit by frequent militant attacks on security forces, while violent clashes in Matareya and October 6 have pitted the Islamist's backers against police.

The authorities have regularly accused Morsi's outlawed Muslim Brotherhood of financing radical Islamists linked to Al-Qaeda.

Zawahiri himself, who is an Egyptian national, was detained after being freed in the 2011 revolt that ousted Hosni Mubarak.

Egypt has been hit by a string of bombings and shootings targeting security forces since Morsi's overthrow.
The government says almost 500 people, mostly policemen and soldiers, have died in the attacks.

Most of the attacks have taken place in the lawless Sinai Peninsula, but the jihadists have increasingly targeted police in the capital and in the Nile Delta to the north.

The deadliest attacks have been claimed by Sinai-based Al-Qaeda inspired group, Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, but the authorities have blamed the blacklisted Brotherhood.

13 dead, 134 injured in Egypt's Mansoura explosion.

13 dead, 134 injured in Egypt's Mansoura explosion.(AA).

Deadly bombings hit the Daqahliya Security Directorate in the early hours of Tuesday morning in the Nile Delta city of Mansoura.

The blast killed 13 and injured 134 in what appears to be the worst terrorist attack on a government site since the ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi last July.

Eight policemen, a civilian and three unidentified individuals were among the dead, Egypt's Interior Ministry said in a statement.
The explosion ripped through the building's side façade and damaged a number of police vehicles and parts of adjacent buildings which include the city's council building, a state-owned theatre and a bank.
The head of Mansoura's Security Directorate was among the injured.

Al-Ahram's Arabic correspondent in Mansoura said streets in the city of 500,000 residents became calmer after sunrise as thousands of citizens helping with rescue operations went home after victims of the blast were transferred to area hospitals.

Thousands of citizens heeded official calls to donate blood in area hospitals.However, doctors began turning away potential donors as blood banks acquired large quantities of blood.

The wreckage of an armoured police car could be seen nearby, while at least 10 civilian cars were damaged and a nearby building completely collapsed, said an AFP correspondent at the scene.

Furious reactions, denials

Angry residents of the area vented their fury on Morsi's Brotherhood movement."The Muslim Brotherhood is an international terrorist organisation. They are responsible for what happened in Mansoura," said Hamada Arafat, a school teacher to AFP."They are now adopting tactics like Al-Qaeda."

Prosecutors and officials say the Brotherhood has links with Islamist militants who have stepped up attacks on security forces across Egypt especially in the restive Sinai Peninsula.

"This is a more sophisticated attack than previous ones. It could be a sign of things to come... the insurgency in Sinai is becoming emboldened and extending attacks outside the Sinai," said Shadi Hamid, research director at the Brookings Doha Center.

The Muslim Brotherhood was quick to deny any connection to the attack.
"The Muslim Brotherhood considers this act as a direct attack on the unity of the Egyptian people and demands an enquiry forthwith so that the perpetrators of this crime may be brought to justice, an emailed statement from the group's London press office read.
The pro-Morsi National Alliance to Support Legitimacy has also condemned what it labeled a "criminal incident" that aims to provoke strife, asserting its peacefulness and denouncing all forms of bloodshed, reported the Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party on its website.Investigations are underway to identify the causes of the blast.
Cause of blasts
Al-Ahram’s Arabic website quoted an anonymous security source as saying that two bombs had gone off almost simultaneously.
The first bomb, he said, was planted in a higher floor in the building, the second in a car next to the Security Directorate.
A third bomb planted in another car was defused, the source added.
However, minister of interior statements have not specified the sources of the blasts.
Cabinet reactions
Egypt's Prime Minister Hazem El-Beblawi vowed to hunt down the perpetrators of the explosion. He said the attack seeks to obstruct the roadmap drawn up by the country’s interim rulers following Morsi's July ouster by the army amid nationwide mass protests against his rule.
“This is an act of terrorism that aims at frightening the people and obstructing the roadmap. The black hands behind this act want to destroy the future of our country,” Beblawi told Egyptian satellite channel ONTV.
"The state will do its utmost to pursue the criminals who executed, planned and supported this attack," he asserted.
Beblawi refused to confirm that Egypt had designated the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist group, contradicting an earlier statement by one of his aides.
Cabinet Spokesman Sherif Shawqi had earlier blamed the blast on the Muslim Brotherhood group of ousted Islamist president Morsi, and said Prime Minister Hazem El-Beblawi had officially declared the group a terrorist organisation.
“Whoever is behind this act is a terrorist and will be brought to justice and punished according to the law. But I do not wish to anticipate events," Beblawi added.
The final stages of Egypt's roadmap will begin when a referendum on the newly-drafted constitution, scheduled for mid-January, takes place. It will be followed by parliamentary and presidential elections.
Over 100 policemen have been killed in confrontations with militants in various parts of the country since July.
Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis, an Al-Qaeda-inspired Islamist militant group, has claimed responsibility for some of the attacks, including the attempt to assassinate the interior minister.
The militant group has warned the country's military and police, urging troops to desert their ranks or face death at the hands of its fighters.
The group said in a statement on militant websites Monday it considers Egyptian troops to be infidels because they answer to a "secular government."

Egypt - At least 8 dead and 85 wounded in Mansoura’s Police office huge explosion.

Egypt - At least 8 dead and 85 wounded in Mansoura’s Police office huge explosion.(AA).

Update: 14 deaths and 130 injured in Mansoura explosión till now

A huge explosion hit the Daqahliya security directorate early on Tuesday in Mansoura, Nile Delta, killing at least eight and injuring 85 in what seems to be the worst explosion yet since the ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi.

The injury and death tolls, which are expected to soar with eyewitnesses saying causalities are still inside the damaged building, were revealed by Hisham Masoud, General Manager of Mansoura’s hospitals.

The head of Mansoura's security directorate was among the injured, Daqahliya governor Omar El-Shawadfy told Egypt's state television.

Al-Ahram’s Arabic site quoted an anonymous security source as saying that two bombs went off almost at the same time. The first bomb, he says, was planted in a higher floor in the building, the second in a car next to the security directorate.

A third bomb planted in another car was defused, the source added.

Photos of the Daqahliya security directorate were posted on Al-Ahram’s Arabic site shortly after the blast, showing the exterior walls of the building badly damaged. Vehicles parked in the area were also destroyed.
A good number of bombings have been executed across Egypt since the ouster of Islamist president Morsi on 3 July.Hmmm....Shall we see again Coptic blood running down the streets at Christmas?

Video - Egyptian Poet Fatima Naoot: Egypt Was Conquered by the Arabs, Coptic Language Changed By Force.

Egyptian Poet Fatima Naoot: Egypt Was Conquered by the Arabs, Coptic Language Changed By Force.

Following are excerpts from an interview with Egyptian poet Fatima Naoot, which aired on Rotana Egypt on August 4, 2013:

Fatima Naout: When I learned Egypt's true history – not the false history they teach you at school – I began writing "Egypt," rather than "the Arab Republic of Egypt." They tell you that this goes against Islam. In what way? When Persia was conquered by the Muslims, it remained Persia. They kept their language and their identity. They were not changed by the Arabs. Does that make them infidels? Countries like Indonesia, Malaysia, Turkey – all the countries that became Muslim – kept their [ethnic] identity.

Interviewer: I agree with this logic, but the terms you use are offensive.

Fatima Naout: What terms? Saying that [Arabic] is not our language?

Interviewer: Who introduced the Arabic language into Egypt?

Fatima Naout: The Arabs.

Interviewer: What brought those Arabs here?

Fatima Naout: The Islamic conquest.

Interviewer: So what you are, in fact, saying is that the Arabic language, which was brought to Egypt by the Islamic conquest, is the language of invaders and occupiers.

Fatima Naout: Absolutely.

Interviewer: So the Islamic conquest...

Fatima Naout: It was an invasion, not a conquest.

[...]

Do you know how our language was changed? We used to speak the Coptic language.

Interviewer: I am not saying that the language didn't change...

Fatima Naout: It was changed by force!

[...]

Interviewer: Are you demanding that the word "Arab" be removed from the title "Arab Republic of Egypt"?

Fatima Naout: Yes. Moreover, my son Mazen, throughout his school years, would write "the Egyptian Republic." He told me that he would flunk geography because of it, and I said to him: You might flunk geography, but you will succeed in history.Source: Memri.

"The War on Christianity" - Two Orthodox bishops kidnapped in Syria.

"The War on Christianity" - Two Orthodox bishops kidnapped in Syria.(RT).

Syriac Orthodox bishop Yohanna Ibrahim and Greek Orthodox Archbishops of Aleppo Paul, who also happens to be the brother of Patriarch John of Antioch and All The East were abducted en route to Aleppo from a town on the Turkish border where they were carrying out “humanitarian work.”

As they neared the city, they were met with an armed group in the village of Kfar who forced them out of the car. The driver, who was also a deacon was killed during the attack.

The bishops are believed to be alive and efforts are ongoing to secure their release, NNA reports.

The Greek Orthodox diocese of Aleppo declined to comment on the incident. The Russian orthodox church has condemned the act.

Earlier, Metropolitan Hilarion, the chairman of the Department of External Church Relations, noted that his close contact with the bishops of the Antiochian Orthodox Church, made him believe that “in those places where the authorities are replaced by the rebel groups, Christianity is being exterminated to the last man: Christians are expelled, or physically destroyed,” quotes Itar-Tass.

He recalled that “Syria has taken more than two million Iraqi refugees, thousands of whom are Christians.” But now the Metroplitain says “thousands of militant extremists under the guise of opposition forces unleashed a civil war in this country. Extremist groups armed and trained by means of foreign powers are deliberately killing Christians, ” Metropolitan Hilarion said.

No group has yet claimed responsibility for the act but member of the National Coalition, Abdulahad Steifo, told Reuters that the clergy were abducted on the road to Aleppo from the rebel-held Bab al Hawa crossing with Turkey and that “all probabilities are open” as to who could have kidnapped the bishops.

In North America, where Patriarchate of Antioch has about 250 parishes and 400 priests, Bishop Basil, Secretary of the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of North and Central America has asked for prayers from the followers.

In May 2011, International Christian Concern group suggested that the Christian minority in Syria are more afraid of the opposition forces than of the government, because under the Assad regime there has been tolerance towards religious minorities. Abductions have become common in Syria as the country is locked in a two-year internal conflict. Ten days ago the home of bishop Paul was attacked by rocket fire.

Syria's 10 percent Christian population is particularly vulnerable to such attacks especially from the opposition groups as they have remained largely neutral or supportive of the government.Hmmmm.....'Interfaith Dialog 101'.Don't expect to hear anything from Pres Obama. Read the full story here.


 Related: Jihad in Syria, Part I, Part II

Muslim Persecution of Christians: January, 2013

Obama Supporters Criticize Administration's Muslim Brotherhood Policy.

Obama Supporters Criticize Administration's Muslim Brotherhood Policy.HT: IPTNews.By John Rossomando.Discontent with the Obama administration's "abominable" policies toward Egypt among some of his leading supporters on Middle East issues took center stage Friday afternoon during a panel discussion sponsored by the Center for American Progress (CAP).
The program on "U.S. Engagement with the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood" featured James Zogby, founder and president of the Arab-American Institute; John Esposito, head of the Prince Alaweed bin Talal Center for Christian-Muslim Understanding at Georgetown University; and Michael Hanna, senior fellow at the Century Foundation.

Each expressed concern with the Muslim Brotherhood's rejection of women's rights, hostility and violence toward Egypt's Coptic Christian population, and repression of dissent and "incompetence" since the party came to power last year. This criticism is noteworthy given that each speaker admitted having had high hopes for the Brotherhood a year or more ago.

Egyptian human rights abuses have been so grave that even Esposito, one of the Brotherhood's most redoubtable defenders in America, took issue with the Obama administration's Egypt policy.
"The answer here is obvious," Esposito said when asked about last Sunday's siege of the Coptic Church's holiest cathedral by Islamic extremists and Egyptian riot police that left two dead and over 80 injured.
"The administration should be very strong in responding to that kind of incident because this is not an incident where we want to say that, 'Oh, we are not going to intervene in Egyptian politics,' where certain segments of the Egyptian population will say 'there goes the U.S. intervening.'" It should be met with very strong statements publicly, but also privately when talking about potential economic assistance."
Esposito's recommended course of action stood in opposition to the State Department's actual response at Monday's press briefing when acting spokesman Peter Ventrell called on "restraint from all sides" without acknowledging that the Islamists caused the siege.

Michael Meunier, president of Egypt's al Haya Party that is part of the opposition National Salvation Front in Egypt, praised the panelists for having a change of heart on the Brotherhood.
"I think it validates what we have been saying," Meunier told the Investigative Project on Terrorism. "The fact that the left started saying this proves we have not been exaggerating … what has been happening to us in Egypt from the Brotherhood rule."
The panelists' comments prove that the Obama administration has mishandled Egypt.
"It's very clear cut when it comes to our values," Meunier said. "We are giving up American values to support the Brotherhood."Hmmmmm......'The future does not belong to those who slander the Prophet'.Read the full story here.

Egypt - Clashes outside church funeral for Coptic Christians slain in sectarian clashes.

Egypt - Clashes outside church funeral for Coptic Christians slain in sectarian clashes.(AO).

Clashes broke outside the Abassiya Church funeral for the victims of sectarian clashes in Qalyubia, Egypt. Mourners exiting the church came upon a street where they were first pelted with stones. The mourners, in turn, shot stones back and shots were heard. A crowd is now moving towards the building where they heard the shots from. An Ahram Online reporter at the scene could not confirm if they were live rounds.

Hundreds of mourners surrounded four coffins in Abassiya Church in Cairo on Sunday where Bishop Rafael prayed over the bodies of those killed in sectarian clashes in Qalyubia governorate.

At least five people were killed on Saturday by gunshot and at least eight were injured in Al-Khosous town, Qalyubia.

Four Christians and one Muslim were killed in the violence, Egypt’s health ministry reported. A Coptic priest, however, told the private CBC satellite channel Sunday that six Copts had died and many more were injured.

In Sunday’s Mass, the coffins were surrounded by crosses and roses and sobs were heard during the prayers, reports Ahram Online journalist.

Soon after the prayers ended attendants started chanting angrily: "Leave, leave [in reference to President Morsi]" and "Down with the rule of the supreme guide" inside the church. Morsi was fielded for presidency by the Muslim Brotherhood's political arm, the Freedom and Justice Party.

While several marches are reportedly planned, the main march was scheduled to set off at noon from Saint Mark’s Cathedral in Abassiya, Cairo, following Sunday mass prayers.

The deadly sectarian clashes that erupted in Qalyubia Saturday ensued when a group of Christian teenagers allegedly painted offensive drawings on the gates of an Al-Azhar (Muslim) institution in the town, MENA news agency reports

The situation further escalated when someone fired a gunshot into the air, killing one boy with a stray bullet, Reuters reported.

In the aftermath of the violence, 15 people were arrested and the town was tightly controlled by police forces.

Shops belonging to Christians were reportedly smashed by angry protesters. Reuters stated that some Christian and Muslim properties were burnt.

The violent attacks have sparked widespread condemnation by rights groups and politicians.

Al-Azhar’s Grand Imam Ahmed Al-Tayeb urged measures to prevent the situation from escalating and to "preserve the national character of the Egyptian people — Muslims and Christians," MENA state news agency reported.

The ruling Islamist Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) said Saturday in a statement that "The party is [sorry] for the victims of these unfortunate clashes, regardless of their religion — Muslims or Christians."

It called on authorities to "reveal the plans [aimed at creating strife between different Egyptian sects], punish those behind them and stop this threat."Hmmmm......'Reveal the plan?'....easy enough it's written on each wall 'there's only one God'.Read the full story here.

Video - Egyptian Salafi preacher : 'I hate Christians and am grossed out by them'

Video - - Christians under attack in Syria, why is the Pope Silent at Easter?

Video - Christians under attack in Syria, why is the Pope Silent at Easter?In a frightening turn of Syria's civil war, Christians say they are targets of Muslim extremists who have joined the rebels. The country's Christians sided with Syrian President Bashar al Assad, who promised to protect them. Barry Petersen reports.