Displaying items by tag: Egypt

South African police have arrested a suspect following the murder of three Egyptian priests on 12 March. The Coptic Orthodox Church said that they had been subjected to a criminal attack in a monastery in Cullinan. The 35-year-old man is expected to appear before Cullinan magistrates' court on 14 March. All three victims were found with stab wounds, while a fourth victim who survived said that he was hit on the hand by an iron rod before fleeing and hiding in one of the rooms. The police said the suspect left without taking any valuable items or properties from the place, and his motive is unknown at this stage.

Machinery to repair roads has been sent through the Rafah border crossing from Egypt into the Gaza Strip in preparation for the delivery of some of the aid stockpiled in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, two security sources said on Thursday. Rafah is the only crossing not controlled by Israel but has been out of operation since the first days of the conflict in Gaza following Israeli bombardments on the Palestinian side of the border. The USA and Egypt have been pushing for a deal with Israel to get aid delivered to Gaza, and on 18 October the White House said that it had been agreed for up to 20 trucks to pass through, with hopes for more later. Most of Gaza's 2.3 million residents depended on aid before the current conflict started on 7 October, and about 100 trucks daily were providing humanitarian relief to the enclave, according to the UN. At least that number are waiting close to the crossing, though it was not expected that aid would enter before 20 October. More aid is being held in the Egyptian city of Al Arish, some 45 km away. Benjamin Netanyahu's office has said Israel would not block aid for civilians entering Gaza from Egypt, as long as those supplies do not reach Hamas.

A young architect in Egypt was tragically murdered on a building site by a colleague in a bulldozer who later told police, ‘I hate Christians; I killed him because he is a Christian.’ After confessing to Fadi’s murder, Mohammed spent four days in prison before being sent to a mental health hospital for treatment. It is unclear to what extent, if at all, psychological issues contributed to this attack. They are often cited by Muslim extremists to explain their attacks against Christians to avoid prosecution - and it works. Like so many families who’ve been affected by persecution in Egypt, there is no guarantee that Fadi’s family will receive justice from the legal system. Despite this uncertainty and the anguish they are in, they have already decided to forgive Mohammed. This incident reminds us how for many Christians the workplace is not safe - either because of overt attacks like this one or more subtle forms of discrimination.

During October Silk Wave church-planting teams will visit Turkey, Greece, and Egypt to restore worship and plant God’s Word. 37 people will participate from two US Korean churches, with second-term young missionaries working in Istanbul with partners from Istanbul Mission Centre. They will visit gateway churches of the region to hear about the ministry and vision while seeking God’s guidance on how each local church can work together evangelising and church-planting. In Greece the evangelism and church-planting is being pioneered through refugee ministries. In Cairo they will see the ministry of refugee children’s schools and study how they can work together with the missions to the Islamic world which are working in Egypt. Silk Wave asks us to pray for all participants in the field to receive and obey Holy Spirit guidance in every event.

Christians in Egypt are typically treated as second-class citizens, so many believers are attacked. One was Sara. She was walking along a street without wearing a veil, which distinguished her as a Christian, and she was praying. Suddenly she felt a sharp object hit her body. ‘Dirty Christian, die!’ she heard a man shouting as her legs began to tremble and she fell to the ground. Sara miraculously survived. She has forgiven her attacker and regularly prays for him. ‘I hope that God will touch his heart,’ she says.

Christians are increasingly being persecuted violently: by brutal IS in the Middle East, Boko Haram in Nigeria, and Hindu extremists in India. Release International issued a report on persecution trends in 2021. It is a wake-up call to take our prayers for our persecuted family to new levels. Nigerian attacks are driven by Islamist ideologies to destroy ‘the infidels’. 300 Christians remain detained without trial inside Eritrea. The Chinese government is increasing its ‘clean-cup’ of anything that does not advance the communist agenda. North Korea’s policy against Christians is the longest, harshest persecution in recorded history. Iranians constantly fear they are under surveillance when they meet secretly. The pressure has led to an exodus from Iran that will continue in 2021. Egyptian Christian converts from a Muslim background will continue to pay a high price for their faith and will be expelled from their families, divorced, and lose their employment.

Egypt will now allow Muslims to build Christian churches as paid labourers. In the past, Muslims have often seen this kind of work as taboo. The pronouncement allows them to help build any of the 44 churches now under construction around Egypt. They can also join the work on 16 historic Coptic churches now being restored. Tom Doyle of Uncharted Ministries says, ‘This is a big step. This is the government saying, “We are giving our okay for this”. And that’s another good sign. So we are thankful for that, and pray that there will be better relations between Muslims and Christians. We know as Muslims become exposed to the Gospel and see the joy of the Lord in believers, it is attractive to them. They want to know more. Saudi Arabia is the heart of Arab Islam. But Egypt is the brains of Arab Islam.’

Christians in Egypt are not safe, despite the authorities’ claims to the contrary. The following tragedy shows the dangers Christians must navigate in Egyptian society, and their disbelief that help will come in the form of justice. Persecution is more than violence; it is also about how the authorities respond to these injustices. On 10 December three Muslim brothers attacked Coptic Christians living in Alexandria, murdering one man and significantly injuring two with knives and clubs, then damaging three Christian shops. The brothers have a history of thuggery and escalated harassment of Christian shop owners. They were arrested, but local Christians fear that they will be declared mentally unstable and not fully punished, as has happened before in similar cases. Violence against Christians is commonplace in Egypt, but this happened in Alexandria, where sectarian tensions are normally subtler than in Upper Egypt.

A record number of Christians (108) are standing for election in the Egyptian elections being held between 24 October and 8 November. These Christians are on the four party lists, contesting 284 seats allocated to political parties in the parliament. There have been continuous positive messages from President Sisi to protect Egypt’s Christian community, one of the oldest and largest Christian communities in the region. In previous elections, Christian candidates were barred from running or forced to withdraw due to threats of violence. Attacks and pressure on Copts continue in rural areas, but this positive development is very welcome.

Maria, an Egyptian widow, was in tears when telling a local ministry leader that she had lost her job as a housecleaner due to coronavirus lockdown. She supports seven family members, including a daughter with two infants who is separated from her drug-addicted husband and a married son with two children who has lost his job and home due to coronavirus. She sold her kitchen appliances to meet their basic needs. Many widowed women in Egypt have lost their jobs to the pandemic and have no other sources of income, as the government has also suspended disbursement of pensions due to the crowds gathering at offices. Most widows are without a fixed monthly income or a fixed pension. Some have coronavirus, and some have lost a family member to it. Christian Aid has created WhatsApp groups for women and children and supports them spiritually by making prayer times and sharing sermons and songs.