Cairo:Father Mettias Nasr, priest of the Church of the Virgin Mary and Pope Kirollos
in Ezbet Al-Nakhl, and editor-in-chief of Katiba Tibia, the coptic online news publisher,
along with thousands of Copts held a prayer ceremony at the church on 11th
September, which coincided with the commemoration of "Al Nairuz" Coptic feast.
Higoumen Mettias Nasr demanded the ratification of the uniform law for the
construction of places of worship, which would allow Copts to build churches without
restrictions or limitations and putting an end to the "kidnapping" of Christian girls to
convert them to Islam. He also demanded the release of the jailed priest Mettaos
Abbas Wahba, priest of the Church of "Archangel Mikhail" in Giza Governorate,
imprisoned on charges of forging an official document with the aim of marrying a
Muslim girl who converted to Christianity to a Christian man. Father Mettias repeated
some expressions such as "Our hearts are with you, our Father Mettaos. God set you
free and dispels your enemies and brings you back to serve your children, Amen" He
then sung a hymn," I am a Christian." and spoke about the work of Father Mettaos.
The Coptic youth suspended banners with a number of their demands, such as
"freedom for our father Mettaos" and "No to minors' abduction" and "we call on a
uniform law for the construction of places of worship."
Shebin Al-Kom: A huge fire broke out in the Church of Saints Paul and Peter in Shibin
al-Kom on 9/9/2009, which destroyed all the contents of the church, including the
saints relics, but without any human casualties. An eyewitness recounts to Coptic
News Bulletin the problems the church had with its Muslim neighbours, who were not
happy with the presence of the Church in their vicinity. The fire broke out at 3.00 a.m.,
starting from the central entrance door and spreading inside, to damage the church's
interior. Copts were standing outside watching the Church burning and not knowing
how to help, and by the time the fire brigade arrived, the contents inside the Church
were all damaged, except for the Holy Alter. The witness said that two Muslim men
were always hovering near the Church since its inauguration a year ago, threatening
and intimidating the congregation. "Every time the Church priest reported them to the
State Security, they disappeared for a while before coming back with more threats."
About the rumour that the cause of the fire was a 'short circuit', the witness confirmed
that this couldn’t be true, as the electric panel boards are intact. Results of the
prosecution investigations and fire forensics have not yet been concluded.
Shubra al-Khaima: An Attacked by 400 Muslims armed with steel rods and knives on
the Copts took place in Shubra al-Khaima on 11th September 2009, right after the
Ramadan breaking of fast cannon. Coptic News Bulletin contacted Father Bachoum,
who resides in the same street where the incident took place. Father Bachoum said
that a clash between a Christian and a Muslim resulted in around 400 Muslims
congregating and pelting the Copts with stones and bricks, besides breaking the
windshield of a car. No injuries were reported. State Security detained some of the
people involved from both sides.
Denmark: The right-wing extremist Danish Peoples' Party, which constitutes a basic
supporter of the Government in Parliament - ran a media campaign against the
building of mosques in the country and called on voters to express their opposition.
The Party published in several newspapers full-page adverts carrying a picture of
Blue Mosque in Istanbul, with its dome bearing two swords, added by the Party,
under the theme "NO grand mosques in Danish cities" This campaign comes as the
municipal elections are to be held in November. The municipal council of
Copenhagen, in a resolution, gave the green light for the building of the first mosque
in Denmark, which the Party objected to and requested a new referendum on it. The
Party advert wrote " the Danish Peoples' Party voted against the project because
funds for the financing of the mosque came from several regimes, including the terror
regime in Iran." The Party also warned of a new mosque, "which will come to light in
three years time in Copenhagen funded by Saudi Arabia, the dictatorial regime."
Cairo: Press reports said that the Interior Ministry launched a security campaign in
many Egyptian cities aiming at arresting those who broke the Ramadan fast in public,
and decided to impose penalties of up to 500 pounds for each one breaking the fast.
The campaign started in Aswan through a decision by the Governor, resulting in the
arrest and detainment of over 150 people on charges of breaking the Ramadan fast
during daytime. In the city of Hurghada, police arrested many Egyptians who were not
fasting during daytime. The Muslim Salafis greeted this campaign as a step forward
towards implementing Shari'a laws in Egypt. The Orthodox Church and human rights
groups denounced pursuing those who manifest not fasting publicly. Legal expert
Naguib Gabriel, Pope Shenouda's Adviser for Legal Affairs, said that the campaigns
by the government disturbs the relationship between the elements of the nation,
because it makes non-Christians unable to exercise their freedom. The campaign
also angered human rights organizations in Egypt on the grounds that there is no
provision in the Egyptian Penal Code, which punishes those who manifest nonfasting publicly during Ramadan. One of the organizations said that this is a
barometer, which indicates that Egypt is turning into another "Taliban" state. Under
the slogan "Save the Homeland," the movement "Partners for the Homeland," issued
a statement on Monday condemning the campaign.
London: In less than a week after the violence which erupted in the city of
Birmingham, central England, to protest against extremism, Islamic terrorism and
attempts to implement Islamic Sharia in some British cities and regions inhabited by
large numbers of Muslims, an alliance of the "the Association of British Defence"
together with "Stop Islamization of Europe" demonstrated once again outside the
Central Mosque in the area of Harrow, north west of the British capital London.
Officials at the mosque contacted the police and the municipal council of Harrow
asking them to plead with the Ministry of Interior to cancel the demonstration.
However, the Director of the municipal council did not respond to these attempts in
the absence of legal grounds to prevent the demonstration. On the other side a
gathering of another coalition of angry Muslim youths, together with members of the
"the British Anti-Fascist Union," headed by the former Mayor of London, who is
known for his sympathies with Muslims and his intimate friendship with Sheikh Yusuf
al-Qaradawi. Nine people were detained for violating the rules of demonstrations by
carrying bottles, hammers and sticks
Cairo: The Arab Network for human rights accused the Islamic preacher Khalid ElGindy of inciting hatred against the Bahai’s through the new space channel "Azahari",
accusing him of collaboration with the security services. Gamal Eid, Executive
Director of the Arab network said that the speech style adopted by el-Gindy is "cheap
and unacceptable in form and content." The Network said in a statement that the
position adopted by the El-Gindy towards the Baha'is, brings back to memory his
position towards the Sudanese refugees who staged a sit-in in front of the Mustafa
Mahmoud mosque in el-Mohandeseen district, and his testimony against Dr. Ayman
Nour in the famous proxies case four years ago, considering it as unconstitutional
and a violation of the freedom of citizens.