Free Republic

Raymond Ibrahim is a Shillman Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center. This article was first published by the Gatestone Institute. The kidnapping, sexual abuse, and forced conversion of Christian women and girls in Egypt—a “particularly vulnerable group to exploitation” that is quietly living an “unimaginable nightmare”—is rampant with no signs of abatement.  This is the finding of a report published on September 10, 2020 by Coptic Solidary (CS), an international organization based in Washington D.C., that works to promote equal citizenship rights for Egypt’s Christian minority.  In its 15-page report, titled “‘Jihad of the Womb’: Trafficking of Coptic...

RAIR Foundation A Coptic Christian woman, Ranya Abd al-Masih (“servant of Christ”), 39, disappeared in Egypt on April 22, 2020, only to resurface days later in a recorded video. The beloved mother was forced to dress in a black niqab in the video, claim she converted to Islam, and express she did not want any contact with her husband, three children, or family members anymore. A few days after her family alerted Egyptian state security, of her disappearance, a disturbing video of the devout Christian mother covered in oppressive sharia garb and pledging her allegiance to Islam emerged. Ranya claims...

I send my best wishes for a peaceful and blessed celebration to the millions of Coptic Christians in the United States and around the world observing Global Coptic Day.Last year marked the first annual Global Coptic Day—an opportunity for the world to mark the contributions, legacy, and ongoing challenges facing the largest Christian group in the Middle East.  This year, as we celebrate the second annual Global Coptic Day, we recognize the vital role faith, prayer, and service have in our lives, especially as we continue to face the challenges posed by the novel coronavirus pandemic.  We join with...

Last week the Egyptian court system denied justice to Egypt’s Coptic Orthodox Christian minority by again postponing judgment on two notorious cases that have been at court for years. The first concerns Soa‘d Thabet, a 70-year-old Coptic grandmother. On May 20, 2016, a mob of some 300 Muslim men descended on her home, stripped her completely naked, beat, spit on, and paraded her in the streets of al-Karm village (in Minya governorate) to jeers, whistles, and triumphant shouts of “Allahu Akbar.” Earlier that day she and her husband had gone to local police and complained that they were being harassed...

First Institute of Coptic Studies Inaugurated at University of AlexandriaWith an unprecedented initiative, Egyptian political institutions have decided to invest resources to support the opening of institutes, centers, and departments in public universities dedicated to the study and enhancement of the Coptic language and cultural heritage, according to Fides News Agency. The first institute of Coptic Studies was already inaugurated at the University of Alexandria, in collaboration with the Coptic Orthodox Church. A similar initiative is being undertaken at the faculty of artistic studies of the University of Damanhour. Even the buildings intended to house these institutions have been designed,...

Middle Eastern Christians have endured a long and violent history at the hands of radical Muslims. At the turn of the 20th century, Christians made up 20 percent of the population in the Middle East. Today, that number is only 3-5 percent. "Christians have been harassed in more countries than any other religious group and have suffered harassment in many of the heavily Muslim countries of the Middle East and North Africa," says the Pew Research Center's Katayoun Kishi. By 2050, it is estimated Christians will compose 3 percent or less of the population of the Middle East with Muslims...

The Easter Liturgy of the Coptic Orthodox Church (Arabic & Coptic appx 4:15 hrs)

CAIRO (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met Coptic Pope Tawadros II at Cairo’s largest Coptic cathedral on Monday in what state media said was an unprecedented visit by an official from the conservative Muslim kingdom. The visit was part of a three-day stay in Egypt for Prince Mohammed, his first public trip abroad since he became heir apparent last year. He will head for Britain and the United States later this month. Cairo and Riyadh have strengthened ties in recent years and Egypt has received billions of dollars in aid from its rich Gulf Arab ally....

ICC Note:One of the women who was killed during last week’s brutal terrorist attack against a church in Helwan died protecting her two daughters, aged 11 and 7. According to her daughters, their mother pushed her children to the ground and sheltered them from the bullets of one of the terrorists. The attack on the church occurred a little over a week before the Coptic Orthodox Christmas, which will take place on January 7th. Tensions are high as Christians throughout Egypt prepare for celebrations with the knowledge that terrorists will likely continue to target their churches during this time. 1/01/18...

FULL TITLE: Nine people are killed at a Coptic Christian church in Cairo before police shoot dead gunman and capture a second attacker Gunmen have killed at least nine people after opening fire at the entrance of a Coptic Christian church in Egypt this morning. Two attackers went on the rampage outside Mar Mina church south of the capital Cairo before one of them was shot dead as he tried to storm the building. The church was being guarded by police in the run-up to Orthodox Christmas celebrations next week. A picture of the gunman's corpse showed a bearded man...

The Coptic Christian pope has canceled a meeting with the US vice president in Cairo, in protest against America’s move to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Palestinian leader Abbas also snubbed Mike Pence. In a statement released on Saturday, the Coptic Church said it “excused itself from hosting Mike Pence” when he visits Egypt, citing US President Donald Trump’s decision made “at an unsuitable time and without consideration for the feelings of millions of people.” Egypt’s Coptic Church said it would pray for “wisdom and to address all issues that impact peace for the people of the Middle East.” The...

Biblical scholars have discovered the first-known original Greek copy of an ancient forbidden Christian text that purportedly describes Jesus’ secret teachings to his “brother” James, an early leader of the Church. Geoffrey Smith and Brent Landau, religious studies scholars at The University of Texas at Austin, located the rare text in Oxford University archives earlier this year. The experts found several fifth- or sixth-century A.D. Greek fragments of the First Apocalypse of James, one of the books from an ancient collection known as the Nag Hammadi library. Previously, the text was thought to be preserved only via translations in the...

For Abba Estiganous, bishop of Beba, religion is behind the murder of "martyr" Sam'an Shehata. His murderer, Mohamed Sonbaty, attacked his own relatives in the past and set fire to their home. For neighbours, he is a known radical. The Catholic Church shares the pain and offers prayers. Cairo (AsiaNews) – The killer of Saman Shehata, a Coptic Orthodox priest stabbed to death last Thursday, is well known to law enforcement. His name is Mohamed Sonbaty, said Abba Estiganous, Bishop of Beba, in a statement released today on the priest's "martyrdom". The lethal attack appears to be religious in motivation....

John Anton – OCP News Service – 12/1017 +Memory Eternal+ Cairo-Egypt: A Coptic Orthodox Christian priest was murdered and another was injured in a knife attack this morning in the Capital city of Cairo. Father ‘Samaan Shihata’ (Fr Simon) from Bani Suief, Upper Egypt, was on a visit to Cairo with another priest. They were attacked by some unknown person who killed Fr Simon. Local media reported that police have arrested the culprit and he is currently under investigation. The ancient Coptic orthodox christian community in Egypt face various persecution from religious fanatics . May be the memory of the...

"Islamic State" militants reportedly carried out the execution-style killings in early 2015. A detained IS militant who witnessed the mass murder clued in authorities to the site.Libyan authorities have recovered the remains of 21 Coptic Christians who were beheaded by so-called "Islamic State" (IS) militants more than two years ago, the anti-IS organization al-Bonyan al-Marsous announced Saturday. The gruesome discovery was made in the seaside city of Sirte — the home town of former dictator Moammar Gadhafi, who was toppled in 2011. A statement said officials were led to the site by an IS militant who had witnessed the attack...

Christians have lived in Iraq for centuries but are being ethnically cleansed from the region. In Egypt, Coptic Christians are under constant threat as well. And yet, the international community seems obsessed with accepting Muslim refugees when there is no real ethnic cleansing of Muslims anywhere. It is the Christians in the Middle East who need help and it is they who should be allowed into Western countries as refugees video at source

As more and more details emerge concerning Friday’s Ramadan attack on a busload of Christians on pilgrimage, the more it becomes evident that these 29 martyrs died solely because they were Christians. Survivors of the attack said that the ten masked Islamic State militants did not merely open fire on the bus full of Christian pilgrims on their way to the Monastery of Saint Samuel the Confesor, but that the victims were made to descend from the bus and asked one by one whether they were Christians before being shot by the assailants. According to one of the chaplains of...

Egyptian fighter jets have struck militant camps following the deadly attack on Egypt’s Coptic Christians, President Abdel Fattah Sisi has announced. The strikes were carried out in eastern Libya, state television said.Egypt’s president also vowed to continue striking bases used to train militants and who carry out terrorist attacks in his country, regardless of the camps' location.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VV4jfKiaSsk  

Ten masked gunmen, who used machine guns, opened fire at two buses carrying Egyptian Coptic Christians to a monastery south of Cairo on Friday, killing 26 including children and injuring 26 others, Al Arabiya News Channel reported. The Christian group was travelling in two buses and a truck through the province, which is home to a sizeable Christian minority, the governor of Egypt’s Minya province, Essam al-Bedaiwy, said. The health ministry said there were between eight and 10 attackers dressed in military uniforms, according to witnesses. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, which came on the eve of...

Who are these sisters and brothers suffering persecution for Christ?  From the Aleteia archives:  With the news of the terrible bombing during Divine Liturgy in a Coptic Orthodox church in Cairo, December 11, 2016, attention is being drawn again to the sufferings of Christian brothers and sisters in the Middle East. Who are these Coptic Christians? What do we share with them?1. The Coptic Church is among the oldest Christian communities in the world.Coptic Christians trace the founding of their church to a missionary journey by the evangelist St. Mark in the year 42. According to tradition, Mark spent his...