Christians increasingly kidnapped in Egypt

In the wake of the so-called Arab Spring, the persecution of Christians in Egypt continues to gain force, with an increased number of kidnappings in recent months.  The Christian Science Monitor reports:

More than 100 people have been kidnapped for ransom in this marginalized region in the last two and a half years, nearly all of them Christians, according to activists and church officials. And there has been a sharp increase in kidnappings in the months since Aug. 14, when hundreds were killed as police broke up two sit-ins supporting ousted president Mohamed Morsi.

Muslim Brotherhood youth attack Coptic church

On November 1, following Friday prayers in the el Aziz Bellah mosque, a group of Muslim youth connected with the Muslim Brotherhood attacked the nearby church of the Virgin Mary in the Egyptian city of Zaytoun, on the east of Cairo:

On arriving in the square in front of the Church they are seen tearing down a banner from the front of the church and covering the façade with graffiti insulting the patriarch, the Copts and the Armed Forces .

Local sources said that every Friday after the midday prayer, the Islamists always pass in front of the church hurling insults and anti-Christian slogans . To avoid problems Christians bar the doors of the building. Near the church there is the el- Aziz Bellah mosque, whose faithful militate in the ranks of the Muslim Brotherhood [more].

Egyptian teen given 3 years in jail for posting pictures of Muhammed on Facebook

Back in January I shared with you the story of 17-year old Gamal Abdou Massoud, who was sentenced to 15 days in jail for posting images of Muhammed on Facebook.

He has now been sentenced to 3 years in jail:

An Egyptian court on Wednesday sentenced a 17-year-old Christian boy to three years in jail for publishing cartoons on his Facebook page that mocked Islam and the Prophet Mohammad, actions that sparked sectarian violence. 

Gamal Abdou Massoud was also accused of distributing some of his cartoons to his school friends in a village in the southern city of Assiut, home to a large Christian population and the hometown of the late Coptic Orthodox Pope Shenouda. 

“Assiut child’s court ordered the jailing of Gamal Abdou Massoud … for three years after he insulted Islam and published and distributed pictures that insulted Islam and its Prophet,” the court said in a statement seen by Reuters. 

The cartoons, published by Massoud in December, prompted some Muslims to attack Christians. Several Christian houses were burned and several Christians were injured in the violence [more].

Christian family expelled from Egyptian town

After living in Amriya for nearly twenty years, Nabil Gergis and his family - who are Coptic Christians - has been expelled from the Egyptian town where the majority of residents are Muslim.  The cause of his expulsion is a sex tape purported to show his brother with a Muslim woman.

From the Associated Press:

Angry residents in the conservative, Muslim-majority town held protests and set fire to the Gergis family businesses. None of the attackers was prosecuted. Instead, a committee of tribal elders, local lawmakers and security officials ordered the 11 members of the Gergis family — the brother, Nabil and others — to leave town.

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The incident erupted in late January, when the explicit video allegedly showing Nabil Gergis' brother with a Muslim woman circulated on residents' cell phones. The brother, who is married, has denied any affair.

Any sex outside of marriage is a lightning rod for controversy in the Muslim world, where a woman's chastity is vociferously protected by her family. That a Christian man might have an affair with a Muslim woman only further fanned the flames.

The rumors sparked widespread protests by Amriya residents, who are mostly tribal and deeply traditional. Angry residents set fire to three stores owned by the Gergis' family, which were under their homes. Some Muslim residents tried to help, but were outnumbered by the ultraconservative rioters.

Police showed up hours later and instead of investigating the attack called in the brother for questioning, Gergis said.

With tempers still high, local officials and tribal leaders held a series of meetings and decided to order the expulsion of the entire Gergis family. A Muslim family who had fired shots in the air during the protest to protect their property were initially told they must leave too, but were later allowed to return.

Amriya police argued that they could not guarantee the Gergis family's safety in the face of angry protesters, according to security officials and the Gergis family. Last week, with the family gone, their homes were robbed of cash and other belongings they had to leave behind, Gergis said [more].

Sawiris still faces charges of contempt of Islam because of tweets

Back in mid-January, Naguib Sawiris, an Egyptian Christian, posted pictures of Mickey Mouse with a beard and Minnnie Mouse with a face veil, which led to his being charged with contempt of Islam.

A court in Cairo recently dismissed this charge, though Sawiris still faces two similar charges because of the same images.

Egyptian Christian sentenced for contempt of Islam

Makram Diab, an Egyptian Christian, was sentenced to six years in prison after being found guilty of a charge of contempt of Islam:

An Egyptian court has sentenced a Christian man to six years in prison on charges of showing contempt for religion and insulting the Prophet Mohammed, reported the semi-official newspaper Al-Ahram on Thursday.

The court, in the southern Egyptian province of Assiut, said that Makram Diab, a school employee, had made offensive remarks against Islam's prophet, according to the report.

Christians fearful after Muslim Brotherhood and Salafis gain 73% of seats

The Muslim Brotherhood and the Salafis have won 73% of the seats in the lower house of the Egyptian parliament, which has many of the Christians yet remaining in Egypt scared.

Speaking for the Egyptian Catholic Church, Father Rafik Greiche said, "The victory of Islamist parties scares Christians but expresses the will of the Egyptian people."

According to Father Greiche, the victors have said "Christians and religious minorities would have the same rights as Muslim citizens. It is therefore premature to made good or bad predictions."  We will see.

Egypt's Christian continue to live in fear

The Washinton Times reported Wednesday that Coptic Christians in Egypt fear Islamists' rise as attacks against them increase following former Preside Mubarek's demise:

The Christian community in Egypt has dwindled since the birth of Islam about 1,400 years ago, but Minya remains one of the Egyptian cities with a large population of Coptic Christians, making up about 40 percent of its more than 2 million inhabitants. Copts, an Anglicized Arabic word for Egyptian, share many theological beliefs of Roman Catholicism. 

Minya also is a stronghold of Gemaa Islamiyya, a U.S.-designated terrorist group that attacked Coptic Christians, government agencies and tourists throughout the 1990s. The Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party and the hard-line Salafist al-Noor party are the most popular parties here among Muslims. 

Behind the quiet and quaint facade of Abo Korkas, Christian residents who live amid a labyrinth of dirt roads say they are worried. 

Peace was long a pillar of this town until a group of men who are believed to be Salafi Muslims set fire to the homes of Christians like Ms. Hanna's and smashed stone walls, leaving 10 properties in soot-stained rubble.

For Egypt's Christians, the recent uprising have not been good:

During the revolution, many Christians thought a new government would help quell repressive tactics and create opportunities for equal rights, but the ongoing political turbulence has not improved the situation for Christians. 

One of the main concerns plaguing this village is the lack of a proper security network that might help prevent more attacks. Police have largely been absent from Egypt's streets since they were withdrawn in January 2011, after deadly clashes with protesters. 

"See this?" asks lawyer Amir Sabry, pointing to a herd of horses, donkeys and cows being led alongside Egypt's Agricultural Road, which heads north into Cairo. "They are headed home from the fields because at night there are thieves." 

Michael Mounir, a Coptic Christian political leader and president of the Al-Hayat Party, says Christians are not used to living without protection. 

"They're living under constant fear and repression," he said.

Egyptian Christian charged with contempt of Islam because of a tweet

Naguib Sawiris, a Coptic Christian in Egypt, has been charged with contempt of Islam for tweeting a cartoon some Muslims find offensive.  What was so offensive about the cartoon?  It showed Mickey Mouse with a beard and Minnie Mouse with a face veil.

Coptic Christians more concerned about the next Patriarch than the next President

Ahramonline has an interesting article exploring the views of Coptic Christians in Egypt to the upcoming presidential election, and a few other circumstances as well.

Of particular interest are these words:

And while the nation is busy debating the pros and cons of potential presidential runners, these two women, like others present at the Coptic Cathedral on Christmas Eve, said that for them the greater concern is who will be the next patriarch, rather than president.

"Whoever comes would still not do us full justice, because the mentality of looking at Copts as lesser citizens than the Muslims has not changed and any president would not want to offend the majority," said Mariana. "We are hoping things will get better but we know it is a long way to go before things do get better."

Teenager sentenced to 15 days in jail and Christian homes burned after Facebook images of Muhammed

After images of the Prophet Muhammed were posted on his Facebook page, an Egyptian teenager has been sentenced to fifteen days in jail, even though Gamal Masoud, a Coptic Christian, may not even have been aware the images were posted.

Massoud, 17, could be charged with "contempt of Islam" because the images may offend Muslims.

Angered over the images, a group of Muslims burned down Christian homes while chanting "Allahu akbar" until they were stopped by security and military forces.  Fearful of further violence, many Christians have fled.