By Bob Simon The following is a script from “The Copts” which aired on Dec. 15, 2013, and was rebroadcast on June 22, 2014. Bob Simon is the correspondent. Harry Radliffe, producer. Think of Egypt and the first thing that comes to mind is not Christianity. But Egypt is home to the Copts, one of…
By Stoyan Zaimov Christians in Egypt are hopeful following the election of a new Egyptian president that they will be protected from Muslim extremist attacks. Reuters reported on Thursday (May 29) that retired Field Marshall Abdel Fattah El-Sisi has received more than 95 percent of the 25 million plus votes that were cast. It was the…
By Stoyan Zaimov Violence in Egypt against Coptic Christians has continued despite the fall of former president Mohammed Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood, with believers still facing abductions and the government seizing their property, the Board of Inquiry in Cairo reported. The report, according to Fides News Agency, shows that Copts, who make up close…
By Morgan Lee “So many Christians in the world are suffering. Am I indifferent to that, or does it affect me like it’s a member of the family? Does it touch my heart, or doesn’t it really affect me, [to know that] so many brothers and sisters in the family are giving their lives for…
By Sharona Schwartz There has been a spike in the kidnappings of Christians in Egypt, further evidence of the precarious situation of the minority religious community in the embattled country, according to an investigation by the Christian Science Monitor. Quoting church officials and Christian activists, correspondent Kristen Chick reported on Tuesday that more than 100…
By Monique El-faizy CAIRO — After decades of polarization along religious lines, Christians and Muslims in Egypt are coming together to rally behind their flag. The country is in the midst of a swell of nationalism that began during the revolution in 2011 and intensified when citizens took to the streets in June of this…
By Stoyan Zaimov President Barack Obama must increase pressure on the Egyptian interim government to protect Christians who have been violently targeted in the past couple of months, urges a letter sent by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) on Monday (Sept. 16). “I respectfully urge you to speak out clearly and forcefully…
By Markus Symank Charred benches, notebooks covered in ash, the burned-out shell of a schoolbus. The Franciscan school in the upper Egyptian city of Beni Suef looks like the aftermath of a bomb attack. Toilets and sinks are shattered into fragments. The melted blades of fans hang from the ceiling. Bedecked in white, sister Nagaat…
(Editor’s Note: The name of the pastor, his church and the church where notes for this article were taken is being withheld to protect all involved from potential violent retribution.) Unity. Prayer. Revival. Those were the themes of the Christian pastor from a church in Cairo, Egypt, while visiting a supporting Presbyterian congregation in the…
A webinar sponsored last week by the Presbyterian World Mission, discussed the recent events in Egypt and told why Egyptian Christians are encouraged by all that has happened. Amgad Beblawi, area coordinator for the Middle East, Europe and Central Asia for the Presbyterian Mission Agency, gave a little background to the events of the past…