Three people were injured when Muslim mobs burned down eight Christian homes in the Egyptian village of Awlad Khalaf Saturday after a rumor that a house currently under construction would instead become a church.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, warned that the vacuum left by failed autocratic regimes was being filled by extremists who have turned the Arab Spring into a “very anxious time” for Christians.
Hundreds of mainly Christian refugees from Eritrea are jailed or or held by kidnappers in Egypt, where they face torture, beatings and sexual assault, according to Christian aid workers who contacted Worthy News.
A Christian member of the European Parliament has urged the European Union’s foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, to make more rights for Egyptian Christians, also known as Copts, a policy priority and to develop an EU strategy for religious freedom.
Christians in Egypt were following political developments after the country’s new military rulers pledged to criminalize sectarian violence and ease restrictions on building churches as inter-faith clashes killed a dozen people in recent days.
Egypt’s military leadership held talks Thursday, March 10, with Christian protesters demanding more security, after Muslims burned a church sparking clashes that killed 13 people and injured about 140 others, officials said.
There was concern Sunday, February 13, about the future of hostages held by human traffickers in Egypt’s Sinai Desert, including children, amid an uncertain security situation following the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak after unprecedented protests against his rule.
Amid the largest protests in his three decades rule, Egypt’s embattled President Hosni Mubarak resigned Friday, February 11, but the future of the country’s Christian minority remained uncertain as there was concern about the growing influence of Islamic hardliners in this mainly Muslim nation.
As the whole world watched Muslims protesting in the streets of Egypt, more than 15 Christians were killed outside Al-Minya, 150 miles south of Cairo.
Egypt on Sunday, January 23, blamed a Palestinian group with links to terror group Al-Qaeda of masterminding a New Year’s church attack in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria that killed as many as 24 Coptic Christians.
An Egyptian court sentenced a Muslim to death for killing six Christians along with a Muslim guarding their church in a drive-by shooting more than a year ago.
Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak on Saturday, January 1, urged citizens of all faiths, including Christian Copts and Muslims to resist “terrorist acts”, after a church bombing killed at least 21 people and injured nearly 80 others.
Some 130 Christian worshipers, including children, remain imprisoned in Egypt, a month after some 2,000 security forces attacked their church under re-construction, killing several people, American and local missionaries told Worthy News.
Rights activists urged Egypt’s government Friday, December 10, to free hundreds of Eritrean and other African refugees, including Christians, who they said have been held as hostages by human traffickers in the Sinai Desert for over a month, and probably sold to other dealers.
Scores of Coptic Christian children are recovering from injuries and nearly two dozen minors remain detained after Egyptian security forces opened fire on unarmed Copts protesting against the authorities’ decision to halt the construction of a church, rights investigators said Thursday, December 9.
Egypt’s attorney general has reportedly ordered the detention of 156 Christian protesters following deadly clashes with riot police in a suburb of the capital Cairo where authorities halted construction of a church, Worthy News monitored Thursday, November 25.
Thousands of Copts protested against Egyptian security forces as they attempted to stop the construction of St. Mary in Talbiya despite having the necessary building permits.
Mobs of Muslims were angered following a false Al-Jazeera report that Egypt’s Christians were aligning with Israel and stockpiling weapons.
During Friday prayers, Imam Sheikh Tobah called for jihad against all Christians living in the Egyptian village of Shimi.
Coptic Christians in the United States will protest against an “increase” in Islamic attacks against Egypt’s Christian minority and the “refusal” by authorities to halt the violence, organizers said Monday, December 14.