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Egypt

Map reflects the 30 most recent Persecution Reports. Click HERE for the Map Legend.

 

 

Egyptian Coptic Christian Family Slain by Islamic Extremists in Libya

Monday, December 29th, 2014

Last week, Magdy Sobhy Tawfiq, Sahar Talaat Rizk, and their 13-year-old daughter Catherine were brutally murdered in Sirte, Libya, where the family has lived since 2001. Magdy was a medical doctor working in the Jarf Health Center in Sirte and Sahar was a pharmacist.

Magdy and Sahar were murdered in the early morning hours of Tuesday, December 23 at the doctor’s housing complex where the Coptic Christian family lived with Catherine (13) and two younger daughters (Age 10 and Age 9). Catherine was taken from the family’s home and her body was found in the desert outside the city on Thursday, December 25.

Sadness Overshadows Christmas for Families of Egyptian Christians Kidnapped in Libya

Sunday, December 21st, 2014

It has been nearly four months, and still there has been no news of the fate of four Egyptian Christians who were taken off a bus as they returned to Egypt from working in Libya. The families have attempted to press the Egyptian government to seek the fate of the four men, but no steps have been taken, leaving the families heart-broken. They are just a few of the families of Christians who are suffering as a result of targeting by extremists groups in Libya.

Christians Around World Under Siege

Saturday, December 20th, 2014

The reality is that in far too many countries Christians face incredible risk simply for their faith. Some make the headlines, but much more "is unseen by the world" and the daily reality of persecution that Christians face. To meet together as Christians is a dangerous task, but a necessary one. As we meet this year in our religious celebrations we should pause to remember those who are celebrating the same truths, yet paying a much higher cost to do so.

Lawyer: ‘Egyptian Convert’s Arrest Linked To Leaving Islam

Wednesday, December 10th, 2014

As Bishoy Armia, also known as Mohammed Hegazy, awaits a verdict to be handed down on December 28th, the real reason for his arrest is not the charges against him. His lawyer said, it’s really his conversion that has put him behind bars. The charges brought against him have no evidence, Karam Ghobrial said.

Egypt: Imprisoned Christian Journalist Who Converted From Islam Goes On Hunger Strike

Tuesday, December 9th, 2014

Bishoy Boulous Armia, a Christian convert who is currently imprisoned in Egypt continues to suffer as he awaits the court to rule on one of two separate cases. Having been abused by prison guards, he’s reportedly started a hunger strike to press for just treatment. He has faced incredible persecution since he publicly sought to change his religious identity on his national ID card. He has now been charged with reporting on persecution of Christians in Egypt and is being held on charges of blasphemy for converting away from Islam.

Sorry, Tertullian: “The Blood of the Martyrs is the Seed of the church”

Monday, December 8th, 2014

Research on the growth of the church around the world looks at persecution and church growth. The numbers are unclear in demonstrating that persecution leads to numerical church growth, but it has other impacts on the church as well.

A Deadly Shooting in Upper Egypt

Wednesday, November 26th, 2014

Ernst Kamel and Eid Gendy were shot and left for dead while driving their tuk-tuk in the village of Muharraq Monastery in southern Egypt. Eid was killed instantly, but Ernst was able to survive the attack.

This is just one of the many acts of violence against Christians in Upper Egypt that continue despite the overthrow of the Muslim Brotherhood and the installation of a new government led by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

Christians Are Facing Persecution In Egypt

Tuesday, November 25th, 2014

The Christian community across Egypt has faced an increase in persecution as the country has been in a period of political instability since 2011. Many were hopeful that the removal of President Mubarak would lead towards greater representative democracy, the result has been quite the opposite, and Christians have regularly suffered without the protection of a state that is concerned with ensuring their basic rights or safety.

Facts and Fiction: Report on Post-Morsi Attacks in Egypt

Friday, November 21st, 2014

A committee formed by Egypt’s interim government is getting ready to release a report on the violence that followed the removal of President Mohammed Morsi from office in July 2013. This sparked a wave of violence, much of it targeted at Christian communities throughout Upper Egypt. This report aims to shed light both on what happened and those who incited and coordinated the attacks.

Jailed Egyptian Convert Awaits Appeal Hearing

Thursday, November 13th, 2014

Mohammed Hegazy became a Christian at the age of 16, and then in 2007 he tried to publicly change his identity card to no longer be listed as a Muslim. His case went public and he was eventually accused of blasphemy against Islam. Earlier this year he was arrested on new charges and the old case of blasphemy was reopened. He is awaiting trial this week, the judge has made it clear that the real motive for his arrest was his conversion to Christianity.

Egypt’s Christians Hopeful For Loosened Restrictions On Church Building

Monday, November 10th, 2014

Egyptian Church leaders are hoping that a legal change will allow them to be able to build churches across the country, a simple task that for decades has been incredibly challenging. The draft law still must be accepted and enacted, but there is hope this would be the case. This movement comes amid growing concerns about legal restrictions on NGOs across the country that activists are concerned will result in greater human rights violations.

ISIS to “Target Copts” in Egypt

Sunday, November 9th, 2014

According to a recent statement published by an ISIS leader, Egypt and Coptic Christians are a target for ISIS-linked Jihadis in Egypt. The statement calls for jihdaists to follow ISIS example in launching violent attacks across the country, and specifically calls for the targeting of Christians.

Egypt’s Christians, Attacked For Supporting Sisi, Patiently Await Payback

Friday, October 24th, 2014

After dozens of churches and other Christian-owned properties were attacked in August 2013 the government and military made promises to repair or rebuild many of the churches. Despite those promises, the vast majority of the repairs remain far from complete. Some estimates say only 10 percent of the work has been completed, leaving some Christians to worship in the burned-out shells of their church buildings.

New Law to Lift Restrictions on Church Building, Says Church Spokesman

Thursday, October 23rd, 2014

Egypt’s church leaders are hopeful that a new law will remove restrictions on construction of new churches. A law that has been in place for decades has made it incredibly difficult to get the legal permission to construct a new building. The draft law exists, and church leaders are hopeful for its adoption in early 2015.

Egypt: “Christians Feel Much Safer”

Tuesday, October 21st, 2014

From 2012 to 2013 Egypt was under the rule of President Mohammed Morsi who, along with his supporters in the Muslim Brotherhood, set out to further Islamize Egypt’s political and social life. When he was overthrown, the number of attacks against Egypt’s Christian community surged. Since the election of President Sisi the situation has grown better as Father Rafik explains in this interview.

Facing ISIS, Middle Eastern Evangelicals Exchange Strategies

Thursday, October 16th, 2014

The threat that ISIS poses to Iraq’s Christian community is felt by Christians around the world, but perhaps more acutely by Christians in the Middle East who themselves have faced similar persecution at the hands of extremists both in the recent and distant past. Christians from Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, and elsewhere are joining to provide aid to their brothers and sisters in Iraq, not only financially but in how to work together with the community – both Muslim and Non-Muslim – to counter the extremism that has cost so many lives already.

Vigil Held in Cairo to Mark Third Anniversary of those Killed at Maspero

Friday, October 10th, 2014

A vigil was held in Cairo to mark the third anniversary of the killing of nearly 30 Christians during a demonstration protesting a church attack in Upper Egypt. The army and security forces attacked the protestors injuring nearly 300 of the more than 10,000 were demonstrating on the streets of Cairo. A full investigation of the incident still has not been carried out.

Coptic Solidarity: Maspero Massacre Victims Still Without Justice in Egypt

Thursday, October 9th, 2014

Christians Under Siege In The Islamic Middle East

Wednesday, October 1st, 2014

Persecution for Christians in the Middle East is nothing new, but looking across the region today the church is under attack in nearly every country. The rise of Islamic extremism has driven a militancy that often violently targets Christians in its attempt to create an “Islamic State” or at least countries where Islam is in power. Whether they are driven out entirely – like Iraq – or through fear and kidnapping forced to the edges – like in Egypt – many Christians are facing very real threats for their identity as followers of Jesus.

Are Copts Fleeing Egypt?

Wednesday, October 1st, 2014

The realities of persecution and cultural trends that have regularly pushed Egypt’s Christian community to the fringes of society, for many are driving them to consider leaving the country altogether. In places where religious identity becomes reason for becoming a target for violence the thought of leaving can sometimes be a daily reality and it creates an internal conflict about where you and your family belong. 

Healing Began with Forgiveness in Egypt

Tuesday, September 30th, 2014

Just over a year ago, Egypt’s Christian communities went through one of the worst periods of persecution in their nearly 2,000-year-old history. Nearly 100 churches and other Christian buildings were burned, and hundreds of homes, shops, and vehicles were also destroyed. Remarkably, for those who have responded with forgiveness there have been open doors for reconciliation, even as Egypt continues to battle with issues over fundamental rights for its citizens.

Copts Urge El-Sissi to Implement Equality for All Egyptians

Tuesday, September 23rd, 2014

Egyptian President Sisi was elected with support from many Egyptians who believed he would move away from enforcing sectarian divisions, unfortunately the progress on this front has been limited. Coptic Christians still face numerous forms of discrimination from violent treatment at the hands of security forces to legal roadblocks to repairing churches. There are significant steps that need to be taken to curb the discrimination and persecution of the Christians minority in Egypt.

Security Forces Treat Copts As Badly As Under Mubarak Rule

Monday, September 22nd, 2014

While many of Egypt’s Christians were hopeful that under the leadership of President Sisi their situation would improve, the reality is that the situation has returned to something similar to the days of President Mubarak. The year under Mohammed Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood still stand out as especially bad, but Christians still face regular abuse not just from extremists but also from security forces who should be protecting Christians but often do not.

#WeAreN: The Invisibility Of Holy Land Christians

Sunday, September 21st, 2014

The vast majority of American Christians know very little about the Christians of the Middle East. Far too often to be from the Middle East is equated only with being Arab and Muslim. The reality of these lands as the birthplace of Christianity, and the existence of churches in the nearly 2,000 years since then is almost completely forgotten. As these populations are facing genocide, it is imperative that the Western church open her eyes to their existence now, before it is too late.

Diyabiya Copts Obliged To Worship In Church Courtyard

Wednesday, September 17th, 2014

A congregation in Egypt is now forced to worship in the church courtyard because its building was badly burned by Islamic fundamentalists and the government has prevented them from getting the necessary permit to restore the church. The building has now become “life threatening” and so Christians now gather to worship outdoors.

Four Coptic Christians Taken Captive by Islamic Militants in Sirte, Libya Are Still Missing

Saturday, September 13th, 2014

Life in Libya has become extremely dangerous since the revolution that ousted Muammar Gaddafi. There is chaos in the Libyan streets and lives of Egyptian Christian workers are endangered every day.

Four Egyptians who were trying to return back to Egypt “were taken because of their religious identification; they were targeted because they are Christians,” their family told International Christian Concern (ICC).

“When ‘Taken’ Becomes a Reality”: Kidnappings Continue in Egypt

Monday, September 8th, 2014

With the recent trend of increased kidnappings throughout Egypt, Talaat Sharobim received the one phone call every parent dreads receiving: on the other line his daughter, Christine, cries to him that she has been kidnapped and begs for him to save her. Before she could tell him who took her, the phone was permanently disconnected.

The Shifting Sands of Uncertainty: Life as a Coptic Christian

Thursday, August 14th, 2014

Life as a Coptic Christian in Egypt can be as uncertain and shifting as the wind-blown sands of the sun-scorched desert. Disagreements with Muslim neighbors descending into violence, unprovoked attacks and kidnappings, and even hostility from local police are all able to fiercely whip up at an instant's notice.

The End of Christianity in the Middle East Could Mean the Demise of Arab Secularism

Sunday, July 27th, 2014

The last ten years have marked a season of persecution that has driven nearly all of the Christian minority from their homes and communities. Countries such as Egypt, Iran, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia have been unable to provide religious freedom even in the presence of an election process and a reflection of religious freedom in their constitutions. Iraq and Syria are overrun by a militant group known as ISIS as they try to establish a purely Islamic state (caliph). With this persecution rapidly pointing to an end in Christianity, radical forms of Islam are beginning to take root. This may signal a larger death of secularism throughout the Middle East.

Noted Convert in Egypt, Released in Appeal, Quickly Imprisoned Again

Friday, July 25th, 2014

Mohammed Hegazy, a converted Christian in Egypt, was released on recent charges of inciting sectarian violence only to be arrested on charges of defaming Islam for his conversion to Christianity in 2009. The charges came at the hands of two Islamist lawyers who charged him with defaming Islam when he filed to change his religion from Muslim to Christian. These blasphemy charges demonstrate that although religious freedom is guaranteed under Egyptian law, it is often times overruled by sharia (Islamic) law. While it is possible and even encouraged for anyone to convert to Islam in Egypt, it is practically impossible to convert to Christianity legally.  

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ICC is constantly monitoring the state of Christian persecution in countries around the world and looking for ways that we can act as bridge between our supporters and the persecuted church. Beyond the projects you see above, we are working in many other areas to provide practical assistance to our brothers and sisters in Christ. View our other projects page to understand more of our work and keep up to date on our current projects.