Indonesia – Christians Call for Rejection of Sharia-Inspired Bills
Category: Bin Ladenism
reports and articles on those with extremist views that mirror those of Osama Bin Laden
Egypt: video links on online videos regarding persecution of Christian Copts in Egypt
Egypt: Video Links:
— video links on online videos regarding persecution of Christian Copts in Egypt
— Persecution of Coptic Christians Egypt
— Egypt: Muslim Persecution of Christians II
Iraq: Christian Doctor kidnapped, two killed in northern Iraq
Egypt: Report on Christian Copt Churches Attacked
— WorldMag reports: “Churches attacked and Christians arrested? Egypt’s ancient church faces new levels of persecution”
— “As 30-year-old Fulla Asaad and her mother-in-law prepared a midday meal on July 11, they spied three Muslim men with cans of kerosene running through the home’s courtyard in their small, Egyptian town. Yelling for help, they did their best to stop them but the men poured fuel on the adjacent building — a small structure the Asaads had donated to their church. The men set it on fire — the only gathering place for the Coptic Christian community in Ezbet Basilious, a village in Upper Egypt south of Cairo.”
— “After questioning witnesses, local police arrested two Copts, Asaad and 35-year-old Reda Gamal Huzayin, and accused them of attacking their own church. Part of a growing trend throughout Egypt’s Coptic communities, local police and security forces are framing Christians while the perpetrators escape prosecution. And as Islamic radicalism spreads across a nation that plays a key role in the region, so have attacks against the region’s largest and oldest Christian community.”
Canadian Pakistani Christians hold awareness rally on persecution in Pakistan
Canadian Pakistani Christians hold awareness rally on persecution in Pakistan
— Pakistan Christian Post reports:
— “Scarborough: August 19, 2009. (PCP) Despite the Scorching heat of Sunday noon, temperatures rising to 32c the determined friends of Christian Minority of Pakistan held an awareness rally on August 16, 2009 to protest the Acts of Evil by the hands of Muslim Extremists in Scarborough, Canada at the doorsteps of St. Barnabas Church which holds 3 services each Saturday and Sunday which very much get attended by 500 to 700 worshipers each service.”
DC: Egyptian Coptic Christians Protest for Human Rights, Equality, as President Obama Meets Mubarak
On August 18, 2009 in Washington DC, Egyptian Christian Copts and their supporters protested on Pennsylvania Avenue and 17th Street near the White House as President Barack Obama met with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. Protesters included Egyptian Coptic leaders representing the Coptic American organizations around the country. Responsible for Equality And Liberty’s Jeffrey Imm and other human rights supporters also joined this protest. The August 18 protest near the White House followed an August 17, 2009 press conference by Coptic leaders at the National Press Club in Washington, DC.
During the protest, Coptic leaders called for President Obama to demand that Egyptian President Mubarak recognize the human rights and dignity of Egyptian Coptic Christians who are oppressed in Egyptian. Speakers pointed out the ongoing oppression of Egyptian Copts, who are treated as second-class citizens, how Egyptian Copts are pressured into accepting “Islam by force,” and how Egyptian Coptic girls are kidnapped and raped. Coptic leaders called upon Americans to contact President Obama and to contact their Congressional representatives and demand support for the human rights and freedom of religion of Christians Copts oppressed in Egypt.
Due to construction in front of the White House, the Coptic protesters gathered nearby at 17th and Pennsylvania Avenue marching in the nearby area and standing on street corners to protest the continuing oppression of the Copts, which has mostly been ignored by the American news media.
Protesters included people of all ages chanting and marching together for the human rights for the Copts, including a number of girls, boys, and small children who bravely held signs and stood responsible for Copts inalienable human rights.
Protesters chanted for freedom, equality, and justice for the Christians in Egypt, stating that “Christian blood is not cheap,” demanding an end to kidnapping and raping of Christian girls, and calling for equality for Christians in Egypt as citizens.
The Coptic protesters passed out the following flier:
“An Urgent Message to President Obama:
“Under President Mubarak The Copts, The First Egyptians, Are Treated As Last and Least”
“20 Attacks on Copts took place since Mr. Obama’s June 4th speech in Cairo”
“Mr. Mubarak is on a visit to the USA. At the top of his agenda is promoting peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians. We wholeheartedly support his noble mission. However, we wish to remind him that charity starts at home: The Coptic minority in his country badly needs equality, justice, and peace.”
“The Copts are the indigenous inhabitants of Egypt. Their roots entrench as far back as the country’s recorded history. Their number, according to church sources, is approximately 12 millions; about 15% of Egypt’s population. However, discrimination against them is systemic and systematic.”
– “They are deliberately excluded and marginalized. There is one Copt among the 444 elected paramilitary representatives. They are kept below a 2% cap in posts of all State organisms (judiciary, military, police, local governance, diplomatic missions, universities, etc.). Many posts are off-limits altogether.”
– “Freedom of belief is strictly a one-way street, favoring Islam. A presidential decree is required to build any church and more than 100 applications to build new churches await President Mubarak’s decision. Coptic children are indoctrinated in Islam in the Arabic language curricula, obligatory in all schools. State-owned media promote Islam and often disparage Christianity and Judaism as ‘falsified’ religions. Young Coptic girls legally under-age, are lured to leave their families, convert to Islam and marry Muslim men. Muslims, who dare embrace Christianity, are denied recognition by the State (for ‘apostasy from the final and most complete belief’) and treated cruelly by the authorities.”
– “Under Mr. Mubarak’s watch, there have been over 200 documented major attacks on the Copts that resulted in loss of lives, injuries, and destruction of churches and property. Complacent authorities often blame the victims and blackmail them to drop their complaints. Attacks have increased in frequency and severity, as perpetrators enjoy impunity and are never punished: in fact, since President Obama’s June 4th groundbreaking speech in Cairo, at least twenty major attacks took place – including burning one church and the closure of four prayer houses.”
“The list of greivances is long. The bottom line is that one fifth of the Copts have fled Egypt to seek a normal life elsewhere. The remainder must be content with a second-class status. Islam being the the official state religion, and Shari’a (Islamic law) the primary source of legislation, no wonder that citizenship is viewed through a narrow Islamic prism.”
“The Annual Report of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom of May 2009, states: ‘Serious problems of discrimination, intolerance, and other human rights violations against members of religious minorities (…) remain widespread in Egypt. The government has not taken sufficient steps to halt the repression of and discrimination against religious believers, including indigenous Coptic Orthodox Christians, or, in many cases, to punish those responsible for violence or other severe violations of religious freedom.’ The Commission also recommends that ‘the U.S. government urge the Egyptian government to remove de facto responsibility for religious affairs from the state security services (…)’.”
“The Copts are not seeking special privileges or compensations for centuries of discrimination and persecution. They only demand internationally established human rights guarantees to live in their homeland as full-fledged citizens.”
“President Mubarak has, personally, a legal, political, and historical responsibility to act upon these flagrant wrongs.”
“We urge President Obama to raise this important issue with Mr. Mubarak.”
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Coalition of Coptic Organizations Press Release on Need for Peace for Coptic Christians of Egypt
DC: Egyptian Copt Christian Group Holds Press Conference
“WASHINGTON – What started off as a typical press conference turned into a heated exchange Monday when two Egyptian American Muslims challenged statements made by the Coptic Christian speakers.”
“At the press event, the Coptic panel, which included representatives from Voice of the Copts, National American Coptic Assembly, and Young People, decried Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak over the grave human rights situation in the predominantly Muslim country and denounced his visit to the United States. Two Muslims who joined the audience, however, took offense to some of the comments.”
“Both sides criticized the Mubarak administration as corrupt and said they wanted greater respect for religious freedom in Egypt. But arguments began when one of the speakers linked sharia, or Islamic law, to the kidnapping of Coptic girls in Egypt.”
“As tempers flared, the Christian panelists and the Muslim audience members shouted at each other as non-involved attendees sat stunned by the fiery and loud (not to mention not entirely in English) verbal exchange.”
“The Muslim-Christian tension as seen at the press conference reflects the complicated political and social climate in Egypt.”
“During the event, the two sides mostly argued over sharia which is part of Egypt’s legal system. One of the Egyptian Muslims, Ibrahim Hussein, was offended that the Christians had criticized sharia and requested the panel to direct their attack against Mubarak and not sharia.”
“In response, Ashraf Famelah, president of Voice of the Copts, said that he organized Monday’s press conference not to attack Islam or sharia, but to call for human rights, including the rights of Coptic Christians, in Egypt.”
“‘We are talking about human rights,’ said Famelah, an architect by profession who studied and lived in Italy for many years.”
“‘You cannot come to me and tell me that you respect human rights when you have the second amendment in your constitution saying sharia law,” he argued firmly but with his emotions restrained, unlike other panelists.”
“Hussein, who spoke as an individual, and his fellow Egyptian Muslim Dr. Amin Mahmoud, the mid-Atlantic chapter coordinator of the Alliance of Egyptian Americans, informed the Coptic speakers that they were going to hold their own press conference next door the following hour to denounce President Mubarak’s visit and to advocate for human rights and democracy in Egypt.”
“They emphasized that their coalition, which accuses the U.S. of supporting “friendly dictators” such as Mubarak, includes Copts and Muslims alike. The two Muslims wanted to invite the Coptic Christians at the event to join their effort to oppose the Egyptian president, who has ruled the country for 28 years.”
“But the Coptic members firmly resisted the invitation because the Muslim men refused to talk about changing the country’s sharia law.”
“In Egypt, Christians live under extremely unjust laws in which they are treated as second class citizens. Up until a few years ago, Christians were not allowed to construct or fix churches unless they received a permit from the president. Even something as small as fixing the church’s faulty faucet or remodeling the bathroom would require presidential approval. The power to approve such requests was recently granted to governors, but the Coptic community has seen little improvement.”
“No such approval is needed for the construction or fixing of mosques in Egypt.”
“There has also been a rise in reports about the abduction of young Christian girls and their forced marriages to Islamic men in Egypt. The families of the kidnapped girls have filed reports with the police, but Coptic groups say security forces have ignored their requests for investigation or have even harassed the families to keep them quiet.”
“During the press event on Monday, Hussein said he didn’t hear of any kidnappings of Coptic girls when he was living in Egypt. Also, Amin Mahmoud noted that his childhood best friend in Egypt was Christian.”
“But that memory of peace and friendship has become just that – a memory.”
“A Washington Post story that ran last year noted the growing divide between the Christian and Muslim communities in Egypt in recent years. Muslims and Christians once lived side-by-side with few conflicts, and establishing lifelong friendships.”
“Now, the story highlighted, Christians and Muslims live in separate neighborhoods and send their children to separate religious schools.”
“‘We used to eat together, play together,’ said Abdul Aziz, an Egyptian Muslim, who fondly recalled memories of Christian childhood friends, to the Post. ‘Honestly, I don’t understand how it has come to this.'”
“The Coptic Christian population in Egypt consists of an estimated six to eight million and is the largest Christian community in the Middle East. Coptic Christians account for about 10 percent of Egypt’s population.”
“President Mubarak met with President Obama on Tuesday.”
Afghanistan: Law Allowing Starvation of Shiite Wives Not Giving Sex Takes Affect
— BBC: “Row over Afghan wife-starving law”
— “An Afghan bill allowing a husband to starve his wife if she refuses to have sex has been published in the official gazette and become law.”
— “The original bill caused outrage earlier this year, forcing Afghan President Hamid Karzai to withdraw it.”
— “But critics say the amended version of the law remains highly repressive.”
— “The original version obliged Shia women to have sex with their husbands every four days at a minimum, and it effectively condoned rape by removing the need for consent to sex within marriage.”
— “Now an amended version of the same bill has passed quietly into law with the apparent approval of President Karzai.”
— “Women’s groups say its new wording still violates the principle of equality that is enshrined in their constitution.”
— “It allows a man to withhold food from his wife if she refuses his sexual demands; a woman must get her husband’s permission to work; and fathers and grandfathers are given exclusive custody of children.”
— AP: “Female activists condemn Afghan marriage law”
— “They accuse Karzai of sneaking through provision to appease Shiites”
DC: August 18 White House Protest by Coptic Organizations
Voice of the Copts, National American Coptic Assembly, and American Coptic Union plan to hold a peaceful demonstration at 9 AM on Tuesday August 18 “in front of the White House” — see more details below:
VOICE OF THE COPTS along with National American Coptic Assembly and American Coptic Union are to organize a peaceful demonstration, on the occasion of President Mubarak’s visit to Washington DC, in front of the White House.
The human rights organization, VOICE OF THE COPTS, with offices In Italy and USA, invites all human rights organizations, activists, and freedom loving citizens to join us in our demonstration to show support for the Christian Copts.
On Tuesday August 18, 2009 gathering at 9:00AM, at Pennsylvania and 17th Street – Washington DC, then would move towards the White House.
The objective of our peaceful demonstration is to protest and expose to the world the unprovoked, continuous and escalating criminal acts against the defenseless and peaceful Copts in Egypt, their families, their homes, their property and the defaming of their Christian religion by the extremists, encouraged by the policy adopted by the Egyptian regime.
The list of human rights violations against the Christian Copts is too long, as long as the 1429 years of suffering, discrimination and oppression since the Islamic invasion of Coptic Egypt.
-We want to reiterate our rightful demands to President Mubarak and his Regime.
– We seek the deletion of Islamic Laws from the Egyptian Constitution.
– The return of all abducted Coptic women to their families immediately.
– We want equal rights for the over than 15,000,000 Copts in their own homeland.
– We want protection of life and property for the Copts.
– We want freedom of faith.
– We want laws to be passed which guarantees freedom to build our places of worship equal to the rights given to Muslims, without having to beg for a permission every time renovations even to a Church’s lavatory is required.
– We want the Coptic file taken away from the hands of the radical Islamist State Security.
– We want a just and fair representation to the over than 15,000,000 Copts in public life, and their rights to organize themselves in civil non religious organizations.
– We want the immediate release of our innocent Coptic priest Father Metaos. The return of all exiled Coptic spiritual leaders such as, Bishops Amonious of Luxor, Taklah of Isna, Mitias of Al Mahalah, and all others to their followers and parishioners.
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH
– We say no more to attacks on our churches and monasteries without any protection from the authorities.
– We say no more to Muslims killing Copts without being convicted, following Sharia law of the non-conviction of any Muslim for a crime committed against a Christian. Coptic blood is equal to Muslim blood.
– We say no more to the regime’s plan of systematic abduction, rape and forced Islamization of Coptic teenage girls, in conspiracy with the extremists and the security forces.
– We say no more to the enforced Islamization of Christians in Egypt. Even our monks have been subjected to torture to renounce their faith.
– We say no more to the marginalization of Copts.
– We say no to the government’s plan for the Islamization of Egypt.
– We say no to the government’s plan to eradicate the Coptic Identity.
– We say no to any disrespect to our Christian faith.
We appeal to President Obama to stand by his election promises concerning countries which do not respect human rights and freedom of religion.
Let us together send a strong message to Mr. Mubarak and his Regime that such policies will not be tolerated by the free and civilized world. We ask you as a believer in freedom and human rights to help us defend the rights of the Copts in Egypt, for freedom and security.
Support us to obtain justice and stop the ‘ethnic cleansing’ of the Copts.
For any information please contact us on the following e-mail address:
mubarak_18@voiceofthecopts.org
If you are taking the Washington DC subway (Metro), you should exit at the Farragut West (Orange/Blue Lines), Farragut North (Red Line), or McPherson Square (Orange/Blue Lines) metro stops.
FARRAGUT WEST METRO STATION to WHITE HOUSE Walking Directions:
1. Exit station through 18TH & I (EYE) ST NW entrance.
2. Walk approx. 1 block S on 18th St NW.
3. Turn left on Pennsylvania Ave NW.
4. Walk approx. 3 blocks SE on Pennsylvania Ave NW.
FARRAGUT NORTH METRO STATION to WHITE HOUSE Walking Directions:
1. Exit station through CONNETICUT AVE & K ST NW entrance.
2. Walk a short distance S on Connecticut Ave NW.
3. Walk straight on 17th St NW.
4. Walk approx. 1 block S on 17th St NW.
5. Turn left on I St NW.
6. Walk a short distance E on I St NW.
7. Turn right on Connecticut Ave NW.
8. Walk approx. 1 block S on Connecticut Ave NW.
9. Bear right on Jackson Pl NW.
10. Walk approx. 1 block S on Jackson Pl NW.
11. Turn left on Pennsylvania Ave NW.
12. Walk approx. 1 block E on Pennsylvania Ave NW.