Coptic Oppression – Page 6 – Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.)

Egypt – AINA reports: “Over 100 Coptic Christian Teenagers Arrested in Egypt”

— “Egyptian State Security has intensified its intimidation of the Coptic Church and Christians in Nag Hammadi, and neighboring Bahgoura, by carrying out random arrests of Christian youth. The campaign against Christians started on Friday January 7, 2010 and is continuing; multiple members of families have been arrested without warrants. Most arrests are being carried at dawn. More than one hundred Christian youth have been arrested without charge.”

— “Arrests of Copts after every sedition is the usual scenario as a pressure card in the hands of State Security to force the church and Copts to accept ‘reconciliation’, in which Coptic victims give up all criminal and civil charges against the perpetrators. Because of the reaction in Egypt and worldwide to the shootings and the role of the State Security, Bishop Kyrollos was asked issue statements downplaying the negligence of State Security. It is believed the arrests of the Coptic youth is a pressure tactic to force him to recant his accusations.”

— “Anwar Samuel, a head teacher from Nag Hammadi, told Freecopts that State Security came to their home at four o’clock in the morning, looking for his nephew Mohareb, who happened to be in Kuwait. ‘Instead they arrested my three other nephews, Fadi, Tanios and Wael Milad Samuel, and took them away in their pajamas.’ He said they have been subjected to electric shocks.”

— “Coptic News Bulletin contacted several families who confirmed that males as young as 16 were taken away by the police. In an aired interviews, affected families told how the Police tricked their sons into going with them, by telling them that Bishop Kyrollos wanted them to do so for their safety.”

— “Habib Tanios was arrested on charges of firing on people who burnt his home in Bahgoura, although he has no rifle.”

— “Families of the arrested Copts congregated all day near police station waiting for news”

— “According to sources close to Freecopts, strict state security instructions were issued to the clergy in the parish of Nag Hamadi, to suppress any move by the Copts affected by the events and the families of those killed, to demonstrate or protest, accompanied by explicit threats that police will be using live ammunition.”

A Christian deacon who was killed during an attack on the Mar Yohana church in Naga Hammadi (Photo: al-Masry al-Yom - Photographer: Pakinam Amer)

Egypt Coptic Christians Murdered in Terrorist Attack Outside Church

The Egyptian Coptic Christians celebrated Christmas on January 7, 2010, but this year’s Christmas celebration was met with terrorist gunfire and murder as Coptic Christians were gunned down outside a Coptic Christmas Eve Mass at the Mar Yohana church on the night of January 6; the terrorist attack was in the town of Nag Hamadi in Qena province. AINA reports that eight Coptic Christians were killed in the gunfire sprayed as Copts were leaving their services, with most murdered young people in their 20s, including “a young man and his fiance and a 14-years-old boy.” One witness told MECA: “Security came as everything was over.”

al-Masry al-Yom reported that “The bishop expressed his astonishment at the security’s failure to protect the church despite previous threats. ‘Security forces were completely absent from the scene,’ he explained. Eyewitnesses said that two police cars with at least ten security officers and guards left the church at 7:30 p.m., about an hour and a half after the start of the mass. ”

This is the latest in a long series of acts of violence and oppression against the Coptic Christians in Egypt. (See also additional reports by AP, BBC, Voice of the Copts, and video of attack aftermath.)

Video:

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On November 23, 2009, AINA reported that “Muslim rioters looted and burned Coptic Christian businesses in the village of Abou Shousha,” with a video showing Copts trying to dowse the flames, while extremists chanted at the end of the video. On November 22, 2009, AINA reported on attacks on Copts, a Coptic priest, destruction of businesses, and eviction of Copts from their home in Farshoot, Egypt, intimidated by a mob of 3,000.

On January 7, 2010, after the latest terrorist attack on Coptic Christians in Nag Hamadi, there were further clashes between Copts and the Egyptian police after protests outside the morgue where bodies of the latest terrorist attack on the Copts were being held.

The Guardian reported on “[c]lashes between thousands of protesters and riot police shook Egypt today after six Coptic Christians were murdered, prompting some of the worst sectarian violence the country has seen.”

Tear Gas Used Against Egyptian Copt Protesters on January 7 - ( AlMasryAlYoum.com -Photographer: ابراهيم زايد) — Tear Gas Used Against Egyptian Copt Protesters on January 7 (al-Masry al-Yom -Photographer: ابراهيم زايد)

“By daybreak hundreds of Christians had gathered at the morgue where the bodies of the dead were being held, chanting anti-government slogans and facing down security forces who fired tear gas and bullets in an effort to disperse the crowd. Stones were thrown at police and a number of ambulances were destroyed by protesters. By lunchtime the number of demonstrators had swelled as locals flocked to attend the funeral of the dead, held in the same church where they were shot the night before, and sporadic rioting broke out across the area.”

Guardian reported that “Pakinam Amer, a journalist for the al-Masry al-Yom website who was at the funeral, said the scene outside the church resembled a war zone. ‘There were tanks parked on the street and huge lines of riot police on either side, some with machine guns,’ she said. ‘All around lampposts were snapped, cars were destroyed and shop-fronts smashed in.’ ”

Guardian also reported ” ‘It is all religious now,’ said the church’s Bishop Kirollos. ‘This is a religious war, about how they can finish off the Christians in Egypt.’ ”

On January 8, Reuters reported that “Three suspects in a shooting that killed six Coptic Christians and a Muslim policeman in southern Egypt have turned themselves in after being squeezed in a police cordon, security sources said on Friday.” Copts have long complained of the inequity of justice in Egypt and that those committing crimes against Copts routinely are not prosecuted or given lenient treatment. Reuters also reported that “Egypt’s government denied it was sectarian violence, however, and said it was an isolated incident.”

Reports:

— Voice of the Copts: Gunmen kill 7 after Christmas Mass in Egypt

Image after January 6 Attack (Photo: VoiceoftheCopts.org) — Image after January 6 Attack (Photo: Saedi Press / AP)

— FreeCopts.Net: Copts Protest In South Egypt After Fatal Shootings

Two Killed in January 6 Nag Hammadi Murders (Photo: FreeCopts.net)

— AINA reported that “An assassination attempt on the life of Bishop Kirollos in southern Egyptian town of Nag Hammadi was foiled tonight. Eight Copts were killed and 15 wounded as they came out of Church after celebrating the Coptic Christmas Eve midnight mass on Wednesday 6th January at 11.15 PM.”

— ” ‘I was the one intended to be assassinated by this plot, and when it failed the criminals turned round and started shooting and finishing off the young ones.’ Bishop Kirollos of the Nag Hammagi Diocese told Middle East Christian Association (MECA) today in an aired interview.”

— “Eyewitnesses saw a dark-green ‘Fiat’ 131 without registration, one Peugeot 504 car and a half-truck. The cars were driven by masked men shooting randomly at the congregation as they came out of Church. The cars then went into three nearby areas (15th March Street, 15 May Street and Railway Station Street) shooting Copts.”

— “One eye-witness told MECA that those killed were mostly young men in their early 20s. He said that most people were killed or wounded near the church, but that the cars went around shooting in other areas, resulting in two more death, besides the wounded. It was reported that among the dead was a young man and his fiance and a 14-years-old boy “.

— “Another witness criticized the absence of security. ‘Security came as everything was over, instead of trying to catch the criminals, they were interrogating us about the description of the cars.’ This video shows the shootings.”

— “An eye-witness told Coptic News Bulletin from Nag Hammadi Hospital that the situation is dire, and there is a critical shortage of blood for transfusions. ‘The Muslims promised us a wonderful Christmas, and I think the message is received now,’he said.”

AP: “Gunmen kill 7 after Christmas Mass in Egypt”
— “Three men in a car sprayed automatic gunfire into a crowd of churchgoers in southern Egypt as they left a midnight Mass for Coptic Christmas, killing at least seven people in a drive-by shooting, the church bishop and security officials said.”
— “Egypt’s Interior Ministry said the attack Wednesday just before midnight was suspected as retaliation for the November rape of a Muslim girl by a Christian man in the same town. The statement said witnesses have identified the lead attacker.”
— “The attack took place in the town of Nag Hamadi in Qena province, about 40 miles from the famous ancient ruins of Luxor. A local security official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media, confirmed that seven were dead and three seriously wounded.”
— “Bishop Kirollos of the Nag Hamadi Diocese said six male churchgoers and one security guard were killed. He said he had left St. John’s church just minutes before the attack.”
— ” ‘A driving car swerved near me, so I took the back door. By the time I shook hands with someone at the gate, I heard the mayhem, lots of machine gun shots,’ he said in a telephone interview. He said he saw five bodies lying on the ground when he first looked at the site of the shooting, about 600 yards from where he was.”
— “The bishop said he was concerned about violence on the eve of Coptic Christmas, which falls on Thursday, because of previous threats following the rape of the 12-year-old girl in November.”
— “He got a message on his mobile phone saying: ‘It is your turn.’ ”
— ” ‘I did nothing with it. My faithful were also receiving threats in the streets, some shouting at them: ‘We will not let you have festivities,” he said.”
— “Because of the threats, he said he ended his Christmas Mass one hour early.”
— “He said Muslim residents of Nag Hamadi and neighboring villages rioted for five days in November and torched and damaged Christian properties in the area after the rape. “

Egypt Copts killed in Christmas church attack
— BBC reports:
— “At least five Coptic Christians have been killed in a drive-by shooting outside a church in southern Egypt, officials say.”
— “The shooting came as worshippers left the church in Naj Hammadi after a midnight mass on Coptic Christmas Eve.”
— “Unidentified gunmen sprayed gunfire indiscriminately into the crowd, officials said.”
— “Two Muslims passing the church were among 10 people reportedly injured in the attack.”
— “Naj Hammadi is 40 miles (64km) from Luxor, southern Egypt’s biggest city.”
— “Coptic Christians account for about 10% of the Egypt’s population of 80 million.”

— Pakistan Christian Congress — Egypt: Extremist Muslims gun down 7 Coptic Christians in Egypt

— November 2009 – Egypt: “Muslim Mob” of 3,000 — Mob Attacks Christian Businesses, Individuals — Rioting Spreads in Upper Egypt

Previous R.E.A.L. Postings on Copts

Egypt — BBC Report: “Egypt’s Coptic Christians battle for ID cards”

Egypt: Bloomberg News Reports on Bias, Oppression of Christian Copts — OIC “too busy” to respond to Bloomberg News questions

American Copts Protest in NYC and LA on Anti-Christian Sectarian Violence in Egypt

Human Rights Day — Voice of the Copts Address and Video

DC Examiner: Protection of religious minorities is major theme of 2009 Human Rights Day News Conference

Epoch Times: “International Human Rights Day — Comments Made At National Press Club”

Egypt: Human Rights Activists Call for Banning Extremist Television Channels

Egypt: Voice of the Copts Open Letter to Coptic Pope

Egypt: Outrage over Swiss vote on minarets, while Egypt oppresses Coptic Christians

Egypt: “Muslim Mob” of 3,000 — Mob Attacks Christian Businesses, Individuals — Rioting Spreads in Upper Egypt

ICC Report: “Religious Freedom Not a US Priority toward Allies Egypt and Saudi Arabia”

Egypt Hosts OIC Conference on “Children’s Rights”

Egypt: 15 Year Old Egyptian Convert to Christianity Sends Plea to Obama — Dina el-Gowhary

Egypt: “The Disappearance, Forced Conversions, and Forced Marriages of Coptic Christian Women in Egypt”

Egyptian Christian Monk Father Aghabeos El-Moharkee Reports Death Threats

Egypt: Christian Coptic Blogger in Egypt Threatens Hunger Strike

Egyptian Security Arrests Several Christians for Praying At Home

Egyptian Christians Fear More Muslim Violence

Egypt: Coptic Blogger in Egypt Pressured to Convert in Prison

Egypt arrests 30 in Muslim-Copt clashes – Muslim residents hurl stones at church construction workers

Egypt: “Coptic Family Forced to Surrender Woman Rescued in Egypt”

Egypt: Christian Arrested for Distributing Tracts in Egypt

“Egyptian Police Arrest Christian Father for Attempting to Free Kidnapped Daughter”

Egypt: Mourners Protest Islamic Attacks on Copts in Egypt

Egyptian Christian’s murder sparks sectarian tension

Egypt: Thousands of Christians Gather to Pray for Equality in Egypt

Egyptian Copts abroad call for national strike in Egypt — on September 11

Voice of Copts report: “Egyptian Regime protecting drug dealers and abusers”

Egyptian Coptic Priest Banned From Village, Under Death Threat — Rev. Estefanos Shehata

“Egypt — Two Copts Imprisoned after Reporting Attack”

Egypt: video links on online videos regarding persecution of Christian Copts in Egypt

Egypt: Report on Christian Copt Churches Attacked

DC: Egyptian Coptic Christians Protest for Human Rights, Equality, as President Obama Meets Mubarak

Coalition of Coptic Organizations Press Release on Need for Peace for Coptic Christians of Egypt

DC: Egyptian Copt Christian Group Holds Press Conference

DC: August 18 White House Protest by Coptic Organizations

Egypt — AINA Report: “Abduction and Forced Islamization of Christian Coptic Girls Continues in Egypt”

Egypt: Report on Increasing Extremist Intolerance to Women, Christians

Egypt: Two Christians Coptic Girls Abducted for “forced Islamization”

Egyptian Christian Father Demands Justice for His Murdered Son

Egypt: Report Christians Attacked, Building Torched for Seeking to Worship

“Egyptian Security Refuses to Return Abducted Christian Coptic Girl”

Egypt’s Christians face fresh attacks and legal battles

Egypt: “Family of Abducted Christian Coptic Teenager Assaulted By Muslim Mob”

Egypt — Convert Woman Arrested for Marrying Christian

Egypt – BBC Report: “Egypt’s Coptic Christians battle for ID cards”

BBC Report: “Egypt’s Coptic Christians battle for ID cards”

Egypt: Bloomberg News Reports on Bias, Oppression of Christian Copts — OIC “too busy” to respond to Bloomberg News questions

Bloomberg News reports – “Letter from Egypt: Complaints of Bias Can Go Both Ways in Egypt – by Daniel Williams”
— Egypt Forces Copts to Hide as Muslims Hit Swiss Minaret Ban
— “On a side street in the far northeast Cairo suburb of Ain Shams, the door of a five-story former underwear factory is padlocked.”
— “This is, or was supposed to be, the St. Mary and Anba Abraam Coptic Christian Church. The police closed it Nov. 24, 2008, when Muslims rioted against its consecration. Since then local Copts have had to commute to distant churches or worship in hiding at one another’s homes.”
— “While Muslim leaders criticized the Nov. 29 vote in Switzerland that banned construction of minarets, the distinctive spires on mosques that are used for the call to prayer, they don’t support Christians who want to build churches in some Islamic countries. Restrictions in Egypt have exacerbated sectarian violence and discrimination, say Copts, a 2,000-year-old denomination that comprises about 10 percent of the population.”
— “The day after the Swiss vote, Ali Gomaa, one of Egypt’s top Muslim clerics, called the decision ‘an attempt to insult the feelings of the Muslim community in and outside of Switzerland.’ ”
— “Copts quickly said that neither he nor any other Islamic leader mentioned the Christian situation in Egypt.”
— ” ‘Without the merest attempt to put our house in order, are we in any position to taunt others to put theirs?’ Youssef Sidhom, editor in chief of the Cairo-based Egyptian Coptic weekly newspaper El-Watani, said by telephone. ‘They should be ashamed.’ ”
— “The contrast between criticism of the Swiss and silence about local parallels isn’t limited to Egypt. Censure of Switzerland, where about 5 percent of the population is Muslim, was widespread in Islamic countries where Christians face restrictions on practicing their faith.”
— ” ‘The decision of the Swiss people stood to be interpreted as xenophobic, prejudiced, discriminative and against the universal human rights values,’ said the Organization of the Islamic Conference in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, which represents 57 Muslim-majority nations.”
— “Members include Saudi Arabia, where non-Muslims are arrested for worshiping privately; Maldives, the Indian Ocean atoll where citizenship is reserved for Muslims; Libya, which limits churches to one per denomination in cities; and Iran, where conversion from Islam is punished by death, according to a 2009 U.S. State Department report on religious freedom.”
— ” ‘The Copts are a minority. Why do they need more churches?’ Harbi Muhammed Ali, a cafe owner in Ain Shams, said in an interview. ‘There are other churches around. If you have one car, do you need two?’ ”
— “As for Switzerland, ‘the West is always preaching human rights,” he said. “It’s their problem.’ ”
— “Requests for interviews with officials of the government and at the state-controlled Al-Azhar University in Cairo, the country’s largest institution of Islamic learning, went unanswered.”
— “And requests for interviews at the Islamic conference’s Geneva office, which issued the criticism of the Swiss ban, were rejected because officials were too busy, said a person who answered the telephone there.”
— “In Egypt, local officials oversee permits for church construction and renovation, which must receive endorsement from Muslims in the neighborhood and final approval from President Hosni Mubarak.”
— ” ‘Church and human rights leaders complain that many local officials intentionally delay the permit process,’ the U.S. State Department report said. ‘As a result, congregations have experienced lengthy delays, years in many cases, while waiting for new building permits.’ ”
— “Ain Shams is a sprawling district of narrow lanes and multistory housing with a majority Muslim population. The rioting there began after Copts renovated the factory and said Mass, Muslim and Christian residents said. Rioters carried a banner that read ‘No to the church,’ chanted ‘There is no god but God’ and threw stones at the police who kept them at bay.”
— “Today, only a wrought-iron cross design on the locked front door marks the place as a church.”
— “Just down the street, Muslim residents constructed a lime green Mosque of Light at the same time that the Copts were modifying their building.”
— ” ‘Of course, they closed us down, but the mosque is open,’ said Hossama Sedik, 30, a Coptic day laborer.”
— “There are about 40 Coptic churches in Egyptian cities and scores more in towns and villages, especially in southern Egypt, along with even larger numbers of clandestine prayer houses, said Bishop Thomas, a Coptic priest who operates a retreat outside Cairo.”
— “In October, Muslims hurled stones at Christian workers in Al-Badraman, a village south of the city, because they were going to raise the steeple and add a bell at a church, according to press reports. In 2007, riots erupted in Behma, another southern village, after word spread that Copts were going to build a church without a permit. About 27 Christian-owned houses and shops were torched.”
— “Parallel to these incidents are clashes over such issues as conversion and alleged harassment of Muslim girls by Copts, and Coptic girls by Muslims. ‘It’s a challenge to hold onto the concept of love and peace,’ said Thomas, 52.”
— “After he founded his retreat 10 years ago, Muslims set up four small mosques, complete with minarets, just outside the four corners of the rectangular enclosure. ‘They make a point that if we are here, the Muslims must be, too,’ he said.”
— “Even so, he joined Muslims in denouncing the Swiss ban. ‘If I want freedom to build in Egypt, I must also want it in Switzerland,’ he said.”

R.E.A.L Reports on Copts

AINA: "A video posted by Free Copts shows the Abou Shusha fires."

American Copts Protest in NYC and LA on Anti-Christian Sectarian Violence in Egypt

ICC reports: “American Copts Protest Anti-Christian Sectarian Violence in Egypt”

“Washington, DC (December 14, 2009) – International Christian Concern (ICC) announces the commencement of three Coptic rallies to be held in several U.S. cities.”

“American Coptic Christians have coordinated demonstrations to voice their concerns over the vast increase of sectarian violence toward Christian minorities in Egypt. The rallies will be held in New York and Chicago on December 14th, and Los Angeles on December 27th.”

“Anti-Christian clashes have hit a boiling point in upper Egypt and in villages throughout the country. The Egyptian government has refused to intervene, leaving Copts defenseless at the hands of Muslim mobs. Egypt’s government has committed grave violations of human rights by failing to protect the Coptic minority and forcing the deportation of Copts from villages where anti-Christian attacks have occurred. The government has also ignored the abduction and incarceration of Coptic women by Muslim men, an overt abuse on women which directly corresponds with the UN’s definition of human trafficking.”

“Aidan Clay, ICC Regional Manager for the Middle East, said ‘These rallies will bring awareness to the flagrant rise of persecution against the Coptic Christian minority under Islamic-based coercion. ICC backs the American Coptic community in condemning the Egyptian government for deliberately allowing human rights abuses toward Christians to continue without penalty. We encourage Christians in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles to join the rallies in support of fellow Christians who are suffering in Egypt.’ ”

Please visit Free Copts online for more information. (http://freecopts.net/english/)

— Christian Post: “U.S. Coptic Christians to Rally Against Persecution in Egypt”

Egypt: “Muslim Mob” of 3,000 — Mob Attacks Christian Businesses, Individuals — Rioting Spreads in Upper Egypt
Other R.E.A.L. Reports on Copts

Epoch Times: “International Human Rights Day – Comments Made At National Press Club”

Epoch Times: “International Human Rights Day – Comments Made At National Press Club”

The Epoch Times
December 12, 2009
By Gary Feuerberg
Epoch Times Staff
http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/26390/

Jeffrey Imm, from Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.), said nations and individuals should uphold the principles of equality and liberty. (Lisa Fan/Epoch Times)

WASHINGTON — International Human Rights Day, December 10, received scant world attention this year, apart from a handful of people and cities around the globe. In the nation’s capital, a few people spoke at a forum at the National Press Club, using this occasion to call attention to what they said were particularly egregious violations of human rights.

Sixty-one years ago, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was adopted and proclaimed by the General Assembly of the United Nations, following the horrors and human tragedies associated with World War II and the Holocaust.

“Universal human rights” has become an accepted concept that encompasses all nations, religions and elasticities. Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, said last year that the UDHR acknowledged the “inherent dignity and equality of all human beings.”

On Dec 10, we not only remember to support universal human rights, “but also we remember those who have denied them, including totalitarian and supremacist nations and ideologies of the world…,” said Jeffrey Imm, representing “Responsible for Equality and Liberty (R.E.A.L.),” which sponsored the event held at the National Press Club.

R.E.A.L., consisting of all volunteers from the U.S. Canada, UK, and Europe, is a new organization that started this year. R.E.A.L. also sponsored a public meeting acknowledging human rights day in Nuremberg, Germany as well as private meetings in Chicago and Los Angeles. [edit: note I stated New York, not Chicago].

Many Islamic countries in violation of universal human rights

Individuals and nations violate universal human rights when they don’t make “equality and liberty” their number one priority, according to Imm. This is a high standard to meet in today’s world. This forum focused on two major violators of universal human rights: the governments of Moslem majority countries enforcing religious or Sharia law, and totalitarian communist China.

Two countries mentioned most frequently in this event, Pakistan and China, were declared by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), as Countries of Particular Concern (CPC) — a list of 13 nations that are the worst offenders of religious freedom. Egypt, also mentioned often, is on the Commission’s “Watch List.”

The use of blasphemy laws against Christians in Pakistan beginning in the 1980s has damaged the harmony among religious communities, according to Nazir Bhatti, President of Pakistan Christian Congress. Bhatti cited more than 7000 cases of these laws that occurred from 1984 to 2009. “Thirty-two [persons] accused of blasphemy were murdered in jails, police lockups or in streets by hands of radical Islamic elements,” said Bhatti.

Pakistan was declared an Islamic Republic in 1973, and their constitution and legislation proclaimed Pakistan to be home to Muslims only, according to Bhatti. The USCIRF states that Pakistan’s blasphemy laws “commonly involve false accusations and result in the lengthy detention of and violence against Ahmadis, Christians, Hindus, and Muslims on account of their religious beliefs.”

In the 1980s, amendments were added to the blasphemy laws that imposed capital punishment, said Bhatti. Apparently, the law may influence public opinion. Imm cited a Pew Global Research poll conducted in Pakistan last Aug, which found that 78 percent believe in the death penalty for those who made the choice to leave Islam.

“The blasphemy law was used by the Muslim majority in Pakistan to settle personal disputes and business rivalries against Christians…after 1986, said Bhatti. Christian villages “were attacked by Muslim mobs and hundreds of homes set on fire.” He cited 10 towns where the churches were attacked and worshippers gunned down. The Holy Bibles were desecrated, pastors were gunned down and moreover children and women were burnt alive,” said Bhatti. He would like to see the rppeal of the blasphemy laws and the Sharia law on the 20 million Pakistani Christians.

No less incensed by the imposition of Sharia law was Ashraf Ramelah, President of Voice of the Copts, and an Egyptian. He spoke on behalf of Christians of Egypt (known as Copts). “We demand an end to kidnapping minor Christian girls, forcing them to convert to Islam. Those girls are often raped and tortured using inhuman techniques by Muslim extremists.”

Ramelah said: “Any crime committed against a Coptic woman[in Egypt] is treated without morality, conscience and legal deterrence….In examining what happened only in [Egyptian President Hosni] Mubarak’s era, it’s effortless to point out no single kidnapper was brought to justice, in spite of the gravity of the crime and its frequency.”

Ramelah charged that the reason that nothing is done and why there is no official count of the number of girls harmed is due to the complicity on the part of Egyptian law enforcement and the kidnappers.

Imm expressed his strong disapproval of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) — an organization of 57 nations with mostly Moslem majorities — when in 1990, it created the Cairo Declaration of Human Rights in Islam (CDHRI). Imm said the CDHRI is an attack on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Bhatti said the adoption of the CDHRI was expressing “no confidence in UDHR” and the supremacy of Sharia law.

“[The OIC] made a conscious decision to deny our unqualified universal human rights, other than those rights allowed by interpretations of Islamic Sharia law,” said Imm.

Recently, the OIC has attempted to pass at the UN a “defamation of religion” resolution, which Leonard A. Leo, chair of USCIRF, called an attempt to “create a global blasphemy law.” Leo said on Oct. 24 that this resolution really “promotes intolerance” and would be used to empowered repressive governments and religious extremists to suppress and punish members of minority religions and sects.

Many of the OIC nations were signatory to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989), which is a document that applies UDHR principles to children. These OIC countries are on record expressing “reservations” on those rights, according to Imm.

“We have seen a growing problem of child marriages, arranged marriages, and ‘honor killing’ violence in many of these nations that claim to be advocates of children’s rights. …Somalia is a nation where a 13-year-old girl has been publicly stoned to death as punishment by an Islamic Sharia so-called court for being the victim of gang rape. But an epidemic of violence against children is also found in many other OIC countries,” said Imm.

Falun Gong practitioners share experiences of Chinese Communist torture

A local Falun Dafa practitioner, Lisa Tao, discussed some of the ordeals she and other practitioners suffered when they lived in Communist China. Ms. Tao grew up in China and lived through the Great Cultural Revolution, when her father and four other members of her family were killed.

“I was also frequently beaten and many times I was close to being beaten to death,” said Tao. Tao was “guilty” of being born into a wealthy family which the communist regime targeted for special humiliations and punishments.

Lisa Tao (l) and Jin Pang (r) spoke about torture and deaths by the Chinese Communist Party. (Jenny Jing/Epoch Times)

After immigrating to the United States, Ms. Tao became a practitioner of Falun Gong, which China has persecuted since 1999. Tao has become involved in daily protests at the Chinese Embassy in Washington.

Tao brought with her to the conference evidence in the form of real people who suffered under the current Chinese regime or are relatives of such persons. Tao introduced Ms. Quiying Wang, who was sent to a labor camp for practicing Falun Gong.

“One day in June 2000 at the Tuanhe Deployment Center in Beijing, police ordered her to take off all her clothes and squat in the sun, from 10 a.m. in the morning until 11. p.m. In the days that followed, she was also forced to stand still from 5 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., 17 hours everyday, for nine days,” said Tao.

Tao introduced Jin Pang, who said that her mother and aunt were sentenced in October 2008 to 10 and 9 years, respectively, for practicing Falun Gong. Ms. Pang described the interrogation when her mother was arrested in August 2008 during the Beijing Olympics. Over10,000 Falun Gong practitioners were arrested before and during the Olympics, according to the Falun Gong Human Rights Working Group, not because the regime was concerned about practitioners interfering with the Olympics, but so it could use the Olympics as a pretext to intensify its persecution of Falun Gong.

Pang said her mother’s interrogation in the Weifang detention center lasted five days. “Six people took turns to interrogate her. During these 100 plus hours, she was not allowed to close her eyes even for a second, and if she did, they would pour cold or hot water on her. They also forced her to continually sit on an iron chair. She was tortured so badly that she lost control of her bowels,” said Pang. They stopped for a day and then resumed the torture for another three nights.

“The Chinese Communist regime is a devil,” said Tao. “Its destructive nature can never change. As long as it exists, it will not stop killing. This persecution can be stopped only if the [Communist] Party dissolves.”
======================

Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.)
https://www.realcourage.org

In Washington DC, R.E.A.L. held a press conference at the National Press Club, which included speakers:

* Jeffrey Imm, Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.), on women’s and children’s rights, the dual challenge of religious extremism and freedom, the challenges to human liberty by totalitarian ideologies, and growing challenges to racial equality by supremacists
— Jeffrey Imm Human Rights Day Remarks: Adobe Acobat format, Microsoft Word format

* Dr. Nazir Bhatti, Pakistan Christian Congress, on Pakistan’s blasphemy law, threats, attacks, and killings of Christian religious minorities in Pakistan
— Dr. Nazir S. Bhatti remarks: “US administration urged to condition Pakistan Aid with Repeal of Blasphemy Law”

* Ashraf Ramelah, The Voice of the Copts, on the suppression of Christian religious minorities in Egypt, including kidnapping and forced conversion of Coptic Christian women and girls
— Ashraf Ramelah Remarks: “Suppression of Christian religious minorities in Egypt”

* Lisa Tao, Falun Dafa (Falun Gong), on human rights atrocities against the Falun Gong over the past 10 years in Communist China (in Chinese with English Interpreter).
— Lisa Tao Human Rights Day Remarks: Microsoft Word format (English), Microsoft Word format (Chinese)

DC Examiner: Protection of religious minorities is major theme of 2009 Human Rights Day News Conference

Protection of religious minorities is major theme of 2009 Human Rights Day News Conference

December 10, 11:15 PM DC Human Rights Examiner Justina Uram

Justina Urman in the DC Human Rights Examiner reports:

“DC-based human rights activists and advocates commemorated Human Rights Day 2009 with a well-attended Human Rights News Conference sponsored by Responsible for Equality And Liberty (REAL) at the National Press Club in Washington, DC. ”

” ‘Not only do we recognize our declaration in support of such universal human rights, but also we remember those who have denied them, including the totalitarian and supremacist nations and ideologies of the world that seek to continue to deny such universal rights today.’ ”

“In his opening remarks, REAL founder Jeffrey Imm called for US ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the end of violence against women as priorities in defending human rights. He also focused on the human rights challenges presented by religious supremacism. ‘We really need a human rights dialogue on the challenges of religious extremist threats to our universal human rights.’ ”

“In his presentation on the persecution of Pakistani Christians by the Muslim majority, Dr. Nazir Bhatti, of the Pakistan Christian Congress, explained that Pakistan’s strict blasphemy laws allow the killing of religious minorities to go unchecked.”

” ‘Christians [in Pakistan] are in the process of genocide…The situation of human rights is worsening and persecution of Christians is at a rise in Pakistan.’ ”

“Bhatti warned that Pakistan will continue to breed terrorism unless the United States’ government puts conditions on further aid to Pakistan that include the repeal of their blasphemy laws and an amendment to Article 2 of the Constitution of Pakistan, which declares Islam as the state religion of Pakistan.”

“Following Bhatti’s presentation, Dr. Ashraf Ramelah, President of the Voice of the Copts, remarked on the oppression of Egypt’s Christians, particularly women and young girls.”

” ‘Coptic women and girls are targeted for a specific plan of forced Islamization in Egypt…the abduction of Coptic women is not just a passing phenomenon but is part of a widespread plan aimed to clean the Middle East of Christians.’ ”

“In addition to denouncing the forced conversion of Coptic women, Ramelah also called for a repeal of Article 2 of the Egyptian Constitution, which declares Islam as the state religion of Egypt.”

“Though both Bhatti and Ramelah’s remarks focused on the human rights abuses faced by religious minorities at the hand of Islam, Imm reminded the group, ‘we do not attack or condemn Islam or all Muslims, but we do challenge all human beings to recognize that we face an extremist challenge to human rights in the world today.’ ”

“The final speaker, Lisa Tao of Falun Dafa turned the conference’s focus in a different direction. Giving a heartfelt presentation in her native language, Tao described the human rights abuses she faced as a young girl at the hands of the Chinese Communist Party.”

” ‘My father was tortured to death. I was called ‘a child of the Five Black Categories.’ My life was full of humiliation and I had to struggle for many years just to stay alive.’ ”

“Tao, who is now an American citizen, explained that she and her husband began practicing Falun Gong to help them heal from the torture they suffered in China. Tao’s translator, 25-year old Pang Jin, relayed the recent arrest, torture, and prolonged detainment of her mother and aunt for their adherence to Falun Gong. ”

” ‘My aunt was abducted on July 9, 2009 and has been detained since then. On October 18, I was informed that the Weifang City district court, after delaying for a year, sentenced my Mom, Cao Junping, to 10 years.’ ”

“Tao then shared numerous examples of human rights violations by the Chinese government against Falun Gong practitioners and thanked Americans for their support and willingness to hear her story. ”

” ‘I feel that these practitioners are just like my brothers and sisters…We hope Americans, who are kind and righteous, will give a hand to rescue our brothers and sisters and stop this brutal persecution.’ ”

“Clearly, the 2009 Human Rights Day News Conference provided a forum for the discussion of human rights stories and perspectives not often covered by mainstream media. For more detailed information about The Human Rights Day News Conference, please contact the author at The Human Rights Blog. ”

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December 10, 2009 - Washington DC - National Press Club Human Rights Day Speakers: Voice of the Copts Ashraf Ramelah, Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.)'s Jeffrey Imm, Falun Dafa (Falun Gong)'s Lisa Tao, Pakistan Christian Congress' Dr. Nazir Bhatti, Lisa Tao's Translator Pan Jin — December 10, 2009 - Washington DC - National Press Club Human Rights Day Speakers (left to right): Voice of the Copts Ashraf Ramelah, Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.)'s Jeffrey Imm, Falun Dafa (Falun Gong)'s Lisa Tao, Pakistan Christian Congress' Dr. Nazir Bhatti, Lisa Tao's Translator Pang Jin

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Human Rights Day – Voice of the Copts Address and Video

Remarks by Voice of the Copts’ Ashraf Ramaleh on Oppression of Christian Copts in Egypt

Voice of the Copts – Ashraf Ramelah
— Ashraf Ramelah – Online Video – Part 1
— Ashraf Ramelah – Online Video – Part 2
— Ashraf Ramelah – Online Video – Part 3

— Ashraf Ramelah Remarks: “Suppression of Christian religious minorities in Egypt”

Epoch Times: “International Human Rights Day – Comments Made At National Press Club”

DC Examiner: Protection of religious minorities is major theme of 2009 Human Rights Day News Conference

R.E.A.L.'s Jeffrey Imm and Voice of the Copts Ashraf Ramelah on Human Rights Day

Egypt: Voice of the Copts Open Letter to Coptic Pope

by Dottore Architetto Ashraf Ramelah

His Holiness Pope Shenuda III, Patriarch and Bishop’s President of the great Alexandria, I am certain that this open letter will meet various disappointments in the Coptic community. I am certain that you will understand that the only reason I write is my concern for the Coptic situation and your relationship to the Church as its leader. I believe that our Lord wanted you to guide his Church. Meanwhile this does not mean that everything you do meets his will.

For some time, I have been observing the Church leaders’ statements on various occasions, and I regret to admit that certain reports were against Copts, the Coptic Church, and overall, against Bible teaching.

In all these years, the reports issued by the Church leaders contradicted the facts about Copts and had the goal to help the regime in painting a nice picture for those outside the country so that it appeared without discrimination against the Copts in Egypt.

His Holiness; I can hear your voice whisper, “Son, the Church must say certain things for the sake of peace and to protect its sons.” The question that comes to mind is how many Copts were killed, or jailed? How many Copts lost their homes and businesses? How many Coptic girls continue to suffer as a result of being kidnapped? How many girls were forced to change their faith? Did the Church’s statements serve to save any Coptic life, home or business? Or more likely, just help Mubarak’s regime to attack the human rights of Copts?

His Holiness; The Lord teaches us to stand against the bad without fear, but now it seems that our Church is trying to please a dictatorial regime instead of standing beside its children. For more than 40 years our Church has been under clear attack. We have never heard any Church strong statement condemning any of those barbaric acts!

The sad reality is that all the years the Church covered up the regime’s acts of oppression and discrimination against Copts it served to discredit any Coptic human rights issues bringing the suffering of Copts to the international body.

All Copts need to hear straight forward answers from church leaders to the following questions:

– Are Copts living under a regime that oppresses and discriminates against them or is the information reported in various websites, local and international news media incorrect and the Coptic in the Diaspora trying with their false information to discredit the great democratic leader ruling the country for the last 28 years?

– Was the government action to massacre more than 600,000 pigs owned by Copts a plan to damage Coptic income and to force more than two millions Copts to go hungry or to change their faith? The massacre of those animals violated basic animal’s rights and basic humanity.

– Did the Church create a list of the kinds of food to be eaten that people have to follow? Christ gives us our freedom and no one can take it away. It is written, “Not that which entereth into the mouth defileth the man; but that which proceedeth out of the mouth, this defileth the man.” Matt 15:11.

The statement issued at the time of the pig massacre indicating that Copts do not eat pork meat is an example of political correctness. The Copts have been subject to the political correctness method for more than 1400 years. Furthermore, to make such a statement goes against Christ’s teaching in the following scripture, which says, “Let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No’ mean ‘No.’ anything more is from the evil one.” Matt 5:37. However, we all know that David, Samson, and Solomon were all chosen of God and each made mistakes.

– When are we going to stand up and ask for our rights as Egyptian citizens and not as Christians living in Egypt? It is both basic and elementary that a human being be treated with respect and treat others with respect.

My final concern is related to a strange comment made by Your Holiness when referring to the candidacy of a Copt for president in the upcoming presidential election. You said that it is not good that one from a minority group become president of a majority group.

I would like to mention something you have forgotten, that of the requirements for making a bid for president:

– The candidate must be Egyptian.

– Copts are Egyptian and they never minded being governed by the non-Coptic.

– The President has to be honest and care about his own country.

In the USA the president today is African-American and African-Americans are a minority in America. They are a smaller percentage of US population than the Coptic minority is in Egypt.

Dottore Architetto Ashraf Ramelah

President

www.voiceofthecopts.org

www.lavocedeicopti.org

Egypt: Outrage over Swiss vote on minarets, while Egypt oppresses Coptic Christians

Egypt: ‘City of a thousand minarets’ disgruntled at Swiss vote
— Daily Telegraph: “But official reactions will be subdued in a country – Egypt – where minority Coptic Christians wanting to build new churches have been met with strong resistance”
— “Official reactions will also be subdued in a country where minority Coptic Christians wanting to build new churches have been met with strong resistance, and where a draft law on the issue in parliament has been blocked.”

— R.E.A.L. Reports on Egyptian Oppression of Coptic Christians