Egypt: Christian Convert and Daughter Fugitives from Wrath of Extremists

LA Times: “A Christian on the run in Egypt”
— LA Times reports
: “Maher El Gohary is something his Muslim compatriots can’t fathom: a convert to Christianity. He and his daughter live like fugitives, moving frequently to avoid those who’d like to see him dead.”
— “It is a clear day along the coast, but in a bungalow off the beach, Maher El Gohary sits behind a locked door with an open Bible and a crystal cross, suspicious of every voice and sandal scraping past outside.”
— “He and his daughter, Dina, live like refugees, switching apartments every few months, not wanting to get close to neighbors. Gohary’s life has been threatened, his dogs have been killed, and it’s been suggested that he’s insane or possessed by spirits.”
— “He is a man this Muslim nation cannot fathom: a convert to Christianity.”
— “Islamists believe that Muslims who forsake their religion should be punished by death.”

Russian Prime Minster Putin Supports Chechen Extremist Kadyrov Who Defends “Honor Killings”

Reuters:  “Putin dashes to Chechnya, shows support for Kadyrov”
— “Vladimir Putin visited Russia’s restive Chechnya region on Monday, showing support for a local leader accused by rights groups of abuses and demonstrating Moscow’s presence in a mainly Muslim region racked by violence.”
March 1, 2009: Russia: Chechen President Kadyrov defends extremist “honor killings” — says women deserve to die
April 10, 2009: Russia/Chechnya – Extremist Kadyrov Justifies Polygamy, Calls for “Honor Killings” Against Women Who Are “Promiscuous”

The Women’s Crusade

The Women’s Crusade

— “IN THE 19TH CENTURY, the paramount moral challenge was slavery. In the 20th century, it was totalitarianism. In this century, it is the brutality inflicted on so many women and girls around the globe: sex trafficking, acid attacks, bride burnings and mass rape.”
— “This study found that 39,000 baby girls died annually in China because parents didn’t give them the same medical care and attention that boys received — and that was just in the first year of life. A result is that as many infant girls died unnecessarily every week in China as protesters died at Tiananmen Square.”
— “The global statistics on the abuse of girls are numbing. It appears that more girls and women are now missing from the planet, precisely because they are female, than men were killed on the battlefield in all the wars of the 20th century. The number of victims of this routine ‘gendercide’ far exceeds the number of people who were slaughtered in all the genocides of the 20th century.”
— “Bill Gates recalls once being invited to speak in Saudi Arabia and finding himself facing a segregated audience. Four-fifths of the listeners were men, on the left. The remaining one-fifth were women, all covered in black cloaks and veils, on the right. A partition separated the two groups. Toward the end, in the question-and-answer session, a member of the audience noted that Saudi Arabia aimed to be one of the Top 10 countries in the world in technology by 2010 and asked if that was realistic. ‘Well, if you’re not fully utilizing half the talent in the country,’ Gates said, ‘you’re not going to get too close to the Top 10.’ The small group on the right erupted in wild cheering.”

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

Egyptian Coptic Priest Banned From Village, Under Death Threat

AINA reports:
— “On August 14 Rev. Estefanos Shehata, a Coptic priest, sent a letter to the Middle East Christian Association (MECA) stating the Muslim elders of his village have issued a death Fatwa (religious edict) against him, and have banned him from entering his village because he wants to convert part of his family home into a hall where he can carry out funeral rites and marriage ceremonies. The village of Upper Ezbet Dawoud Yousef is 200 kilometers south of Cairo, in the Minya Governorate, and has no church; religious functions for the 800 Coptic Christians are performed on the street.”
— “Rev. Estefanos said that after converting the 100 square meter room in his family’s home in the village into a prayer hall two years ago, he went to the state security to get the necessary permit, but has not been given an answer nor the permit.”
— “‘I finally went to the state security to get a definite answer to the permit application. They told me I need to obtain ‘permission’ of the village Muslims, as they (state security) want no problems in the village,’ Father Estefanos told Waguih Yacoub of MECA, ‘I told them that I see no problems in getting this permission as we have always had good relations with the village Muslims and we love and consider them as our brothers.'”
— “When he informed the Muslim villagers of his plan, they called for a meeting with the elders of the neighboring villages. ‘They were extremely angry at my proposal and instead of giving their permission, they issued a Fatwa calling for my death. They told the Copts in the village that it takes just one bullet to get rid of me since there is no ‘blood money’ for killing a Christian. I have been banned from my village for over a month now, I cannot even go my mother.'”
— “In a video interview with Free Copts, a Coptic advocacy group, Rev. Estefanos said ‘Enough humiliation and persecution of the Copts, I do not fear death and issuing a Fatwa to spill my blood is an honor for me.’ The interview is available on” YouTube.com.
— “The International Organization for Human Rights, based in Frankfurt, Germany issued a press release condemning the fatwa.”