Islamic Caliphate? Growing Persecution of Coptic Christians Under Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood

1/12/2013

(Page 2 of 2)

Islamists want to apply Shari'a law especially with regard to women. It is very bad for women and very bad for non-Muslims in society."

Saying that the constitution is "not good news" and "does not take into consideration human rights for all," Bishop Aziz said the constitution implicitly sanctions child labor, only warning against forcing youngsters to do work that is too demanding for them.

Citing Article 219, Bishop William said, "The constitution not only outlines the principles of Shari'a, but describes in detail all of the values and opinions contained in the Shari'a. It will be terrible: everything will be interpreted according to Shari'a."

The bishops said that this heavy insistence on Shari'a undermined the credibility of Article 3 in the constitution which asserts the rights of Christians and Jews as well as Muslims.

Describing the constitution as the work of fundamentalist Muslims, Bishop Zakaria said, "It was already hard to get permission to repair a church in [former] President Mubarak's time, now it will be ever harder."

"But it will be much worse for Shiite Muslims, Baha'is, Buddhists and others who are not even recognized in the constitution."

Both Bishops William and Aziz accused the government of severe electoral malpractice in last month's constitution referendum and that with a voter turn-out of only 33 percent the President had no right to pass it into law.

Bishop William referred to reports that ballot slips rejecting the constitution had been found in toilets and that pro-constitution campaigners had bribed voters with oil, rice and other goods.

The referendum followed long-running controversy over the drafting of the constitution.

The Coptic Orthodox Church withdrew in April 2012 from the talks on the constitution in protest at the reportedly Islamist content proposed. Coptic Catholic and Protestant representatives quickly followed suit. Secular parties also later pulled out.

The bishops said that the parliamentary elections due later this year will be a vote of confidence on the new constitution and the government's handling of it.

Bishop William said: "The people should fight for their rights. The Church cannot speak in their name, but we can make people aware of the issues through our Justice and Peace committees."

- - -

Pope Benedict XVI's Prayer Intentions for January 2013
General Intention: The Faith of Christians. That in this Year of Faith Christians may deepen their knowledge of the mystery of Christ and witness joyfully to the gift of faith in him.
Missionary Intention: Middle Eastern Christians. That the Christian communities of the Middle East, often discriminated against, may receive from the Holy Spirit the strength of fidelity and perseverance.

Keywords: Coptic Christians, Coptic Orthodox, Coptic Catholic, persecution, Morsi, Muslim brotherhood, Islamic caliphate, anti-Catholic, anti-Orthodox, anti-Christian, Morsi, Deacon Keith Fournier

NEWSLETTERS »

Previous Page 1 | 2

Rate This Article

Was this helpful to you? Very Helpful Somewhat Helpful Not Helpful at All

Would you be interested in more articles like this? Yes, I am Interested No, I am not Interested

Rate Article

1 - 5 of 5 Comments

Stephen
4 months ago
I have been warning and predicting the onset of pogroms against Christians from the first day the laughably named "Arab Spring" came to the streets of Cairo. The so called freedom and democracy movement in Arab Muslim nations is for freedom and liberty alright, but only for adult Muslim males to persecute all women (including Muslim women) and all Christians.
Tom McGuire
4 months ago
Let us all join the Pope's prayer at Christmas: In the countries of North Africa, which are experiencing a major transition in pursuit of a new future --and especially the beloved land of Egypt, blessed by the childhood of Jesus -- may citizens work together to build societies founded on justice and respect for the freedom and dignity of every person.

We can demand more response from the United States government, but to be effective Catholics need to be united in their support of Coptic Christians. I have heard little about the plight of Coptic Christians in any of the many Catholic Churches I visited in the past month.
Mrs. Rene O'Riordan
4 months ago
Thank you Deacon for this strong and clear call to action. I will repost this on my facebook page and also on the "Voice of the Copts" page to show them we have not forgotten their suffering. - Blessings - Rene
andrew
4 months ago
Arab influence on Islam is shrinking as Islam spreads worldwide and logically it will. Africa is rejecting Islam as never before as education is a prioritization among its people. Question, what would al Banna aka Badie do? Take Egypt to a caliphate stage and work it from square one. Underage marriage is in preparation for a baby 'bomb' and underage labor could translate as child soldiers. It's pasted on the wall and the fundamentalist is reading it as the call to preparation for war. So, will it be the same sympathy we have for Jews of the Holocaust? History must never be repeated while we are awake and can see.
Mathew Thankachen O.Praem
4 months ago
Thank you Deacon Keith for your reminder to pray for the persecuted Christians of Egypt and extolling the role of' Aid to the Church in Need,' historically a Norbertine Apostolate initiated by the 'Bacon Priest' from the Abbey of Tongerlo, Belgium.At the very start of 'Arab Spring', I wrote an article in the Indian Currents.org titled 'Message from Egypt' in which I warned the aggravation of sufferings of Christians in Egypt under the would be new regime of ' majority Democracy' worse than the ' tyranny of Autocracy'. we know historically, it is the disunity and schism among the Christians( Orthodox) that invited the Islam to invade the heart of Christianity in the East. Today, Europe wag their tails and are obliged to Islamic culture to the extent some Christines are afraid to put up "Cross" on their chains or buildings and even want to re-name 'Christmas' into ' holidays'. The same can be expected in America or Europe if they don't listen to the voice of the Lord and preserve Christian/ human culture and faith. If we don't take care, history will repeat itself.
Mathew Thankachen O.Praem.

Comments submitted must be civil, remain on-topic and not violate any laws including copyright. We reserve the right to delete any comments which are abusive, inappropriate or not constructive to the discussion.

Though we invite robust discussion, we reserve the right to not publish any comment which denigrates the human person, undermines marriage and the family, or advocates for positions which openly oppose the teaching of the Catholic Church.

This is a supervised forum and the Editors of Catholic Online retain the right to direct it.

We also reserve the right to block any commenter for repeated violations. Your email address is required to post, but it will not be published on the site.

We ask that you NOT post your comment more than once. Catholic Online is growing and our ability to review all comments sometimes results in a delay in their publication.

Name *

Email *

Comment *

Send me important information from Catholic Online and it's partners. See Sample

Post Comment