"Because they have built a mosque five meters away from the church, this means that of course the church, which has been there for twelve years, has to move." Of course.
Democracy On The March Update: "Three Churches Attacked, Egyptian Military Sides With Radical Muslims," by Mary Abdelmassih for AINA, April 9:
(AINA) -- In the last two weeks three attacks on churches were undertaken by Salafis or Islamic Fundamentalists in Egypt. The Salafis demanded churches move to locations outside communities and be forbidden from making repairs, "even if they are so dilapidated that the roofs will collapse over the heads of the congregation," says Father Estephanos Shehata of Samalut Coptic Diocese.
Islamic law forbids Christians to build new churches or repair old ones.
The latest of these incidents took place in the village of Kamadeer, in Samalout, Minya province on April 5, which escalated to the point where it was feared the church would be torched and demolished, as was done in the case of St. George and St. Mina Church in village of Soul, Atfif, on March 5 (AINA 3-5-2011). For three days Muslims occupied the entrance to St. John the Beloved Church in the village of Kamadeer with their mats, praying and sleeping there while thousands of village Copts staged a sit-in for three continuous days in front of the Minya governorate building, vowing not to leave until they got their church back. "Even if it takes one year, we will still be here," said Fr. Youssab in the rally. The Coptic demonstrators demanded the reopening of their church and prosecution of the squatters (video of Coptic sit-in).When the priest arrived at St. John the Beloved church on April 5 he found hundreds of Salafis, who told him and the parishioners that arrived for mass they are "not allowed" to pray at this church any longer.
The problem started when the heavy rain in January 2011 caused the church, which is built of clay bricks and has a timber roof, to suffer severe cracks. The Copts requested from the military permission for repairs. Last week inspectors from the local council visited the church and confirmed the church is dilapidated and poses a threat to the parishioners and must be repaired.
"This has angered the Muslims," said attorney Hani Labib from Kamadeer, "who saw the Copts were going to get permission for renovation because of the state of the church. They told us 'we allowed you to pray here, but there is no question of any building work to be done, this will have to be over our dead bodies.'" He added that police officers summoned a number of Copts from the Kamadeer village and ordered them to sign affidavits not to pray at the church in "deference to the wishes its Muslims." But the Copts refused to sign.
"Salafi Sheikh Mohamad Saleh, called on Muslims to prevent the restoration of the church," said Fr. Estephanos. He added the Muslims said we have to move the church to another location, which was refused. "Because they have built a mosque five meters away from the church, this means that of course the church, which has been there for twelve years, has to move." He said relationships between Copts and Muslims in the village are usually amicable but the Salafis stepped in and incited Muslims from other villages to besiege the church....
What? The Vast Majority of Peaceful Muslims didn't stand up to the Tiny Minority of Extremists?
"A few days before this incident, four Salafis from the neighborhood filed a complaint with the local police claiming "the sound of hymns during mass 'makes their ears ache,'" according to Coptic lawyer Peter el-Naggar. "Fact is the center, which used to be a clothing factory before being bought by the church in 1990, is in the middle of agricultural land.""
because Christians singing praise to God is Un-Islamic...
@Bill Maher article above: "There is one religion in the world that kills you when you disagree with them and they say 'look, we are a religion of peace and if you disagree we'll f---ing cut your head off,'" Maher said. "And nobody calls them on it -- there are very few people that will call them on it."
Feel the love, coming from the hate spit of Islam. Saint John the Beloved's Coptic church in Muslim dominated Egypt is but one more painful reminder of what the world has come to accept as a normal double standard of Islam, and to call them on it is now Taboo. It's called Fear, straight up, undiluted, unadulterated fear that runs down the backbone of the whole Western world's media, academia, and political bureaucracy. Pure, cold fear that will drench us like a cold wet fog both here and abroad, as long as Islam is allowed to burn, rape and torture us, with it's Religion of Peace (™) theo-political idioticy. None dare say it.
That's Islam: Murdering people globally, acting locally, killing one person at a time. Sick!!!
Oh, so this was not b'cos of Terry Jones?
Salafi Sheikh Mohamad Saleh. Is there an Egyptian who can tell us if this guy is a Muslim Brotherhood member? Are the MB Salafist or connected to the Salafists?
It might be helpfull to be able to directly connect the Muslim Brotherhood with this wave of anti christian attacks.
Egypt: Islamic supremacists attack three churches, military sides with Muslims
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I was thinking that the Egyptian military's vow to rebuild that church in the village of Soul—destroyed by a Muslim mob—was too good to imagine as any sort of trend.
Does anyone have an update as to whether they have kept this promise?
More:
"Because they have built a mosque five meters away from the church, this means that of course the church, which has been there for twelve years, has to move." Of course.
...
For three days Muslims occupied the entrance to St. John the Beloved Church in the village of Kamadeer with their mats, praying and sleeping there...
When the priest arrived at St. John the Beloved church on April 5 he found hundreds of Salafis, who told him and the parishioners that arrived for mass they are "not allowed" to pray at this church any longer.
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All very, very common. Muslims who destroyed that church in Soul then claimed it as a mosque.
Muslims have a long history of building mosques right next to non-Muslim places of worship—so that Muslims can then be "offended" by the non-Islamic rituals they are exposed to—or else they just appropriate churches, temples, or synagogues as mosques outright.
Don't expect any word of empathy or solidarity for such persecuted Christians by that suspected Islamic Trojan horse and Muslim Brotherhood agent, Hussein Obama! Hussein needs to be impeached (where's the Tea Party?) - Islamic terrorism on the rise since he became the US Pres. Hussein had the nerve to even want to arm Muslim terrorist rebels in Libya and support the Nazi-like Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt!
From the article, quoting the Coptic priest - "He said relationships between Copts and Muslims in the village are usually amicable..".
Did everybody notice that little word 'usually'??