• Why Jihad Watch?
  • About Robert Spencer and Staff Writers
  • FAQ
  • Books
  • Muhammad
  • Islam 101
  • Privacy

Jihad Watch

Exposing the role that Islamic jihad theology and ideology play in the modern global conflicts

Egypt: Two Copts arrested for distributing Bibles

Feb 11, 2009 11:44 pm By Raymond Ibrahim

Deemed “insulting to Islam.” “Coptic arrests inflame Egypt’s sectarian tensions,” by Joseph Mayton for the Jerusalem Post, February 11:

The arrests and weeklong detention of two Coptic Christians at the Cairo International Book Fair on February 1 has reignited the seemingly endless tension that continues to grow between Christians and Muslims in Egypt.

State security officials arrested Mina ‘Adil Shawki and ‘Issam Kadees Nassif after they were seen handing out Bibles at the book fair. An Egyptian human rights center said police filed a report against the two men for “defaming Islam.”

The men, from the Upper Egyptian governorate Assiut, were released from detention on February 5, but their case has many activists in an uproar over the perceived double standards police employ against Christians as compared to their Muslim counterparts.

Nagib Gubreil, a Coptic lawyer and head of the Egyptian Union for Human Rights, told The Media Line that Shawki and Nassif were held on charges of preaching, but that this particular offense is not explicitly stated in the Egyptian Constitution.

“So they filed a report against them, accusing them of defaming Islam,” says Gubreil, who has been criticized by activists, both Coptic and Muslim, for allegedly exaggerating a number of religious-based controversies.

Nuha, a Christian postgraduate student at Cairo University, calls the arrests outrageous, claiming a “double standard” that exists in the treatment of Christians as compared to Muslims.

“Almost every day I see tons of Islamic stuff handed out on the streets and the government does nothing, police do nothing. So now, all of a sudden, some Copts pass out some Bibles and they get arrested. It doesn’t seem fair to me,” she says.

The general prosecutor said that a decision to charge the men had “yet to be determined,” corroborating Gubreil’s details of what occurred. He said that police “had to accuse them of something” in order to hold them.

According to reports on a number of Coptic news sites, police claimed the two men had been also distributing CDs from excommunicated priest Zachariah Boutros – known for his outspoken criticisms of Islam – who was removed from the priesthood after constantly attacking Islam from the pulpit of his television program. The show upset many Muslims and Christians.

However, online reports of the incident quoted a close source to the two men that denied that any CDs had been disseminated.

“They better have been passing out this kind of thing, because I am sure if they were arrested for just [distributing] the Bible then it would show some real problems that this country has,” Nuha says. “Because if passing out a holy book can now get someone put behind bars, then surely Christians face a tough time.”[…]

Preaching is a controversial topic on Egypt’s streets. Copts complain of double standards that include allowing Muslims to get away with handing out religiously affiliated materials in the metro rail system, on buses and on the country’s streets.

“I believe that it is a precautionary procedure from state security,” says Ahmad Samih, director of the Cairo-based Andalus Institute for Tolerance and Anti-Violence Studies.

“The state carries out arrests like this in order to keep its eye on Christian activists. Preaching and missionary work are considered serious security issues and the government is intent on maintaining control over them in order to avoid sectarian violence,” he adds.[…]

“Preaching was never a crime, and how could distributing a Bible or two defame Islam?” Gubreil asks. “Copts should be allowed the same rights as Muslims when it comes to preaching.”

Nuha agrees, saying she has often wondered how long the government would allow this sort of “abuse of power” to take place in a country supposedly “tolerant” of its multiple religious communities.[…]

In November, a group of Muslim demonstrators took to the street in front of a building bought and converted by Christians into a prayer hall. The building, a former factory that had been abandoned, lies almost directly across the street from a mosque, sparking anger among the Muslim residents.

To be precise, some 20,000 “Allah-Akbar” screaming, stone-hurling Muslims surrounded the prayer hall, AKA “sectarian strife.”

Permission to open churches is controversial in Egypt, where by law the president must give the final say in the use of a particular space for religious purposes. Rights groups argue that because the president delegates authority in the matter to local officials, Copts have been forced to use illegal places for worship.

Many Muslims argue that it is not the idea of having Christian places of worship that bothers them, it is the manner and place where they are established.

Muna, 62, asks why a church was set up directly in front of a mosque.

“What is the point of that? They [Christians] know that it will create tensions among the population and this sort of in-your-face religion needs to end,” she says.

In other words, Muslims can be “in-your-face” with Islam, and Christians must meekly submit; but if Christians get together to pray, that’s just over the top behavior, and all hell can break loose.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • More
  • Click to share on Skype (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)

Follow me on Facebook

Filed Under: Uncategorized


Learn more about RevenueStripe...

FacebookYoutubeTwitterLog in

Subscribe to the Jihad Watch Daily Digest

You will receive a daily mailing containing links to the stories posted at Jihad Watch in the last 24 hours.
Enter your email address to subscribe.

Please wait...

Thank you for signing up!
If you are forwarding to a friend, please remove the unsubscribe buttons first, as they my accidentally click it.

Subscribe to all Jihad Watch posts

You will receive immediate notification.
Enter your email address to subscribe.
Note: This may be up to 15 emails a day.

Donate to JihadWatch
FrontPage Mag

Search Site

Translate

The Team

Robert Spencer in FrontPageMag
Robert Spencer in PJ Media

Articles at Jihad Watch by
Robert Spencer
Hugh Fitzgerald
Christine Douglass-Williams
Andrew Harrod
Jamie Glazov
Daniel Greenfield

Contact Us

Terror Attacks Since 9/11

Archives

  • 2020
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2019
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2018
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2017
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2016
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2015
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2014
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2013
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2012
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2011
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2010
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2009
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2008
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2007
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2006
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2005
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2004
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • September
    • August
    • July
    • June
    • May
    • April
    • March
    • February
    • January
  • 2003
    • December
    • November
    • October
    • March

All Categories

You Might Like

Learn more about RevenueStripe...

Recent Comments

  • Brando on New study reveals that Muslim religiosity strongly linked to hatred towards the West
  • gravenimage on Audio: Robert Spencer on Muslim Brotherhood influence in a Biden/Harris administration
  • Boycott Turkey on New study reveals that Muslim religiosity strongly linked to hatred towards the West
  • gravenimage on Audio: Robert Spencer on Muslim Brotherhood influence in a Biden/Harris administration
  • gravenimage on Audio: Robert Spencer on Muslim Brotherhood influence in a Biden/Harris administration

Popular Categories

dhimmitude Sharia Jihad in the U.S ISIS / Islamic State / ISIL Iran Free Speech

Robert Spencer FaceBook Page

Robert Spencer Twitter

Robert Spencer twitter

Robert Spencer YouTube Channel

Books by Robert Spencer

Jihad Watch® is a registered trademark of Robert Spencer in the United States and/or other countries - Site Developed and Managed by Free Speech Defense

Content copyright Jihad Watch, Jihad Watch claims no credit for any images posted on this site unless otherwise noted. Images on this blog are copyright to their respective owners. If there is an image appearing on this blog that belongs to you and you do not wish for it appear on this site, please E-mail with a link to said image and it will be promptly removed.

Our mailing address is: David Horowitz Freedom Center, P.O. Box 55089, Sherman Oaks, CA 91499-1964

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.