Pope Tawadros said: “The acts of violence against Christians in Iraq, Syria and other areas may be interconnected. There is a kind of pressure on Christians in the Middle East…”
The Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarch Gregory III Laham said in 2006 that “after 11 September, there is a plot to eliminate all the Christian minorities from the Arabic world.”
“Pope Tawadros II Says Christians Continue to Flee Egypt, Urges Against ‘Foreign Interference,'” from MidEast Christian News, August 30:
H.H. Pope Tawadros II of Alexandria has said there is pressure on Christians in the Middle East that has led to the migration of large numbers of Christians from the region.
The pope added that Egypt is experiencing tough times that would be followed by a new birth. He pointed out that Copts are deeply rooted in the land of Egypt and they reject any foreign interference in the affairs of Egypt in form and substance.
“The acts of violence against Christians in Iraq, Syria and other areas may be interconnected. There is a kind of pressure on Christians in the Middle East, and a large proportion of Christians have already migrated from Iraq,” Pope Tawadros said during an interview with Hadith el-Youm program.
He believed that wars in the Arab world aim at fragmenting the region.
The pope pointed out that Egypt is now experiencing painful times, but this would be followed by a new birth. He explained that the reasons for such a situation in the country are many and accumulated, and are not the result of the present moment.
“Poor or no competence in administering a state like Egypt has caused what we are witnessing today,” the pope noted….