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Egypt: Convert from Islam to Christianity gets five years prison

Jun 20, 2014 9:54 pm By Robert Spencer

CBN-Bishoy-ArmiyaHe was “‘disturbing the peace by broadcasting false information’ after documenting political unrest in Egypt brought on by numerous Muslim extremist attacks on Christians.” In other words, even in post-Muslim Brotherhood Egypt, to publicize Muslim persecution of Christians is verboten. In Islamic law, if dhimmis complained about their second-class status, they would lose their “protection” and their lives would be forfeit. It is still part of the cultural influence of Sharia in Egypt that Christians are not supposed to complain about being harassed and persecuted; they have to accept it in silence.

“Noted Convert in Egypt, Formerly Known as Hegazy, Sentenced to Five Years in Prison,” Morning Star News, June 19, 2014:

ISTANBUL, Turkey (Morning Star News) – A judge in Egypt yesterday sentenced Bishoy Armia Boulous – formerly Mohammed Hegazy, the first Egyptian to try to legally change his religious identity on his official ID – to five years in prison, his attorney said.

The 31-year-old Christian received the prison term and a fine of 500 Egyptian pounds (US$70) for what the judge called “disturbing the peace by broadcasting false information” after documenting political unrest in Egypt brought on by numerous Muslim extremist attacks on Christians, attorney Wagdy Halfa said.

The exact section of the nation’s criminal code that Boulous allegedly violated was not released, but the judge in Minya Criminal Court stated that he was convicted of “disturbing the peace by broadcasting false information on The Way TV, an evangelism channel, that disturbed the peace and public security.”

Halfa is awaiting the official court record of the verdict, expected within a month, which should delineate the exact article violated and reasoning for the sentence. It is likely Boulous was convicted for violating Article 176, or inciting sectarian violence, his attorney said. Boulous plans to appeal, but Halfa said it would likely be refused.

He maintained his client’s innocence.

“He did not commit a crime,” Halfa said. “Even if he did take some photos or videos of a protest, that is legal. Even if he was doing it for a newspaper, that is legal.”

Halfa added that the real reason Boulous was charged and sentenced was because he abandoned Islam and became a Christian.

“The officer who arrested him, when he found that he hadn’t committed a crime, made up things to keep him in prison so he could be sentenced,” he said.

On the morning of Dec. 4, 2013, at a cafe in the city of Minya, 260 kilometers (161 miles) south of Cairo, security forces arrested Boulous with a camera and four flash drives. Officials claimed Boulous was working for The Way TV, a Coptic Christian-owned, U.S.-based religious television channel that broadcasts into Egypt via satellite. Security forces claimed that Boulous was contributing to a “false image” that there was violence against Christians in Minya. At the time of his arrest, Christians in Minya had suffered numerous public kidnappings, assaults, and attacks on their property, including attacks on several churches that mobs of militant Muslims burned to the ground.

In August 2007, Boulous earned widespread fame – and rage from Islamists – when he decided to file a legal case to have his religion and name changed on his government-issued identification card. In a country where 84 percent of Egyptian Muslims polled three year later said the state should execute those who leave Islam, Boulous became an extremely controversial figure as his face appeared on newspapers and magazines across the country.

When he was arrested last year, human rights activists said they feared for his safety. Halfa confirmed that Boulous has been tortured and attacked in prison, but declined to give any details about his mistreatment or injuries.

“He told me he has been treated in an inhumane way in prison,” Halfa said.

Part of the charges against Boulous had to do with his status as a journalist. Egyptian media reported that he was investigated for gathering news for The Way TV.

In an on-air statement on his channel shortly after Boulous’ arrest, Joseph Nasrallah, head of The Way TV, said, “The Tarik [Way] Channel had nothing to do with Mohammed Hegazy, who is known as Bishoy Armia Boulous, in any way.” But Nasrallah gave seemingly contradictory statements to Morning Star News about Boulous, saying that he had been in contact with Boulous, and that Nasrallah had told him that he would consider hiring him but had not committed to doing so.

Boulous became a Christian in 1998. After his conversion, he was arrested several times by the former State Security Investigations Service (SSI). Boulous was tortured by SSI agents for three days during one of his stints in jail, he told a Compass Direct News reporter in 2010. Still, he refused to recant his faith in Christ.

Boulous said the main reason he filed the suit was to protect his children from the same persecution he suffered for becoming a Christian. After filing suit, he was forced into hiding when attacks and threats against his life became overwhelming. In one incident, for several days extremists surrounded a home where Boulous was no longer living. In another, a group of men broke into Boulous’ apartment, rifled through it and set it on fire while he was away.

According to Mamdouh Nakhla, chairman of the Kalema Organization for Human Rights, Boulous’ wife, also a convert from Islam, and their two children are living in an undisclosed country in Europe.

Religious freedom is guaranteed under Egyptian law but is limited by various interpretations of sharia (Islamic law), which can override national law. While it is easy and even encouraged for someone in Egypt to convert to Islam, it is impossible for a Muslim to legally convert to Christianity.

According to Egyptian law, every citizen age 16 or older must carry a state-issued ID card. The card is necessary for anyone who wants to open a bank account, enroll children in school or start a business, among other activities. Religious identity also determines many of the civil laws to which one is subject.

As the first convert in Egypt to file suit to change his legal religious identity, Boulous in January 2008 suffered a setback when a court ruled against him on the grounds that sharia forbids conversion away from Islam.

In April 2010, an appeals court suspended the case indefinitely while it waited for the country’s constitutional court to rule on a previous case dealing with religious identity. Before those cases could be resolved, the 2011 revolution happened and the constitution was rewritten. Following the ouster of the Muslim Brotherhood-led government last July, another constitution was approved in a January referendum.

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Filed Under: Egypt, Muslim persecution of Christians Tagged With: featured


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Comments

  1. jewdog says

    Jun 20, 2014 at 10:35 pm

    The supremacist mentality is too ingrained, even when a relatively secular regime is in place. At least he hasn’t been sentenced to death.
    The worst aspect of Sharia is its call for universal application, even over non-Muslims.

    • voegelinian says

      Jun 20, 2014 at 10:43 pm

      al-Sissi is not “relatively secular”. Andrew Bostom has demonstrated persuasively (to non-JW Softies, that is), that he is a tradtional jihadist.

      • Salah says

        Jun 21, 2014 at 2:12 am

        Al-Sissi a tradtional jihadist? this Egyptian Catholic bishop thinks otherwise:

        “His (al Sisi’s) victory gives us Christians security and a perspective for the future. Better times are coming.”
        (Adel Zaki, the Catholic bishop of Alexandria, Egypt)

        http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/egyptian-election-gives-hope-to-christians-alexandrias-bishop-says/

        • voegelinian says

          Jun 21, 2014 at 9:34 am

          Unfortunately, we can’t automatically rely on Christians to give their blessing on Muslims reliably; I mean, just look at the Pope (not to mention innumerable Kumbaya-singing Christians throughout the West).

        • voegelinian says

          Jun 21, 2014 at 9:35 am

          What Bishop Zaki likely is really saying is that al-Sissi is a good Dhimmi Protector (as all Muslim rulers are supposed to be).

        • Salah says

          Jun 21, 2014 at 10:10 am

          @voegelinian

          Dhimmitude implies jizya. And there’s no jizya in Egypt.

      • jewdog says

        Jun 21, 2014 at 9:17 pm

        However imperfect the result, I think it’s important to credit Egypt with taking a giant step away from enforced Sharia.
        I find Bostam tends to wield a big black brush that can miss nuances.

  2. dumbledoresarmy says

    Jun 21, 2014 at 7:47 am

    God bless my dear brother Bishoy Armia Boulos (Boulos = Paul); bless him, sustain him and deliver him.

    And may God bless and strengthen his wife and children who now form part of the Church in Europe.

    • boakai ngombu says

      Jun 21, 2014 at 8:42 am

      AMEN

    • Peter Adeyemi Agboola says

      Jun 21, 2014 at 2:52 pm

      Amen. God empower and strengthen them in Jesus name. And may deliverance come their way soon. The Church of Christ regardless of race, tribe, or nationality is with you. Don’t give up, continue to glorify God with your life or if need be with your death. Lots of luv to you and your family dear brother in Christ.

      • MikeR says

        Jun 21, 2014 at 11:09 pm

        “Empower and strengthen them”? HE’S IN JAIL! He could have avoided jail by keeping his mouth shut about his Christianity. What did he think would happen to him? I know many people reading these comments probably think he’s courageous or some kind of a martyr. I think he’s an idiot.

    • Kepha says

      Jun 21, 2014 at 11:10 pm

      And for every Copt who emigrates, may there be 10,000 Muhammad Hegazy who become Christians and replenish the Church in Egypt, founded by the Evangelist Mark.

  3. eib says

    Jun 21, 2014 at 10:05 am

    A prisoner of conscience.
    Remember when Amnesty International championed prisoners of conscience?

  4. Mirren10 says

    Jun 21, 2014 at 1:10 pm

    @ Salah:

    ”Dhimmitude implies jizya. And there’s no jizya in Egypt.’

    Really ?

    ”The 31-year-old Christian received the prison term and **a fine of 500 Egyptian pounds (US$70)** (my emphasis: Mirren) for what the judge called “disturbing the peace by broadcasting false information” after documenting political unrest in Egypt brought on by numerous Muslim extremist attacks on Christians, attorney Wagdy Halfa said”

    So, not is he only imprisoned, but he has to pay a **fine**, for refusing to betray his Christian religion.

    Sounds like dhimmitude and jizya to me.

    What would **you** call it ?

    • ronyvo says

      Jun 26, 2014 at 3:34 pm

      YES, Salah it is Jisya, which is imposed on Christians on regular basis and for a very long time in upper Egypt.

  5. Jay Boo says

    Jun 22, 2014 at 2:00 pm

    To God We Belong and To Him We Will Return

    Muslims don’t own God

  6. Greg Hamilton says

    Jun 22, 2014 at 2:05 pm

    I’m trying to raise awareness of this ineradicable feature of Sharia in a simple campaign. See my blog: Enjoy the Conditions of Omar

  7. Coral Searle says

    Jun 23, 2014 at 2:49 am

    Let’s know when he exits jail, alive and in good health. sarc/off

  8. ronyvo says

    Jun 26, 2014 at 3:30 pm

    Islam is Islam. El Sisi is Muslim. Still, churches are being attacked, Coptic girls are being kidnaped , raped and converted to Islam by force.
    El Sisi promised to restore the 80+ churches. I did not hear of any fulfillment of his repeated promise before he was elected.

    However, our Lord Jesus told us that we will suffer for His Name. Also, he promised “the gates of hades will not prevail over Her (the church).
    Amen.

  9. dumbledoresarmy says

    Jun 29, 2014 at 3:52 am

    Here’s a thought.

    For all we know, if one were able to look far enough back along the family lines of Mr Boulos (formerly Hegazy) – and perhaps the family lines of other Egyptians who have left Islam and come to Christ , such as Magdi Allam, and Mark Gabriel, and Nonie Darwish – one might find more than one poor Coptic girl who was raped, and force-“converted” to Islam; and behind those lost girls, in turn, their grieving Coptic parents. Which parents now, in Paradise, are rejoicing to see some of their lost daughters’ children at long last coming *home*.

    I recently came across the most heartbreaking story at Mr Raymond Ibrahim’s site. But not entirely heartbreaking.

    http://www.raymondibrahim.com/islam/kidnapped-raped-and-forced-to-flee-christian-experiences-in-pakistan/

    In Pakistan, a generation ago, a Muslim kidnapped, and raped, and used as his slave-wife a Christian girl. But the *daughter* – borne of that rape and abuse – ultimately **converted to Christianity** and fled…and even found her way to her Christian grandparents, who before they died were able to welcome their lost daughter’s child. The daughter married a Christian; after much suffering they fled Pakistan and live in another country, with their young child, who is being raised a Christian.

    The light shines in the darkness; and the darkness will *never* overcome it.

    • Nabil says

      Jun 30, 2014 at 6:21 pm

      There are thousands, if not millions, of stories like that, just in Egypt.
      Islam will destroy Islam, the process started a long time ago.
      If there any justice, prophet Obama must be arrested for his many and very dangerous crimes against our country.

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