“The subject peoples … are forbidden to build new churches.” (Reliance of the Traveller, o11.5). Islamic law also forbids Christians to repair existing churches. “Koum al-Raheb church closed, Copts attacked,” by Nader Shukry, Watani International, December 10, 2018: The police has caught an unspecified number of Copts and Muslims in the village of Koum al-Raheb […]
Egypt: Muslim throws bomb at entrance of packed church
A man hurled an improvised bomb at the entrance of a packed church in Egypt in what observers say could’ve been a repeat of the Two Saints Church attack in Alexandria, 2011, which left 23 dead, and 100 injured. The bomb was dismantled before exploding. The attack occurred during the late hours of Saturday, November […]
Egypt: “Extremists reject having a church in the village”
Several Coptic Christian leaders and priests recently discussed the closures of their churches. For example, Fr. Stephen Shehata, undersecretary of the diocese of Samalout, Minya, explained how three of the diocese’s churches were shut down because they did not have the required licenses. When the diocese recently attempted to build a church in Abu Hannas, […]
In Egypt, officials incite — and then cite — Muslim violence as reason not to renovate or build churches
Security forces in Upper Egypt recently arrested 10 Coptic Christians for trying to build a wall around a piece of vacant land in order to expand their current church into the territory or possibly even build a church. A church already exists in the village of Abu Hannas in Samalout, Minya; but, according to Father […]