Update: Court grants custody of Christian boys to Muslim father


Mario and Andrew
Photo from Compass Direct
On September 24, the Appeal Court of Alexandria granted custody of 13-year-old Christian twins, Mario and Andrew, to their Muslim father, who changed their religion to Islam on their birth certificates when he converted to Islam (click here for more details). According to an October 2 report from Compass Direct, the court ruled in favour of their father in spite of Article 20 in Egyptian law, which grants custody of children to their mothers until the age of 15, and a religious ruling from a respected Islamic leader giving her custody. At last report, the boys still lived with their mother but could be taken from her at any moment.
  • Country Information

    Population
    109,546,720 (2023 est.)

    Ethnicity (%)
    Egyptian (99.7), other (0.3)

    Religion (%)
    Islam (90), Christianity (10)

    Leader
    President Abdelfattah Said El-Sisi (2014)

    Government type
    Presidential republic

    Legal system
    Mixed legal system based on Napoleonic civil and penal law, Islamic religious law, and vestiges of colonial-era laws

    Source: CIA World Factbook

  • Pray for Egypt

    Pray on behalf of those who are facing economic and social challenges because of their Christian faith. Ask the Lord to provide for their spiritual and practical needs – further strengthening and emboldening them so they can effectively share the message of the Gospel with others in their communities. May the hearts of those who hear it be open and receptive to the wonderful truths contained in God’s Word.

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Egypt News

  • Prisoners Released After Years of Detention
    Abdulbaqi Saeed Abdo
    Abdulbaqi Saeed Abdo
    Photo: ADF International

    Originally from Yemen, Abdulbaqi Saeed Abdo was forced to flee to Egypt in 2014 after being subjected to violent attacks because of his conversion to Christianity. Then, in 2021, Abdulbaqi was arrested by Egyptian officials following an interview he did for a Christian television program addressing the topic of persecution in Yemen. Additionally, he was identified as a member of a Facebook group for those who had converted from Islam to Christianity. Nour Gerges, an Egyptian Coptic believer who also participated in the same Facebook group, was arrested at the same time.

    Read more...

  • Three Christians Hospitalized After Stabbing
    Three crosses on Coptic steeples are silhouetted against the sun on the horizon.
    Domes of a Coptic Church building in Egypt.
    Photo: Flickr / Andrew A. Shenouda (cc)

    Three Christian men were hospitalized after being brutally attacked on November 5th in Ashruba, a village located within the Minya province of Upper Egypt. This is only the latest incident to occur amid a recent surge of sectarian violence throughout the region.

    Read more...

  • Christian Homes and Businesses Burned
    A water truck is working to douse a fire.
      

    Late into the evening of April 23rd, Islamic militants set fire to several homes and shops owned by Coptic Orthodox Christians in the village of Al-Fawakher, which is located in Egypt's southern Minya province. Although the attackers attempted to prevent the occupants from leaving their burning homes, thankfully there were no reported fatalities.

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  • Temporary Church Building Burned
    Two images of a room full of chairs. In the first, the chairs are neatly arranged. In the second, the chairs and interior of the building are burned.
    The temporary church building before and after the arson attack.
    Photo: Christian Solidarity Worldwide

    Local Christians in the village of Misha'at Zaafaranah, located within Egypt's Minya Province, are working to get approval to build a place of worship. The required documents have been submitted to the authorities and, for the meantime, the group of believers were meeting in a temporary structure on the land belonging to the church.

    Read more...

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