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Egypt

• Church Closed After Mob Attack

  

  A church in Upper Egypt has been closed indefinitely after a throng of angry militant Muslims perpetrated an attack on April 12th, while more than 200 fearful children looked on. As a result, the building was damaged and three people were injured, including two church leaders. Following the attack, police ordered that the church be closed to avoid further violence.

• Sudanese Woman Facing Threats

  

  A Christian mother was struck with fear last November when her Muslim brother arrived at the church she attended with a photo of her husband, asking members if they knew where he could be found. Less than two years before, Ebtehaj Mostafa had been tied to a chair in a darkened room. The abductors gave her an ultimatum: return to Islam or they would kill her husband and daughter.

• Muslim Imam Prevents Church Bombing

  

  As churches in Egypt prepared for Christmas celebrations on January 7th, terrorists in Nasr City near Cairo plotted an attack against the worshippers. Multiple bombs were placed on a roof near a church in the city with the intention of detonating them on Christmas Day.

  A Muslim imam in a mosque across the street saw what was happening and alerted the police. As the bombs, described as "highly complex and explosive," were being disarmed by explosive experts, one of them detonated -- accidentally killing an officer by the name of Mustafa Abid. Two other officers and an onlooker were also injured. It is expected that the casualty rate would have been significantly higher had the bomb exploded when the building was full of worshippers.

• Facebook Post Leads to Three Years' Imprisonment

  

  Abdo Adel Bebawy, 43, has been sentenced to three years in prison for "insulting Islam" following a Facebook post which led to riots in July (see this report). At the time of his original post, friends explained that Abdo was not very literate and did not fully understand what he had posted.

• Seven Fatalities in Bus Attack

  

  Seven people were killed and at least 14 wounded when a bus of Christians was attacked while travelling to a monastery in Minya on November 2nd. Six of those killed were from the same family. The attack happened in almost the identical location as a similar attack in May 2017 which killed 28 Christians (see this report).

• Mobs Force Church Closures

  

  For the Christian minority in Egypt, regulations and bureaucracy have caused issues for years. Across Egypt, over 3,500 churches are presently in the process of being licensed; some have waited for over 20 years. In January, the government announced that Christians will be allowed to continue meeting in unlicensed churches pending the process. But in the Luxor governorate region alone, a Coptic diocese faced the forced closure of its eighth church due to pressure from mobs. All these churches were in the process of being officially approved by the government.

• Facebook Post Leads to Attacks

  

  An attack by a mob of Muslim militants in the village of Menbal left Coptic Christians hiding in their homes while security forces patrolled the streets in an effort to restore peace. At last report, the situation in the village 225 kilometres south of Cairo remained tense.

  The violence began after Muslim villagers accused one of the Copts of publishing a Facebook post which insulted Islam. In the July 5th post, Abdo Adel compared Muhammad with Jesus. As a result of the post, charges were filed against him and he was remanded in custody pending further investigation.

• Church Temporarily Closed to Keep Peace
  
  Police were stationed in Beni Meinin
  after the attack on the village church.
  Photo: World Watch Monitor

  Since legal changes were recently implemented -- making it easier for churches to obtain permits -- there have been several instances of Muslim villagers opposing the opening of Christian churches. On May 10th, we reported that some were confronted by angry mobs and the subsequent attempts of local officials to resolve the issues through reconciliation. (To review the previous report, see this page.)

• Mob Protests Church Legalization Application
  
  The reconciliation session in Al-Koumair village.
  Photo: World Watch Monitor

  For more than 30 years, Christians in the village of Al-Koumair had been gathering at the home of one of their community members for worship. As numbers increased, they purchased a house in 2006, along with an adjacent building to provide their community a church, meeting hall, nursery and accommodations. Muslim villagers were aware of the de-facto church, having attended weddings and funerals over the years.

• Renewed Hope After Beheadings
  
  Photo: Open Doors USA

  February 15th marked the third anniversary of the public beheading of 21 Christians on the coast of Libya. In the weeks leading up to that fateful day, ISIS captors had reportedly tortured the men who had travelled hundreds of miles to find work in order to support their families. When the men refused to deny Jesus Christ, the militants beheaded them and posted a video of the execution.

  In honour of the 20 Egyptians and one Ghanaian who were killed, a new Coptic church was dedicated last month in Upper Egypt --The Church of the Libyan Martyrs. Built in an area that is 70 percent Muslim, opposition to the construction was harsh. Yet the building was completed with the support of the Egyptian government.