It is no overstatement to say that this month has been quite eventful. Given that a few of these events go contrary to all reason and to normal states of affairs, however, they definitely qualify as bombshells. Three incidents in specific warrant comment.

More than one month has passed since the Nag Hammadi crime. The culprits are being tried in court. The numerous studies, analyses, and expert opinions published on the crime have been unanimous in

In his recent meeting with the delegation of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, Minister of Religious Endowments Hamdi Zaqzouq said that the bill for a unified law for building places

My worst fear is that, following the Christmas Eve crime against the Copts in Nag Hammadi, we would get carried away by the tone of chivalrous rhetoric growing shriller by the day. This is bound to throw us

This is not the first time I write about Watani Braille, our monthly publication of material selected from Watani and printed in Braille for the benefit of the visually impaired. I wrote before of the dilemma we

The shootout which targeted the Copts as they left church following Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve in the Upper Egyptian town of Nag Hammadi, is still reverberating shock waves inside and outside Egypt.

I had intended to use the last editorial in 2009 to review the past year and cite hopes for the New Year. I changed my mind, however, in the wake of the recent visit of President Hosni Mubarak to the Court of Cassation

Last week I wrote commenting on the caustic response of our media to the Swiss ban on building minarets. Even though I am absolutely against the curtailment of religious freedom in any way, I made it clear that Egyptians are in no position to criticise the Swiss since Copts in Egypt are treated far more

The Egyptian and Arab response to the Swiss ban on building minarets is still raging in the media. The majority of media persons have gone into paroxysms on the issue, with only a few pens or voices

Some two months ago I met in Cairo a group of Swiss media persons who were preparing a TV programme on Christianity in the Middle East. It was normal that our conversation would run on the theme of freedom of belief in Egypt, especially regarding the freedom to conduct religious rites and build churches.

Last week I wrote about the booklets which are distributed to pedestrians or commuters in town free of charge, and which brim with material that strongly promotes fundamentalist, extremist thought. According to the information cited in a sample booklet which I tackled, it was printed in a printshop in Alexandria. I can vouch that the booklet was printed under

The extremist thought which spreads a culture of hate and discourages accepting the ‘other’ is now on the rise. It has been steadily infiltrating our society, streets, public transportation, and even private cars.

The National Council for Human Rights (NCHR) issued its fifth report last September, covering the state of rights in Egypt throughout 2008.Two items figured highly on the report and were described as causes

Among the worst and most painful of the Coptic grievances are those pertaining to the curtailment of their rights to adequate, legal places of worship. The scarcity of permits to build churches drives

Readers who followed last month’s four editorials on the grievances of the Copts of Maghagha and Adawa in Minya, Upper Egypt, will have found no difficulty in spotting the root of the persecution and

I am in the fourth week of reviewing the grievances of the Copts of Maghagha and Adawa in Minya, Upper Egypt—grievances that are typical of Copts anywhere in Egypt. I had begun by reviewing their suffering

This article is the third in a series which tackles the grievances of the Copts of the parish of Maghagha and Adawa in Minya, Upper Egypt—grievances typical to Copts in Egypt across the board. The first two articles dealt with the humiliating problems they face

Last week I tackled the grievances of the Copts of the parish of Maghagha and Adawa in Minya, Upper Egypt, regarding the building and renovation of places of worship. I cited two cases of flagrant

Many disputes which arise between Muslims and Copts are hastily termed “sectarian incidents” and are used to cite persecution against Copts. However, I should like to draw a distinction between

Tharwat Ukasha was Egypt’s Minister of Culture during the years between 1958 and 1962, then again in 1969 and 1970. A man of encyclopaedic knowledge, enlightened, and well informed, Dr Ukasha

The bombshells of fanaticism keep on dropping. Amid the explosions and moral carnage several questions beg answers. Why now? In whose interest is the confusion and efforts to disintegrate the national