We need your help in stopping the Massacre of Coptic Christians in Egypt.Gunmen killed at least seven people in a drive-by shooting outside a church in southern Egypt as worshippers left a midnight Mass for Coptic Christmas Thursday on January 7th. The attack took place in the early morning hours in the town of Nag Hamadi in Qena province, about 40 miles from the famous ancient ruins of Luxor.
Policemen attacked the demonstrations of the relatives of the injured which is against human rights. There is an Ethnic Cleansing of minorities. We need your support to convey our disappointment of the Egyptian regime.
The Government continues to sponsor \"reconciliation sessions\" following sectarian attacks, which generally obviates the prosecution of perpetrators of crimes against Copts and precludes their recourse to the judicial system for restitution. This practice contributes to a climate of impunity that encourages further assaults. All perpetrators of the previous massacres received no penalty. The justice system is corrupted by the regime.
Coptic Christians, being the largest religious minority in Egypt, have faced increasing marginalization and persecution after the 1952 revolution. The Copts are considered second class citizens. During Mubarak’s 28-year rule, there have been thousands of violent attacks against the Egyptian Christians.
Christians are able to convert to Islam generally without difficulty, but Muslims who convert to Christianity face difficulties in getting new identity papers and some have been arrested. Governmental authorities detained, harassed and pressured them to revert to Islam. One convert told U.S. officials that government authorities had raped her. Another convert showed U.S. officials scars from physical abuse he said he had previously suffered in detention. A court sentenced a Coptic priest to five years of hard labor for officiating at a wedding between a Copt and a convert from Islam who allegedly presented false identification documentation.
The kidnapping of Coptic girls has become a weekly routine in Egypt. The Egyptian government and police make no effort to bring the girls back or to catch the kidnappers, who are believed to be Muslim fundamentalists. It is believed that more than 300 Coptic girls have been kidnapped.
Copts continue to face many obstacles in building new churches or renovating existing churches. There is no \'unified law for building places of worship.\'
The Government\'s culling of the estimated 300,000 - 400,000 swine in the country had a severe economic impact on Coptic Christian families who rely on pigs and garbage scavenging for their primary income.
Copts are increasingly marginalized in the political system. There are currently only six Christian members (out of about 350 members) of the Assembly, none of whom are directly elected. The Egyptian regime has effectively restricted Christians from senior government, political, military, or educational positions, and there is increasing discrimination in the private sectors. The Copts are banned from being head of any institution or any leading position. The discrimination and persecution are increasingly seen in the media, as it presents movies against Christian beliefs. Newspapers are insulting the church, Bible and Copts.
All what was mentioned is against the international treaties that Egypt signed. Please, we need your support.
