What if the Egyptians including Christians, Muslims, jews, and atheists in addition to the tourists decided to follow the Salafis and wear the niqab? Will they be protected from sexual harassment. It is a tough question, but I will try to answer. In the beginning of the nineteen century, an English orientalist named Sir Edward William Lane learned Arabic and claimed his conversion to Islam to be able to live among the Egyptians and collect the material of his book, printed in London in 1835 and entitled ‘Traditions and customs of modern Egyptians’ The book was a masterpiece in the presentation of information and wrote in detail in a full chapter on the clothes and fashion of Egyptians in their various sects. He mentioned that women used to wear identical cloth, yet in different colors. Muslim women wore white niqab, while non-Muslim women wore black niqab. He added that non-Muslim women dressed while niqab in secret in order to avoid sectarian discrimination, and possible harassment. We return to the first question: will niqab prevent harassment in Egypt. The answer is no since they will impose different colors on each sect. This will enable them to target the other groups as much as they want.

Perhaps the answer of Jesus to the cry of some of the Pharisees who called to Him from the crowd “Teacher rebuke Your disciples” , Jesus answered and said to them “I tell you that if these should keep silent ,the stones would immediately cry out” .Luke 19,39-4, can not be applied to the glorious city of OXFORD > For the simple reason that the stones of this city united with the scientists , professors , historians , theologians , priests , monks , don,t keep silent m but tell us , about the miracles of God in history . I can say with John in his book of Revelation that “ … I looked and behold a great multitude ( one thousand people in the conference ) of all nations , tribes ,peoples , and tongues , standing before the throne of the Logos …” . They come from the great tribulation of ignorance and heresies , but the try every day to wash their robes and made them white in the bloody science of the Lamb . They follow the great fathers who said once “ You have to give blood , in order to take Spirit “. The blood of hard work and deep studies “ …in stripes , in imprisonments , in tumults , in sleeplessness , in fastings , by purity , by knowledge , by lon sufferings , by kindness , by the Holy Spirit , by sincere love “ 2 Corinthians 6 ,4-7. Those theologians send , through their feast of the fathers of the Church , a clear message to those who have “ bitter envy and self -seeking n their hearts , who do not boast and lie against the truth” James 13. Those people follow their own minds and divide or mingle the two basic diamensios of Christian life and theolog into an inner fight between spirituality and science , between heart and mind (the two terms are one in Egyptian language and culture Heet ), between Christ of the simple and Christ of the learned ! They have never understood the cy of saint Paul addressed to the divised Corinthians “Is Christ divided ?” 1 Corinthians 1,13 . These people of science gathered in The university of Oxford are seeking the truth of the Bible lived by the ascetics, translated in the Λειτουργία

This is not a joke, but a sectarian reality that dozens of Christian girls experience after one of their parents convert into Islam for any reason. Many times the father go to the Civil Status Authority and change the names of the children to Islamic names and their religion from Christianity to Islam, which is totally accepted though being against the law. Yet, in Egypt they believe that Islam is the best religion for the children. The child goes to school and is forced to attend classes of Islamic religion or fail in the exam! As an attorney, I have seen many cases suffer such scenario, including the case of Mario and Andrew whom former president Mubrak ordered that they don t take any exams of religion. The problem is much bigger than this for girls who find when they grew up that their names have changed from Christian to Islamic names along with their religion. She goes to the court and start a battle to restore her name, and when she succeeds, the name of the father remains Muslim and her identity remains lost and strange. I know that a number of senior officials don t accept such cases and they demand the Interior Minister to change that, but no response yet. I hope that equality and citizenship advocated by the President will be a good motivation to change that.

I get used to love tennis and watch it and also get used to play Tennis because Tennis is not just a game but is more than a game. There is a recent study states that people play tennis are more healthy and tend to be positive. When you watch legend like Federer, Nadal you feel that you want to play this game even if you dont have an idea about this game. Tennis is enjoyable and you can live the excitement during a whole Grand Slam. US open which is the last Grand Slam this year is running now and as always a lot of excitement happens all over the champion, however, you can learn that a talent only is not enough to win and be good in a game or at anything in life.

In a television interview with Farouk El-Baz in 1999, the presenter asked him about the time he will return back home along with all Egyptian scientists abroad in order to develop their own homeland. El-Baz said they should stay abroad to benefit from the valid experience and the is way they can benefit the homeland. Dr. Ahmed Mostagir, the late great scientist in genetic engineering, has been demanding the following: • Create a good atmosphere for scientific research. • Invest in science because its returns is much more than investing in anything else. Mostagir added that we should invest in minds more than we do on football. He hated football and said we should abandon it to care more for science. The state and private sector should both invest in such researches. All institutions in Egypt should unite to support Egyptians experts abroad and improve their national role. Egypt s Ministry of Finance said that the government is keen on supporting local industries and benefit from natural resources in order to contribute to the advancement of the national economy, provide more job opportunities for young people, improve the structure of growth and raise its rates to become more sustainable and diversified. According to the agency Bloomberg America, Egypt is the fastest-growing economy in the Middle East which reflects the great opportunities and the promising atmosphere in Egypt in addition to its prominent location between Africa and Asia. I was delighted to know that Egypt is benefiting from German expertise and creating real opportunities for investment in many modern industrial fields, which was declared by general abdul Monim Taras, head of the Arab body for manufacturing, concerning the new projects with the German party.

I do not know what happened to a stream of Egyptians who have been racist in many cases once against other Egyptians and another against the Syrian comers. It has always been clear throughout Egyptian history that all Abrahamic Religions were welcomed here. Joseph the prophet, St. Mark and Amr ibn al-Aas in addition to the Holy Family lived peacefully in Egypt. The great port of Alexandria was built and founded by Alexander the Great and the Greek community still lives in Egypt and have clubs, scientists and thinkers, after they became real Egyptians. Some Egyptians may forget that the modern Egyptian state was founded by Mohamed Ali who was non-Egyptian and he worked with many foreigners including Suleiman Pasha al-Fransawi, the founder of the Egyptian army, and the first Prime Minister of Egypt was Nobar Pasha the Armenian. Throughout the nineteenth and twentieth century, many nationalities came to Egypt including: French, Italians and Greek who arrived in Egypt and became Egyptians and taught us a lot about music, sewing, business and civil work. The Syrians arrived then and established many journals including Al-Aharam and Rosal Youssef in addition to many other modern arts. They became Egyptians and the names of some of Egypt s players in the Olympic mission of the second Mediterranean Games held in Barcelona - Spain in 1955 as mentioned by researcher Rami Kamel included many foreign names including Greek, Italian, Syrian and Armeinian, but they were all accepted in the society and became full citizens. I blame Wahhabism for destroying our Metropolitan culture, and I believe racism and sectarianism need to be faced since it is still spreading unfortunately.

It is strange that Egypt s Christians only protest when a church is closed or a Coptic Christian girl escapes with her Muslim lover. However, she and her lover know nothing about Islam or Christianity. I believe that refusing to appoint a Copt in a teaching job at the university only because he is a Christian, which is unfair discrimination that deserves protest. Equal citizenship should be demanded like muslims enjoy their rights in Europe. Copts have to change their culture of protest since their are many things that deserve such protest rather than converting of Coptic women or building churches. This is the reason to decent life and freedom, or else the Copts will stay as Dhimmis behind the walls of churches.

I admit I was not surprised or shocked when the Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir admitted in court that he had received $ 90 million from the Prince Crown Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia, among the 113 million dollars that were found in the house of Bashir at the time of his arrest. These presidents always emphasize the cleanliness of their hands and show their honesty and honor, and take pride in fighting corruption and refusing any bribes, but they are quite the opposite. On this occasion I tell you about the bribery offered to President Nasser: In 1955, the revolutionary approach taken by Gamal Abdel Nasser threatened the interests of America and Israel in the region. America has tried to break through the financial discharge of Gamal Abdel Nasser by sending him a bribe.

Lately a lot of media and people started to attack MOhamad Salah especially after his interview with CNN. Im not writing this article to defend Mohamad Salah neither to attack him. Mohamad Salah like any person can do wrong and can do right. We have to encourage him when he does good and try to consider him human when he does wrong. Salah is a professional player and tries to do everything professionally, however, he is human as well and can say or do something not right because there is no one perfect.

At the time of her departure, the disciples of Jesus Christ came to her, where she lived in the house of John the Beloved, so that they could pay her farewell. She was cheerful to see them, and she blessed them before her soul was received by her son and savior who also carried her body like she carried him when he was child. Her miraculous departure was also accompanied by many miracles and appearances till her body was taken to heaven. Her body was too holy to stay in this earth. The church celebrates her departure on 21 of Toba.

She was chosen by God to be the Mother of God, and to take part in the incarnation and the salvation of mankind. Thus, His Eminence Bishop Benjamin of Menoufia told us in his article The Status of the Virgin explaining to us the value of the Virgin as highlighted in the Bible. The Virgin was chosen by the Lord as faithful servant of the temple So the King will greatly desire your beauty; Because He is your Lord, worship Him. (Psalms 45: 11) The angel told her: “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!” Elizabeth also said to her: Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? Even the Virgin Mary said “My soul magnifies the Lord, And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. The Virgin has become a second sky once the Son of God has taken flesh from her. Her unique qualities gathered in one person that she became intercessor of human race as a loving mother. We praise her saying You are the most honorable intercessor We asks her to pray for the Lord to forgive us our sins. We ask her to spread joy and lead us to repentance.

If you are a follower of the achievements of Egyptians, you must have seen the achievement of Dr. Mirna Hosni, a student of pharmacy at the British University in Egypt who achieved first place over 45 teams, while she stood alone in the competition. Mirna took only quarter of the time since she started late, which proves her achievement. Yet, this shows disrespect and recklessness of some officials concerning those who represent Egypt abroad. Those responsible didn t read the conditions carefully since the didn t notice that a team should consists of 5 members and not only one. I congratulate the Egyptian I and the Egyptian women on Mirna s achievement for what she did alone abroad.

In general, I don t write so much in sports, however, I find myself today want to talk about Al-Ahly team. Al-Ahly soccer team lost lately from the pyramids team for the fourth time in a row. Me and All fan of Al-Ahly got frustrated that Al-Ahly can t win one time this team because this is not the team we know. Al-Ahly get used to be strong and be able to defend its pride every time play, however, this time we feel that the players don t care to defend their pride or compensate for the last 4 loses against the same team.

The monks of the Monastery of St. Samuel in Minya Governorate organized a protest at the main entrance of the monastery on August 12 after the security forces guarding the monastery refused to allow the main supplies of food for animals and residents of the monastery to enter. It is worth mentioning that the monks of the monastery filed on July 9, 2019, a complaint to both the Minister of the Interior and the Director of Minya Governorate Security, in order to intervene to stop such practices of security forces. The complaint included the following points: 1- preventing cars that carry products of the monastery from entering or leaving the monastery. 2- preventing the workers who care for the animals and work in the construction and agriculture from entering the monastery. 3- preventing monks who have been assigned minister outside the monastery from returning back. 4- preventing visitors from entering the monastery, even families of the monks. 5- it should be noted that the monasteries of the Egyptian Church don t receive an annual budget to spend on its institution or the services it provides to its people. All sources of funding for the monastery depend on the work of monks, tithes, vows and donations. Moreover, this system has existed since the fourth century AD till today. The complaint added: The monastery of St. Samuel is considered an archaeological area, which is visited by thousands of tourists from inside and outside Egypt. Hence, we call upon President Abdel Fattah El Sisi to intervene quickly to put an end to the problem .

Eid al-Adha this year coincides with the fasting of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Egypt and the Muslim pilgrims are performing the most important rituals of Hajj. This rituals are commemorating the sacrifice offered instead of Abraham s son. This story is repeated in Egypt where hundreds of thousands have offered their sons for the sake of the homeland. The sacrifice of Abraham s son and the son of the Virgin are spiritual examples for many fathers and mothers who sacrificed their children as martyrs to Egypt from the battle of Ain Jalut till the 1973 war against the Zionist enemy as well as those who were killed in several terrorist attacks. The church glorifies the Virgin Mary for her vital role in the incarnation of Jesus Christ and the salvation of mankind. Hence, more than one hundred feasts and festivals are celebrated of the Virgin. During the fasting of the Virgin and the celebration of al-Adha (the sacrifice) feast, we mourned martyrs and celebrated great heroes. This is normal in Egypt where pain and proud are mixed in the Egyptian personality. Not to mention that most of our victories came while our fasting since we believe that victory over the self precedes victory over the oppressor. We do mourn our martyrs praying to God to repose their souls. May God grant us happiness and joy that we fear its outcome. We pray in Egypt that God makes the outcome of joy good. The virgin Mary is truly adored by the Egyptians and more than 10 big festivals are held for her that are attended by millions of visitors. More than 500 churches and 7 monasteries are named after the Virgin Mary. The church also celebrates her nine times a year in addition to other fixed celebrations. The Holy Quran also celebrates St. Mary and a whole chapter of Quran carries her name in addition to another chapter carries the name of her family, in addition to may verses of the Quran that tells her story and glorifies her and her son. Al-Imran verse 42 reads: Behold! the angels said: "O Mary! Allah hath chosen thee and purified thee- chosen thee above the women of all nations. May her blessings be with us all, Amen.

Fan Jameel (beautiful art) Foundation, which supports heritage, education and arts, announced the implementation of a one-month summer program for the revival of traditional crafts in the tourist village of Tunis, Fayoum Governorate. Over the course of four weeks, the youngsters engage in a program of workshops focusing on the unique heritage of Fayoum Governorate. These workshops include Islamic arts, copper works, printing, and ceramics, which is one of the most popular activities in Fayoum. This free program is the first major project of Fan Jamil outside Cairo. The foundation was established in 2009 and offers a two-year program of handicrafts and design arts in a joint project between Fan Jamil, the Prince Charles School of Traditional Arts Foundation and the Cultural Development Fund of Egypt. It is worth mentioning that the village of Tunis offers the finest Egyptian hand-made pottery products.

Again, we see more innocents died in a terrorist attack and not just innocents, but sick people hardly can leave and walk to save their lives. I refer to the terrorism attack happened in down town Cairo, Egypt in front of the national cancer care. There is no doubt that Egypt has weaknesses in the security measures taken all over the country. I don t imagine that a car full of bombs can go downtown Egypt without any one investigation from the security. I believe that no country can have security 100%, however, taking the necessary measures to prevent terrorist attack is very important especially in a country like Egypt.

What will state officials say after reading these views, and will Egypt s women continue to be treated as intimate parts of the human body or simply genitals. Their hair is seen like a real sex organ though God has created it on the top of their body like a crown and shouldn t be hidden by hijab or niqab. I am talking in that topic though I am not a Muslim man, but this sectarian dress cause damage in my homeland and affects citizenship badly though it doesn t have a strong base in the Holy Quran.

Take me to Jabal al-tit, Where St. Mary will give me power… These are quotes from a song in the celebrations of the Virgin Mary in Upper Egypt last May. The celebrations included making tattoos of crosses, sacrifices, festivals and songs. The scene was in Samalout, Minya, where Muslims and Christians shared the celebrations in wonderful national unity. The celebrations last for 7 days in the Monastery of Our Lady in Minya that was blessed by the visit of the Holy Family 2000 years ago. About 2 millions visit the monastery in May, which is known as the festival that is celebrated after Easter till the resurrection feast.