Salafist leader and presidential hopeful Hazem Salah Abou-Ismail has announced that, should he become Egypt's next president, he would immediately order the release of all political prisoners and end the longstanding practice of referring civilians to military trials. Abou-Ismail made the statement during a visit to the Cairo headquarters of the Building and Development Party (BDP), Al-Gamaa Al-Islamiya's political arm.

While Christian churches in Egypt endorsed an Anglican initiative to meet with Muslim Brotherhood leaders Tuesday, various Coptic groups continued to reject dialogue with the Islamist organization. Brotherhood leader Mohamed Badie and his deputy Rashad al-Bayoumy, along with other group officials, received a high-level delegation Tuesday, including 17 members led by head of the Anglican Communion Safwat al-Bayaady and Anglican Church Undersecretary Andre Zaky, to discuss citizenship issues and religious freedoms.

The Eastern Christians are worried. Worried about their survival in a region they have lived in for 2,000 years. Worried about their rights being respected at a time of major upheaval. Worried about heightened religious tensions. I want to tell them that I understand them, that I understand their fears.

Coptic activists have requested representation in the constituent assembly that will draft the new constitution that is commensurate with their percentage of the population, not of Parliament. “Copts are 15 to 20 percent of the population,” said Sherif Doss, head of the General Coptic As

Emad Abdel Ghafour, president of the Salafi Nour Party, said Wednesday that the constituent assembly of 100 people that would be tasked with writing the new constitution should include members of all political forces, in addition to representatives of Egyptian expatriates, Coptic Christians and Nubians.

Emad Abdel Ghafour, president of the Salafi Nour Party, said Wednesday that the constituent assembly of 100 people that would be tasked with writing the new constitution should include members of all political forces, in addition to representatives of Egyptian expatriates, Coptic Christians and Nubians. “The assembly must represent all segments of society,” he said.

The judge investigating the deaths of 27 protesters during a Coptic-led march to Maspero state television headquarters in October, has banned Michael Mounir, an Egyptian-American Coptic activist, from leaving Egypt. Mounir, the president and founder of the liberal Hayat Party, has also been called for investigation.

Parliament's legislative committee on Monday refused during its meeting to discuss a memorandum concerning the relocation of eight Coptic families from Amreya, near Alexandria. Committee members said they cannot discuss a topic handled by another committee, in this case the human rights committee. They said the memo was referred to them by Samy Mahran, Parliament's secretary general, and not Parliament Speaker Saad al-Katatny.

(AINA) -- Two weeks after the murder of two Christian brothers by Muslims during the violence that swept the upper Egyptian village of elGhorayzat, the family of the murdered Christians has temporarily come out of hiding to speak of the terror they have been subjected to and decry the impunity enjoyed by the killers, who are walking freely in the village. On November 28, the two Christian brothers, Kamel Tamer Abraham (55) and Camille Tamer Abraham (50), were killed in revenge for the death of the Muslim Mohamad Abdel-Nazeer, who was injured during an altercation with a village Christian over the building of a fence round the Christian's house, and who later died in hospital. The Christian man fled from the village with his family.

Coptic blogger Maikel Nabil has been sentenced to two years in military prison on Wednesday and fined LE200 (US$30.3). The verdict was returned by a C28 military court Wednesday after the case was adjourned five times over the past few months.

A judge representing the public prosecutor’s office agreed on Thursday to release 27 out of 28 suspects in the case of the 9 October Maspero violence, in which 31 people were killed when the military and police attacked protesters, most of whom were Copts. However, prominent blogger and activist Alaa Abd El Fattah, who was also arrested in connection with the Maspero incident, remains in detention, his father and lawyer Ahmed Seif al-Islam told Egypt Independent.

The three Christian denominations of Egypt have welcomed recent statements of Muslim Brotherhood General Guide Mohamed Badie, in which he reassured Christians that their interests will be safeguarded. “It is a good step towards positive integration between the different sects of Egyptian society,” said Andria Zaki, vice president of the Anglican Church. “I hope this is guaranteed in the new constitution.”

As the Christmas holiday approaches, seasonal bazaars are popping up around Cairo. The bazaars present the opportunity to enjoy the spirit of Christmas with your family and friends while browsing the gifts, ornaments and cookies.

A military court on Wednesday postponed the re-trial of blogger Maikel Nabil until 14 December. This is the eighth postponement since the retrial began on 1 November. Nabil has been on a hunger strike for 106 days and is surviving on water and milk. He is charged with insulting the military and spreading false information about the armed forces via his blog.

CAPERNAUM, Israel — A new trail across northern Israel offers travelers the chance to walk — or trot — through New Testament sites in the footsteps of Jesus. The newly opened Gospel Trail winds for 39 miles(62.7 kilometers), heading south from Nazareth, across gentle green hills, through Jewish and Arab towns and down to Capernaum, the fishing town where Jesus is said to have established his home base. The Tourism Ministry believes the new trail may attract up to 200,000 Christian pilgrims to northern Israel over the coming year.