When Marx described religion as the opium of the people, he was expressing a 19th-century view of the effects of Christianity on the working class. Like many secularists, Marx believed that turning to religion for consolation was both an expression of real suffering

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

The enemy of my enemy is my friend. It’s a simplistic, often flawed, and yet pervasive ideology. To me, it seems the only logic – if such a word can be used – reasoning behind Morris Sadek’s argument in his latest blogumnist post here on Bikya Masr, where he outlines Jewish-Coptic common roots, and the official position of the National American Coptic Assembly on the Arab-Israeli conflict. It makes for grim reading.

Egypt has a unique political system and language. The system is made to serve the regime’s purpose inside the country as well as its relationship with the international world. Egypt became a republic after the 1952 coup, as in any republic system the president has to be elected among others who are bidding to lead the country. Citizens vote for the candidate whose promises meet their needs.

When Mohamed Hassanein Heikal recently announced his suggestions for transferring power away from President Hosni Mubarak, it seemed to send ripples through stagnant waters.

PRESIDENT Hosni Mubarak 's address at the 6th annual congress of the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP)was highlighted in yesterday 's press.However,comments on the congress agenda and key addresses of the party leaders varied widely between semi-official

Some readers did not accept my argument that Jews, like Arab Muslims, are the victims of racism and xenophobia inherent in the West. I discussed that argument in my comments on the results of the

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

The Liberation Rally was initially intended to mobilise popular support for the Revolution regime by co-opting student leaders and workers. Riding the national wave and in order to attract the broadest possible base, it called for the unconditional withdrawal of the British forces from the Suez Canal zone, self-determination for Sudan, the

Western delegates to the Cairo congress should know about the country's Judeophobia Later this week, Egypt will play host to the 56th Congress of Liberal International, which bills itself as the world federation of liberal and progressive democratic parties. Among the nearly 70

On Wednesday, state security forces raided the offices of a coalition opposed to President Hosni Mubarak’s son’s bid to take over from his father. The Egyptian Campaign Against Presidential

Much to the chagrin of street children, their sufferings are getting worse, while non-governmental organisations (NGOs) allegedly concerned about the welfare of these weak members of society talk endlessly about their future

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

The man who spoke when most people, out of fear fell silent, when the Copts were in desperate need for someone like him to speak out. Dr Shawky "Fel-Samim" فى الصميم July 92

Should Canada start to educate Muslims on how to kill Christians?Islam teaches to kill Christians and now Canadians will pay 13 millionto make sure the job is done correctly by paying for Islamic

When I searched for the meaning of "human rights" and "equality" in English dictionaries I found masses and loads. I found that the rights of any person, whether male or female, white or black, deaf,

You may not expect it from the clergy, but a Belgian priest is proposing that, with plummeting church attendance and the recession, some of the country's 4,000 churches – especially those "only

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

Implicating General Naguib In the course of their trial, Ikhwan leaders had implicated the President of the Republic, General Mohamed Naguib, in the plot to assassinate Prime Minister Gamal Abdul Nasser. It is, however, doubtful that the General, who had earlier been 'kicked up' by Gamal

Sooner or later it is going to occur to Barack Obama that he is the president of the United States. As of yet, though, he does not act that way, appearing promiscuously on television and granting

IN the midst of the intense uproar over the niqab (full- face veil),the Grand Sheikh of Al-Azhar,Egypt 's top Muslim cleric,has come under fire for ordering a schoolgirl to remove her niqab and