As they are accustomed, the congregation of the SAINTS Church in Alexandria, Egypt, came to their church to bid the past year farewell and to welcome in 2011. It is an occasion when they prefer to be in God’s House and in God’s presence.

Egypt’s youth—and behind them the Egyptian people—have achieved their dream of overthrowing the regime. The revolution which erupted on 25 January 2011 marked a brilliant turning point in Egypt’s modern history, perhaps even more so than the 23 July 1952 Revolution. The fact that the young people in Tahrir Square persisted in maintaining their demonstration peaceful, even though several of them lost their lives and many were injured in bloody encounters with outsiders, was a source of pride for all of us. Not only us, but the whole world stood watching in admiration and appreciation as the Egyptians succeeded in changing a reality they thought worthy of change.

During Mubarak’s rule, Egypt was divided into two camps. The first benefited from the regime and was complicit in its crimes. The other opposed the regime's policies and everything it stood for. This revolution has revealed the face of another Egypt, one the regime sought to conceal for years. Mubarak's regime always tried to convince Egyptians to focus on their own survival through any means necessary, even if it compromised their dignity. But the other Egypt was still there, even if the regime

Despite the struggle of mainstream Egyptians to go back to striving for their livelihoods in a semblance to their ‘normal’ daily routine, revolutionary wrath is still ablaze across the country. Even though most Egyptian regions are bristling with demonstrations, it remains a fact that Tahrir Square, situated in the very centre of Cairo, has become the vibrant heart of the revolution. As the hub that attracts Egyptians from all walks of life to express their discontent and demand legitimate rights, Tahrir has become the centre of attention of both local and international media. This brings to mind the bloodless worker revolution in Gdansk, Poland, in 1989, considered by many to have been the beginning of the downfall of communism, first in Poland and later in the Soviet Union.

To all my American friends please don't take this personally I respect all American people & I have many friends of them After I'd been shot by a plastic bullets at Al Tahrir Square on the night of 28 Jan, Which written on it ( 12 GA MADE IN U.S.A. ) I've always respected president Obama. But I realized that the Administration of P. Obama only cares about it's benefits they never cared about Egyptians or democracy in Egypt. Only cared about their benefits.

The 25 January – “Egyptian Revolution” – as many refer to it,will go down in history as a major turning point in Middle Eastern politics. Gone are the days where anyone would ever dare to think of criticizing the president, yet alone protesting for 15 consecutive days demanding his departure. The protestors are not following any charismatic leader, but standing up for their own values and dignity to cast out a corrupt ruling regime. They have already forced changes in government, and pressured Mubarak not to stand for the next re-election in September. Amendments to various articles in the constitution have been promised to be made. Gamal Mubarak’s plan, to be his father’s successor is in tatters after hisresignation as the head of the National Democratic Party’s policy committee. After a 30 year rule, Mubarak’s appointing a vice president, Mr. Omar Suleiman, the chief director of general intelligence could set a precedent for next future leadersto follow. Despite all these events, the protestors’ courage and enthusiasm will face more complex challenges as the uprising enters its third week.

Now, and only now, after the explosion of Egyptian wrath: • Mubarak declares he has no plans for running in the upcoming presidential elections. • Mubarak declares he will assign Parliament to study the amendment of the articles 76 and 77 of the Constitution. Both articles are concerned with the election of the president of the republic and the terms of the presidency.

I have never reviewed a book in this space; book reviews have their special place on the literary page and are reviewed by specialised staff. Yet today I intend to review a book and I have a very special reason for doing so. The Muslim-Christian solidarity, which followed the heinous bombing at the Church of the Saints in Alexandria on New Year Eve killing more than 24 and wounding some 90, should be fully exploited to effect imperative change, and should never be left to lose steam. Candid dialogue is pivotal in achieving that end since it exposes the hardships and grievances Copts endure day in day out, which should in turn fortify the public opinion calling for the enforcement of equality and citizenship rights. For its part, the State should initiate measures to reform the flawed conditions Copts suffer under.

AS Egyptians clash over the future of their government, Americans and Europeans have repeatedly expressed fears of the Muslim Brotherhood. “You don’t just have a government and a movement for democracy,” Tony Blair, the former British prime minister, said of Egypt on Monday. “You also have others, notably the Muslim Brotherhood, who would take this in a different direction.”

The Coptic anger which exploded in the wake of the New Year Eve bombing at the Church of the Saints in Alexandria was fully justified. It is my firm belief that this anger went beyond the direct crime and its horrifying outcome, and extended to cover a long history of blatant discrimination against Copts, marginalisation, and inequality. However, I also reject the destructive, tumultuous, mobbing wrath; there can be no excuse for outlaw fury. Copts need to understand they are not alone in their anger and grief; Egypt in its entirety has proved it is also grieving and wrathful. The Coptic grievance has fused into the national concern, and it is of the utmost importance that this national endorsement should not be lost.

Who Will Protect Them from Islamist Assault? Miriam Fekry, a 22-year-old Egyptian, savored her life as she updated her Facebook page. “2010 is over. This year has the best memories of my life. Really enjoyed this year. I hope that 2011 is much better. Plz God stay beside me & help make it all true.” She was to die coming out of New Year’s Eve mass at St. Mark and St. Peter Church in her hometown of Alexandria. More than a score of her fellow Copts were killed, and about a hundred wounded, in the most brazen deed of terror against the Coptic minority.

Grief quickly transformed into anger on Sunday as a couple hundred Christians returned to the church in Alexandria that was bombed on New Year's Day. During the morning Mass, women sobbed against one another in the pews, while the priests chanted. Afterward, the attendees gathered in the lobby, screaming angrily about a government they say has repeatedly failed them. The bodies and tangled wreckage of cars had already been cleared from the street. But blood was still splattered across the

Christians are increasingly under siege in Egypt and Iraq. Over the past year, hundreds have been killed or wounded in attacks, and the violence is further raising political and sectarian tensions in the two countries. All people, regardless of their beliefs, should be outraged.

Christmas and the New Year were marked by two bloody and ominous attacks on Christian worshippers in Iraq and Egypt. On December 30th, in Baghdad, at least two Christians were killed and nine wounded in a string of six attacks on Christian homes. The areas targeted were predominantly Christian areas, and the homes attacked were specifically Christian homes. And, on new Year's Eve, an even more lethal attack resulted in the massacre of over 20 Egyptian Coptic Christians in the ancient city of Alexandria.

the security services, at all levels, exert great efforts in order to reach the actual perpetrators of the bombings of the two Saints Church in Alexandria, and by the previous efforts exerted in order to reach the killers of Martyrs of el-Kosheh, Nag' Hamady, el-Omraniah, Sa'nabo, Di'routt, el- Bagour, Moharram Bey, Qena and Marsa Matrouh, to reach the offenders behind the disappearance of minor Christian girls and to identify the perpetrators behind the Islamization of Christian minors under the age of maturity that was stipulated in the Egyptian constitution, namely the age of "Twenty-one years old".

Before a year on the Christmas Eve crime in Nag Hammadi, in which one Muslim passerby and six Copts were killed as they left church after Midnight Mass—Copts celebrate Christmas on 7 January—terrorism reared its ugly face, this time on New Year’s Eve. A year that did not lack for fierce sectarian violence against Copts, 2010 ended with hundreds of worshippers in churches praying for a more clement new year. But in Alexandria’s Church of the Saints, what had started as a joyful, hopeful event ended in a bloodbath as a bomb exploded, claimed the lives of more than 20 and left some 80 wounded.

It has been a tough year for Egypt’s Coptic community. It began with a gruesome murder outside a church on Coptic Christmas day and ended with security forces killing two men and arresting more than 160 Christians who rioted after they were prevented from converting a charity building into a church.

Last Sunday saw President Mubarak give his inaugural speech before Parliament for the new parliamentary round. Egyptians awaited the speech eagerly since it was expected to offer clear indications on the upcoming legislative agenda and the presidential assignment to the government in the new legislative term. In short, it offered a preview of the bills that would in all probability be placed before Parliament to pass into laws.

More than 150 people, many of them minors, (were jailed) following the November 24th clashes between Egyptian security forces and Coptic Christians protesting the block on construction of their new church near Giza. Security forces opened fire on the unarmed crowd, killing three people and injuring dozens. A four year old child died after suffocating from tear gas.

It was at the café overlooking the Baron Empain Palace in Greater Cairo that I met for the first time recently with “Uncle Elie.” His full name is Elie Amin Kheder, and he is one of tens of thousands of Egyptian Jews who were forced out of their homeland by Colonel Gamal Abdel Nasser’s regime in the wake of the 1967 defeat.

Today I proceed with discussing the topic of the new People’s Assembly and the hegemony the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) holds over it. Whether this hegemony is the result of NDP superiority compared to the other political parties, or of a lopsided political map which the NDP has drawn and worked to put into effect, it is time to figure out an escape from this rigid political scene. Work has to be exerted to achieve a climate conducive to real political pluralism within which other political parties no longer play second fiddle to the NDP, but actively participate and compete.