COWANDILLA motorists could be forgiven for doing a double take when passing a 3m statue of an Egyptian pharaoh. The St Mary and Anba Bishoy Coptic Orthodox Church has put up a statue of Ramses II, along with a 4m high pyramid, to educate children about Egyptian and Coptic history.

CAIRO, April 2 (Reuters) - President Mohamed Mursi's Islamist allies accused the United States on Tuesday of blatant interference in its affairs after Washington said Cairo was muzzling freedom of speech.

The Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) on Tuesday condemned a recent US State Department statement criticising an arrest warrant issued earlier this week for Egyptian television satirist Bassem Youssef.

The Gaza Strip’s Hamas movement condemned the actions of students from the West Bank's Fatah party who hanged an effigy of the emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani on Tuesday.

Dar al-Ifta issued a fatwa Sunday that said using verses from the Quran or the call to prayer as ringtones for mobile phones is haram, or prohibited in Islam.

A number of political figures and researchers came together on Sunday for a two-day conference in Cairo organised by the Middle East Forum for Civil Liberties, to discuss the topic of citizenship and minorities in Egypt under the rule of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Al-Azhar’s Council of Senior Scholars will meet next week to discuss the draft law on Islamic sukuk bonds, according to an official source from the council.

Veteran Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal is set to be elected to a new term as head of the Palestinian Islamist movement, party officials said on Monday.

Sufi orders in Egypt are to form popular committees to protect their shrines and mosques from "radical Salafists," a Sufi leader has said.

Pope Francis is making an Easter Sunday peace plea, saying conflicts have lasted too long in Syria, and between Israelis and Palestinians.

The wife of late Salafi activist Mohamed Yousry Salama, Omneya, told ONtv Sunday evening that the fact she choose not to cover her hair was a point a disagreement between her and her husband.

The Muslim Brotherhood has denied that its young members are angry at the group for letting them confront clashes in Moqattam and outside the presidential palace.

A Hamas delegation currently visiting Egypt has held several talks with Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood’s Guidance Bureau, the group’s highest authority.

The Shura Council legislative committee on Sunday removed an article from the draft electoral law that banned the use of religious slogans in election campaigns. The amended draft law is to be submitted to the council Monday for review.

Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated government recently allowed members of the Brotherhood and hardline jihadists to join Egypt’s military academy for the first time as part of what U.S. officials say is a covert effort to impose Islamist rule in the key Middle East state.

Nader Bakkar, spokesman for the ultraconservative Salafist Nour Party, condemned Thursday recent statements by Wasat Party leader Abul-Ela Madi against Egypt’s intelligence apparatus.

On Street 10 of the south Cairo neighbourhood of Moqattam on Monday, it was hard to believe that there had recently been trouble near the Muslim Brotherhood's nearby headquarters. Yet throughout the past week, the quiet neighbourhood – better known in recent years as a hangout for young lovers – has seen three violent clashes pitting anti-government protesters against Brotherhood members and security forces.

Freedom and Justice Party leader Saad El-Katatni on Wednesday discussed Egypt's draft NGO law with the US and UK ambassadors at the party's headquarters in Cairo.

The Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) has questioned the legal basis for Wednesday’s court ruling that overturned President Morsi’s dismissal of former prosecutor-general Abdel-Meguid Mahmoud.

The fugitive leader of a radical Islamist group threatened on Wednesday to overthrow Tunisia's government, one day after the prime minister accused him of smuggling weapons into the North African country.