1997 News

Mr. Mubarak's statement on Copts dashes all hopes for improvement

From an interview with the official Egyptian newspaper Al-Ahram : August 15, 1997

Editor: Does the (Egyptian) government intend to take legislative measures to correct the laws related to church building in order to eliminate the cause of complaints used by people abroad who accuse the Egyptian administration of mistreating Copts?

President Mubarak: First of all we do not treat Copts in the way these allegations and fabrications are leveled against us say.  All these are slander and lack of understanding.  Pope Shenouda has been talking frankly, and answered them. There are some things that have been settled a long time ago in regard to repairing  churches , (which) we approve of.  Generally speaking, in regard to this subject, I want to emphasize that the things (laws) that relate to the building of a church are very clear, and they are necessary  to insure that extremists do not clash with each other... No permits that came to us  were denied... All these (laws) are made for the sake of "security", and not to control Copts.  I have issued more permits to build new churches than the permits which they (Copts) received during the days of Sadat and abdel-Nasser.  We have no problem, because we always come to mutual understanding.  In fact, I do not see a problem between Muslims and Copts in Egypt.  If there is a problem it is between extremists from both sides, but the great majority relate to each other in a good way. I had Christian friends all my life...the last head of the training department in the Air Forces was a Christian, and he was very efficient.  I personally do not have preferences between a Christian and a Muslim. The measure (of preference) to me is efficiency, because they are all Egyptian, whether they be Muslims or Christians. We all are children of one country, no difference between a Christian and a Muslim.  He that argues the issue must have a (personal) agenda, purpose or gain !!

COMMENTS

1. After reading hints in the Egyptian media,  in the last few weeks, about the possibility of the Egyptian  government taking steps to address the Coptic issues, Mr. Mubarak  comes to say that he sees no problems in regards to the  Copts,  thus he is closing all doors and  shattering all  hopes of solving Copic problems, any time soon..
2. Mr. Mubarak alleges that discrimination against the Copts is fabricated, but the facts prove otherwise.  What is to be believed, facts  or fiction?
3. As always, Mr. Mubarak tries to push our  religious leadership into trying to deny the existence of  discrimination against Copts.  However, in spite of all the  pressure, H.H. Pope Shenouda never alluded to the claim that  Christians and Muslims are being treated equally in Egypt.
4. Mr. Mubarak claims that the restrictions on church building were established as "security " measures to avoid attacks against Copts.   The truth, however, is that these laws convince the extremists  that Copts are second class citizens, not to be treated as equal  to Muslims.  They serve as a green light for attacks by  Muslims against the Copts based on rumors of Copts breaking such  laws, as it happened in Kafr Demian, Ezbet Daoud and Eltemsahia..
5. Mr. Mubarak brags that he gave more  permits to build churches than his predecessors. Even if we assume  this to be true, it still falls  short of the equality we  envision between Muslims and Christians, as  Muslims  encounter no restrictions at all  in  building  mosques.  Moreover ,the statement is nothing but a big lie;  more churches were closed during Mr. Mubarak's regime than during  any other regime in modern history. Very few permits to build new  churches were issued by Mr. Mubarak, most of them were stopped at  lower levels of government.
6. Mr. Mubarak says that he sees no problems between Muslims and Copts, that problems occur only between extremists from both sides. We would  like to ask Mr. Mubarak: were the 13 Christian youths who were  murdered as they were praying in Abu Qurqas extremists?  Were  the10 Christian farmers who were murdered in front their   homes in Bahgora extremists? Were the 41 Christian residents whom  homes were burned in Kafr Demian extremists? The list goes on and  on....but why doesn't Mr. Mubarak come up with one single name of  a Coptic "extremist" who committed a violent crime against Muslims  because of religion?
7. Mr. Mubarak states that the only basis he uses to differentiate between  Copts and Muslims is efficiency. Copts must have suffered a sudden case of acute inefficiencytus, because in his administration today there are no Christian governors, mayors, chief of police, dean of a college,directors of banks..etc.. .Mr. Mubarak's ruling party didn't find a Copt "efficient" enough to be worthy of  inclusion in their list of candidates for the Egyptian  Parliament.

An appeal on behalf of Dr. Naseem Abdel-Mallak was rejected

On November 13, 1997, an Egyptian military court sentenced a Christian citizen (a Copt),  Dr. Naseem Abdel-Mallak, to life in prison at hard labor for a charge of accepting a bribe and illegally releasing a mental patient.  The mental patient, Saber Farahat abul-Ulla, went on with others and killed nine German tourists, outside the Cairo Museum, on September 18, 1997.  Dr. Abdel-Mallak was the chief of the mental hospital at the time.

We maintained that all circumstances point to the innocence of Dr. Abdel-Mallak. Since the decision of the military court can only be reversed by a higher authority in the Ministry of Defense, we were hoping that an appeal to the military authority will correct the unjust sentence.  The military authority had 45 days, from the day the sentence was issued, to approve or disapprove the court's decision.  When 45 days passed by, without hearing anything about the case, we felt this was an encouraging sign.

Today, however, we received from Cairo the feared bad news, that a military commander by the name of Midhat had in fact approved the sentence on January 1,1998.  According to credible sources , the approval was not announced to avoid any outcry from the outside world because of this case.

We still believe that this case (case #66 of the year 1997) is another example of the discrimination that Copts (Christians of Egypt) are facing in every aspect of their daily life.  It is evident that the court, which was headed by Brigadir General Mohammed Shamel Ali Ramzy and membership of Brigadir Generals Alla el-Din abdel-Hadi and Sallah Ahmed Mohammed Hussein ( all Muslims ), was not fair to this Christian man.

1. It is absurd that the court accept the  testimony of  a sole witness, who is a mental patient, a  murderer, and a  fanatical Muslim as evidence that Dr.  Abdel-Mallak received the bribe.
2. It is also absurd  to believe, even if one assumes that Dr. Abdel-Mallak did accept the bribe, that he was part of a conspiracy to kill the tourists.  The punishment for accepting a bribe is only 3 years in prison, but Dr Abdel-Mallak's sentence to life in prison at hard labor indicates that the court must have considered Dr. Abdel-Mallak a participant in the crime! This is outrageous. What motives could this Christian man have to join Muslim extremists in such a horrible crime?  It is a known fact that Christians of Egypt are victims of the same crimes from these extremists.

The final decision now lies on the hands of Mr. Mubarak who, as the president of the country, has the power to change the verdict and to free this innocent man.

We appeal to all freedom loving people and organizations, all over the world, to contact Mr. Mubarak to protest this unfair sentence, and to ask for the immediate release of Dr. Abdel-Mallak.  Dr. Abdel-Mallak is 42 years old, his young wife and two little children (5 and 7) badly need him. Thank you, and may God bless you.

Mr. Mubarak
Fax:  011-202-589-0500
Egyptian Embassy in Washington DC
Fax: 1-202-244-4319
American Embassy in Cairo
Fax: 011-202-367-2181

November 17, 1997 Miscarriage of Justice in Egypt Coptic doctor unjustly sentenced to life in prison

Copts (Christians of Egypt), have always complaint that they are under represented within the Muslim dominated society of Egypt.  Copts, who comprise about 15-20% of the population, have no elected representatives in Egypt's parliament, no governors, no city chiefs, no police chiefs, no college deans, etc.

This unjust under representation of Copts has one exception, where they are certainly over represented, and unjustly so, we must add.  It has been noticed lately that whenever Muslim extremists are sentenced in crimes against Christian citizens and foreign tourists, there were always some Christians who are also convicted with the Muslims.  What did the Christians do?  Did they conspire to kill their fellow Christian citizens and tourists?  And with whom did they conspire?  With Muslim extremists, whose agenda is to eliminate all Christians from the face of Egypt, and the world, if they can?

When the Muslim extremist Haridi killed 13 Christians in Sanabu, in March 1992, a Christian man received the highest sentence as Haridi did, for a crime that was not even announced.  Last week's sentence of a Christian Coptic doctor to life with hard labor, among the Muslim extremists who were convicted in the killing of 9 German tourists, was another outrageous example of the unjust practices of the Egyptian justice system.

On November 13,1997 a military court found Dr. Naseem Abdel-Mallak guilty of receiving bribes and illegally releasing a mental patient who went on with others and killed nine German tourists outside the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, on Sept.18, 1997.  We believe that Dr. Abdel-Mallak is not guilty for many reasons:

1. There was no credible evidence that Dr.  Abdel-Mallak committed the crimes he was accused of.  The  only witness against him, Abu-El-Ulla, doesn't fit the  characteristics of a credible witness.  Abu El Ulla is a  mental patient and a murderer of nine Germans in this incident,  and two Americans and a French in March 1993.  Abu-El-Ulla a  Muslim extremist, who hates and kills Christians, would certainly  lie to hurt a Christian.  Furthermore this witness was not  consistent.  First he witnessed against El-Qut, a Muslim  doctor who provided him with a certificate of insanity in exchange  for a bribe so that he could escape the death penalty in  1993.  Later on, he retracted his witness against Dr. El-Qut  and implicated Dr. Abdel-Mallak.  Strangely enough the court  accepted the testimony of this man, acquitted Dr. El-Qut, and  found Dr. Abdel-Mallak guilty!
2. There was no evidence, nor accusations,  that there was malice on the part of Dr. Abdel-Mallak in this  case.  Dr. Abdel-Mallak did not know of the plan to kill the  tourists, nor was he involved or was an accomplice of the crime.
3. If Dr. Abdel Mallak was responsible, as the chief of the hospital, for corruption among the staff of the hospital, certainly an administrative discipline will be in order such as demotion or even firing from the job, but certainly he doesn't deserve life in prison with hard labor.

We feel that Dr. Abdel-Mallak was used by the Egyptian government as a scapegoat, to balance the equation, and to give the extremists the notion that the government was not pro Christians or anti-Muslims.

We would have no objection of a Christian being punished, provided that there was credible evidence of committing the crime and that the punishment fits the crime.  This certainly was not the case with Dr. Naseem Abdel-Mallak

The court that issued the sentence is a military court, and sentences can not be appealed to a higher court.  The only chance of clemency lies in the hands of President Mubarak who must sign with his approval before it becomes final.

We ask all freedom loving people and organizations in the free world to contact Mr. Mubarak in order to reverse this unjust sentence against Dr. Abdel-Mallak

Mr. Mubarak
Fax:  011-202-589-0500
Egyptian Embassy in Washington
Fax:  1-202-244-4319
American Embassy in Cairo
Fax:  011-202-367-2181

Mubarak denies again any discrimination against Copts

From the semi official Egyptian news paper al-Ahram, on November 12, 1997: " In regards to the listing of Egypt, by some of the members of the American Congress, among the countries that persecute minorities, the president pointed out that this came from certain people with special interest, inside the American Congress, which has been echoed by Jewish institutions in the United States.

"The President expressed his astonishment at listing Egypt among these countries, indicating that this contradicts both truth and reality. Although the international community knows that, yet this (issue) has always been raised whenever Egypt has a (different) position.  The same (issue) was raised with President Abdel Nasser before, and with President Sadat as well.  Let it be known to everyone that we don't have a Coptic problem.  These are allegations made by certain groups who are trying to hurt us and smear Egypt.  We have no discrimination between Christians and Muslims, both are Egyptians who have the same rights and duties, since civilization started on the land of Egypt.  They live on the same land and under the same flag.  Raising these subjects, or threatening to cut off aid, or raising other issues, will not exert any pressure on us."

Comments:

1. Once again, Mr. Mubarak denies any wrong  doing on the part of the Egyptian government, regarding  discrimination against Copts, blaming special interest groups and  Jewish Institutions. Mr. Mubarak: lets not talk about certain  groups and whatever interest they may have.  Lets not talk  about a position of the Egyptian government and whatever reaction  the world may have to it.   Lets not talk about who is  blowing the whistle on the persecution of Christians in  Egypt.  Lets not talk about the relationship between  Christians and Muslims at the start of civilization (although at  the start of civilization there were neither Christians nor  Muslims in Egypt!!).  Let us only talk about facts: are Copts  persecuted in Egypt, today, or not?
2. Mr. Mubarak's answer to the question is an absolute, unqualified denial. He says, "Let it be known to everyone that we don't have a Coptic problem, these are allegations made by certain groups who are trying to hurt us and smear Egypt."  Now, Mr. Mubarak, what do you say about the Hamayouni decree that requires your signature on something as little as repairing a toilet in a church, and not so for mosques, isn't that discrimination? Are Muslims allowed to freely convert to Christianity if they so wished, as Christians are encouraged to convert to Islam?  Are educational curriculums in Egypt free from denigrating references to Christianity?  Do Christians have their fair share in the media, in high ranking jobs, in parliament representation, in police and military academies enrollments. Are Christians allowed to enroll at al-Azhar, a state-run university, which regularly provides free tuition and paid living expenses to non-Egyptian Muslim students?  Do Christians get adequate protection against Muslim extremists?  These are only a few examples.  Mr. Mubarak: action speaks louder than words, instead of denying the persecution of Christian Copts in Egypt, it is time for you to do something about it.

Muslim Extremists continue attacking Christians in Egypt

Suspected Muslim extremists have killed 13 people in central Egypt in the second major attack on Coptic Christians in four weeks. Four hours later, suspected militants killed another man in a separate attack on a train in the same area, the Egyptian Interior Ministry said Friday.

The gunmen attacked the small Christian village of Ezbet Dawood, about 270 miles south of Cairo, on Thursday night 3/13/97. They fired indiscriminately at the villagers sitting in front of their houses. Four Muslims were among the 13 people shot dead. The Muslim victims happened to be there, but there was no doubt that the Christians were the target.

A few hours later, gunmen attacked a passenger train on the Luxor - Cairo route, near the same village, killing one woman and wounding six.

These attacks on Christians have been escalating in the last few years. They have been invited by laxity of security towards the Christian minority of Egypt. We believe that these attacks are a result of the government of Egypt discriminatory policies against the Christians, which in themselves, serve as a green light sending a message to the extremists that it is acceptable to mistreat Christians.

Egypt controlled media have been for years conducting a campaign of hate against Christians labeling them as infidels who must convert to Islam or face death.

The Christians of Egypt (the Copts) who comprise about 12 millions (20 % of Egypt population), are facing annihilation due to the large number of forced conversion to Islam, immigration and murder.

Muslim Militants killed at least 9 Christians in Egypt
From: Assiut, Egypt (Reuter)

At least nine Christians were killed and five others wounded when suspected Muslims militants attacked a church in southern Egypt, Wednesday, February 12, 1997. The security sources said the gunmen -believed to be members of the militant Gama'a al-Islamya (Islamic Group)- stormed St. George Coptic Orthodox church in El Fikrya, Abu-Qurqas town, killing seven youths and wounding five others. Another man was killed while the gunmen were escaping.

In Cairo, the interior ministry said in a statement, the attackers shot and killed nine Christians and wounded six others when they sprayed the exterior of the church with machine gun fire.

Muslim militants have in the past five years targeted and killed members of the minority Christians population while trying to transform Egypt into a purist Islamic State.  But sources said this was the first time suspected militant groups actually stormed a church and killed worshipers there.

Soldiers Destroy Christians Farm and Care Center Near Cairo Egypt
From: the Santa Anna-based "Compass Direct" January 16,1997

Some 300 soldiers of the Egyptian army sacked a Christian farm and center for disabled children 15 miles outside Cairo on December 15, 1996. The armed men unexpectedly broke into the desert reclamation project owned by Coptic Christians using four heavy army truck, a dump truck and a huge bulldozer.

"It seems as if they were launching a war against us, but until now I cannot figure out the reason," said Ezat Bishay, one of the project supervisor. The soldiers assaulted Dr. Hany Fadel Abdel Messih, the farm veterinarian, when he tried to stop them.

"When I tried to bring the official papers of the project, an officer ordered a soldier to confine me and my wife," Messih said. "Then they began kicking and beating me as if I were a criminal," he told reporters of the independent weekly Middle East Times. Egyptian sensors have blocked publication of the incident.

"They said that they came to demolish the cows shed, which they said was built illegally on arable land. But the whole area is a desert!" Messih said.

"Within two hours the armed soldiers ruined the site still under construction. We stood helpless. Every one of us was guarded by five soldiers at least," said engineer Adel fahmey. The attack resulted in about $20,000 in damages.

It is not the matter of money only, but the efforts that were exerted are priceless, Fahmey commented." The idea of starting (over) from the beginning drives me crazy.

"We have made an official complaint with the civil police, but until now we have not received any official note concerning what they have done," said Mohsen Nagy, the senior supervisor of the project. The military police have reportedly also started an investigation into the violent act, which is incompatible with the official policy of the Egyptian government.

Muslim and Violence in Pakistan
From: Christian Link, Spring 1997

1. On January 27th, 1997 a Christian man was falsely arrested by the police on a charge of running an illegal gambling den. The police  ransacked the house and desecrated the Holy Bible.
2. During a demonstration the Muslims  destroyed two churches. An eyewitness reports that the Christians  ran out in the nearby fields where they spent a cold night in the  open "The police watched silently as the lynch mob of Muslims went  on a bloody rampage"
3. According to informed sources, Shantinagar, a Christian township, in central Pakistan was attacked by thousands of Muslims which resulted in dozens wounded, including women and children.

The attack came as a result of circulation of unfounded and false information among the Muslims, that the Christians of Shantinagar committed Blasphemy against their prophet, and guilty of desecrating the Koran! According to details, on February 6th, 1997 at 10:00 am local time, approx. 30,000 armed Muslims from about 30 villages gathered and attacked Shantinagar. The Muslims wreaked havoc upon the Christians. It is reported that every house in the village was set on fire. The women were raped indiscriminately. According to witness, five Churches belonging to different denominations were desecrated, set on fire and completely destroyed in the wake of this attack. Army has been called to control this volatile situation. A curfew has been declared in Shantinagar and neighboring villages.

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