Middle East News
Egypt jails two Christian activists for "defaming Islam"
Sep 26, 2007, 12:37 GMT
Cairo - An Egyptian court has extended the jail term of two Christian human right activists who were arrested and imprisoned on charges of defamimg Islam last month, a member of a Christian group said on Wednesday.
The human right activists, Adel Fawzy Faltas and Peter Ezzat, have been in jail since August 8 for defaming Islam, Wajih Yakub, a member of the Middle East Christians Association (MECA), told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.
A state security court on September 20 extended their jail term for 15 more days, according to Yakub.
Faltas and Ezzat, who are members of the Canada-based association, have been accused by Egypt's state security prosecutors of threatening social peace by propagating anti-Islamic material.
The material in question is a book entitled The Persecuted that the association compiled from Egyptian newspaper reports and court cases which involve what it perceives as persecution of Egypt's Coptic Christian minority, Yakub explained.
Initially, they were also accused of converting a Muslim, named Mohamed Ahmed Hegazy, to Christianity. But this charge was later dropped due to lack of evidence, Yakub said.
Proselytizing to promote the Islamic faith is taken for granted in Egypt, though not enshrined in law. However, promoting any other religion is considered unacceptable. Conversions to other religions were not banned by law, Yakub maintained.
Egypt's Christians estimate their number at about 15 million, out of a total population of 79 million. A census conducted last year did not include any detail of their percentage of the total population.
Groups of Egyptian Christians living abroad, especially in North America and Europe, have been campaigning for equal rights and an end to discrimination against Christians in Egypt.
Their vociferous leaders have embarrassed the Egyptian government, especially with its US ally.
The US State Department has criticized Egypt in its annual report on religious freedom around the world, which was released this month.
The report said respect for religious freedom in Egypt had declined. It cited as an example a court ruling this year that overruled a previous policy to provide a legal means for converts from Islam to Christianity to amend their civil records.
Egypt's foreign minister, Ahmad Abul Ghait, slammed the report stressing the country's sovereignty.
Egyptian Christians living abroad have the luxury of campaigning against the government because they live in free societies in contrast to human rights campaigners operating from Egypt, Yakub complains.
Coptic associations based in Europe and North America have called for the immediate, unconditional release of both human rights activists, a statement released on MECA website said.
They pledged to pursue their campaign to 'internationalize the Coptic question.' The campaigners have submitted a request to the UN on Thursday concerning the case of the two activists and the Coptic question as a whole, according to the statement.
Protests will be staged in several countries, including Egypt, to demand their release, Yakub said.
'The regime seems to have lost control; it is arresting and imprisoning human right activists and threatening journalists,' Yakub said.
The government has recently renewed its crackdown on dissent.
In August, four journalists were given prison sentences for defaming President Hosny Mubarak and three for publishing false allegations about Egypt's judiciary.
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-AgenturCOMMENT
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Older Talkback
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Another victory for freedom of speech and thought in the wonderful Muslim world. Heaven on earth will come when Islam is wiped from the face of the earth. Good riddance to such a corrupt and evil ideology.
Ditto Dave. I'm so appalled by this kind of middle easter hatred I have nothing to say today.
This does not surprise me. So few really know just how evil Islam is, they claim to be a religion of peace but one looks at all the violence and atrocities in the world you would see that Islam is involved in more than 90% of them. It used to be a pleasure to travel abroad but after 9/11 the world will never be the same again and Islam is to blame.
Islam is one of the most unreasonable religions in the world; Muslims will simply not accept the truth and continue to propagate their lies. Anyone who dares to appose them or expose them is threatened and they have murdered hundreds of thousands all in the name of their god Allah, the pagan moon god who Mohammed the lying prophet used to create his false monolithic religion.
It amazes me that President Bush and so many other world leaders cannot see that its not just the fundamentals but all of Islam that is evil. As long as this is the case this cancerous religion will continue its expansionism in the west. We need to recognise it for what it is, plain and simply demonic.
Everbody who posted a negative comment about muslims or islam obviously never met or traveled to a muslim nation. I urge you to do so please if you live in any major city it should be a lot easier to do. Iam not gonna defend the govt. of Egypt cause they are evil but this has nothing to do with the people. I can take any religion or a belief and make it look evil. Take chrisianity lets start with the crusades 100,000s people killed in the name of Christ. 2 the Nazis millions of people killed. 3 colonization of Asia, Africa, Miiddle East and Australia millions killed in the name of Christ as a matter of fact the 1st slave boat to take of from Africa was named Jesus christ ect. ect. lets take judism stealing land from its original people and throwing them in the desert killing defensless women and children everyday for the last 60 years and so on. Now i beg everybody to please treat people as they wanna be treated if we all follow the GOLDEN RULE the world would be a much better place. Sorry if i sound corny but its true. SAlAM SHALOM PEACE to everybody that will take my advice.
'Everbody who posted a negative comment about muslims or islam obviously never met or traveled to a muslim nation.'
I have, and I agree with them.
'Take chrisianity lets start with the crusades 100,000s people killed in the name of Christ. '
Bull.
' 1st slave boat to take of from Africa was named Jesus christ ect. '
Another lie. Slavery still exists in islamic countries by the way.
' Now i beg everybody to please treat people as they wanna be treated'
I did, until we started having savages flying aircraft full of human beings into buildings full of human beings.
ayman---
What you have posted is a bunch of lies. The Crusaders were Roman Catholics, a religion that is NOT based on the Bible, it is a manmade religion just like Islam. Roman Catholicism came into existance when Emperor Constantine hijacked true Christianity because he needed for state and political reasons. Many of the so-called Christian Churches today are not biblically based, there is only a remnant of people called Christians who are truely born again by the Spirit of God (not Allah, he is the pagan moon god).
Read the Bible and you will discover the truth, the book I recommend you read carefully is the gospel of John. Look carefully at the claims of Jesus Christ and if you are sincere and humble you will realise that every person under heaven is a sinner destined for God's wrathfuk judgement and that Jesus Christ the Son of God came and died taking upon Himself God's wrath and He rose again defeating Satan, death and hell. all who believe and receive Him as LORD and Saviour are no longer under condemnation but have the promise of eternal life. The invitation is to ALL, it's not an invitation to a religion but to a personalknowledge and relationship with God Almighty, the God of Israel.
Everyone who believes in Jesus Christ may have eternal life. For God so loved the world (ayman) that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever (ayman) believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world (ayman), but to save the world (ayman) through Him. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.
This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. JOHN 3:15-20
who are we to speak this way towards other relegions, we should not blame a persons relegion for his wrong doing, but blame the person himself.
we should not force people, we dont have the right to tell someone what to do, and how to do it.
when people say that islam is evil, or christanity is evil, or any other relegion is evil, they are just making things worse for our human race.
We should not advize people in life, you only have one human life, you should not waist it doing what your told, but live life the way you feel most comfortable.
If we all live a comfortable life, doing what we want to do, how we want to do it, then the world would be a better place, kind of like a heaven except no eternal life...
but we all know thats never going to happen because lets face it, their are alot of ignorent and crazy people out their that love to hate, and hate to love...
Yes, let's blame the person himself, not any actual religion, and blame that guy who is called m#h#mm#d!
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SSep 26th, 2007 - 14:01:36
Again, the word tolerance comes to mind! Yet another example how Muslims have no freedoms in the Arab world and yet are given that precious gift in many other places abroad. Freedom is a blessing!
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