PR_5
Aug. 4, 2000
A Bloody Summer in
Egypt:
The racist government killed one of the heroes of
Saint Mark’s Church in Egypt. On July.25, 2000 in an intentionally planned
accident Bishop McKarry was murdered in the desert of Sinai. The perpetrators
left clear evidence behind them, this time; they killed the Bishop’s car
driver with knives when they found him not dead soon after the accident. To hide
any evidence, and leaving no witnesses behind, the accident was planned to kill
all passengers how in that car. Bishop McKarry, have been fighting for long time
the racist rules and regulations of the Arab-Moslem government of Egypt. Since
October 1995, Bishop McKarry have worked very hard trying to get a license to
build a Church in a huge desert area of Sinai, but all his efforts were
rejected. One of his attempts to get license, was when he approached President
Mubarak during his visit to Al- Arish, on the north- east of Sinai, on May 5Th,
1998. That serious attempt also was not answered, and failed.
It seems to be that the racist regime decided to kill any Coptic Christian who tries to build or do any maintenance works for any Church. On the last few months, the ethnic religious war against Coptic Christians getting increase, particularly after Mubarak’s visit last March, 2000 to the US. Augmenting the religious war against the Christians of Egypt, El-Quds newspaper, have reported some other incidents against Christians as follows:
A
Christian Activist killed by a Sniper on attack against a Church:
On
July 28, 2000 El-Quds reported that Fakhry Saad, a Christian activist, was
killed in an attack of Moslems against, over maintaining a Church on Assole
village, 50 kilometer south of Cairo. The late was Christian activist
volunteering to help his community doing some maintenance works in an old
Church. As usual, the racist government had its own plan to stop doing well.
This time, the police gathered more than 200 Moslems to attack the Church and
destroy the equipment, and desecrate the Church. During the attack, a car had
stopped and the assassin shoots upon the victim, Saad, killing him immediately,
then ran away from the scene of the crime.
20 Christians
Injured in Attack against the Sacred Heart Church in Cairo
On July 25, 2000, the same newspaper reported that a Moslem was driving a car hit a little girl on the front sidewalk of Sacred Heart Church in Cairo. The girl’s family and relatives caught the driver in order to submit him to the police authority. A little while later, a significant number of Moslems gathered and attacked the people outside and inside the Church injured more than 20 Christians, set fire on numbers cars, and destroying the Church properties.
Bishop
Amonious of Luxor under House Arrest
In an unprecedented step Bishop Amonious of
Luxor have been put under house arrest in one of monasteries in Egypt. Under the
pressure, and terrorism of the racist government of Egypt, the Holy Council of
the Coptic Orthodox Church had impeached the Bishop. According to the Law of the
Coptic Church that a Bishop would be only impeached if he is mentally sick, or
he is preaching heretic beliefs. In both cases the Bishop was never accused with
any of above reasons necessary for impeachment. The declared accusations are
phony, such his imposing a daily worship in all Churches in Luxor. The ACU made
some call to Luxor to investigate the matter, the real reasons behind the
impeachment and putting him under house arrest, because, first, he replaced
Arabic language prayers with Coptic language. Second, there are more than 34
violations of very harsh regulation for maintaining churches buildings, and he
never could settle or clear these violations.
In United States of America the Coptic Christian Community is very
concerned by the following reasons:
¨
The
American Government never paid any attention to the persecution of Coptic
Christians in Egypt, and the Human Rights violations, despite the fact that 100%
of United States Senate members voted for the ” Freedom From Religious
Persecution Act” on 1998.
¨
Ignoring
the ethnic religious war, terrorism, and massacres against the Christians in
Egypt by the major TV Networks in United States.
¨
The
unknown fate of a Congressional Hearing promised by Congressman Christopher H.
Smith (R) of New Jersey, on Feb. 2000.
¨
The
whole Christian community, especially those who have family, and relatives in
the Middle East were embraced, and shocked when Presidential candidate George W.
Bush mentioned Moslems and Mosques, without any concern for the killing,
and persecuting of Christians in the Moslem Countries, destruction of Churches.
¨
Finally,
we hope that Vice President Al Gore, and his running mate, Senator Joseph
Lieberman, give a strong attention to the religious persecution of non-Moslems
in the Middle East, during the next Democratic National Convention for the
campaign 2000.
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