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Copts in the West Campaign Against Muslim Brotherhood

By Mary Abdelmassih

(AINA) -- Expatriate Copts in Western capitals launched campaigns to draw attention to the violence of the Muslim Brotherhood and to expose it as a terrorist organization, and to support the Egyptian army, who they say is "fighting a war on terror" launched by pro-Morsy supporters against the Egyptian people at large.

As with most Egyptians, the Copts are angry with the Obama administration for supporting the Muslim Brotherhood and describing their demonstrations as "peaceful." Video evidence supports the contrary.

"We are also angry with the bias of the western media, which still talks of the June 30 demonstrations as a coup. How could this be when over 33,000,000 citizens went out to the streets all over Egypt calling for the ousting of Morsy," said activist Mark Ebeid, "why deny us our revolution, and the right to choose a suitable president?"

On July 25, in an interview on Cairo Tonight, a news discussion program hosted by Amr Adeeb, Major General Sameh Seif El-Yazal, an expert in national security affairs and Chairman of the Al Jamhooriyya Center for Political and Security Studies in Cairo, said the Muslim Brotherhood hired an American public relations firm to portray the June 30 Revolution as a military coup, even though nearly 33 million citizens joined in the demonstrations. Yazal said there is an Arab state which funds this process and is injecting huge sums of money into the U.S. to disseminate negative publicity against the Egyptian army (Al-Ahram story in Arabic).

On August 22 a large rally was staged in front of the White House in Washington, where Copts travelled from all over the U.S. to denounce the Brotherhood's Terror in Egypt, and to expose the bias of the Obama administration and the American media towards the Brotherhood. The rally later marched to the Washington Post and CNN to denounce their bias.

American Copts funded a $100,000 full page advert in the New York Times newspaper on August 24. "It was all from Coptic donations" said Magdi Khalil one of the heads of "Coptic Solidarity", an NGO based in the US which organized the rally and adverts.

The advert came in response to the advert published by the Muslim Brotherhood in the Washington Post, which talked about the 'military coup' in Egypt and the massacres and atrocities committed by Gen. -Abdel Fattah Sisi, the defense minister, demanding the right of Egyptians to electoral legitimacy -- meaning the return of Morsy as President.

The Coptic advert blasted the Obama administration for considering the MB demonstrators as "peaceful" and for withholding acknowledgement that the Egyptian people regained control of their country from the MB, demanding justice and equality for all Egyptians. They explained to the readers that the Muslim Brotherhood is supported by Al-Qaida and that Hamas, one of its offshoots, is designated by the U.S. State Department as a terrorist organization.

Addressing the American public, the advert said "If you are outraged by the Muslim Brotherhood's attack on over 90 churches and public institutions and their killing of innocent and unarmed civilians, join us in asking our government to acknowledge that there is nothing 'peaceful' in their violent and deadly demonstrations."

The Muslim Brotherhood has announced that on August 30 demonstrations will take place all over Egypt, asking for the return of the deposed President Morsy.

Egyptian Copts have paid the heftiest price after the ousting of the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) President Morsy, and the breaking up of the two MB sit-ins in Cairo by security forces. According to church sources over 90 churches, monasteries, Coptic orphanages, schools and properties looted and torched from August 14-22 (AINA 8-24-2013). Human Rights Watch visited various churches that were attacked and reported on it (video).

Bishop Makarious of Minya, the Upper Egyptian governorate with the most church and property casualties, said that attacks on churches and Copts were planned before the breakup of the sit-ins, and fears that more attacks will continue.

Copts have been accused by pro-Morsy supporters of being behind the demonstrations that ended his presidency. Al-Qaida leader el-Zawahry accused the Church and the secularist minority of having conspired with Western powers against the Muslim Nation in Egypt (video).

By Mary Abdelmassih