World Council of Churches EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Bossey, Switzerland 23-26 February 2010
We, the executive committee of the World Council of Churches (meeting from 23 to 26 February 2010 in Bossey, Switzerland), send you greetings in the precious name of our Saviour and Lord, Jesus Christ!
PARIS — The Swiss government reacted blandly on Friday to the latest rhetorical sally from the eccentric Libyan leader, Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, who called on Thursday for a “jihad” against Switzerland. The two countries have been sparring since the Swiss arrested one of Colonel Qaddafi’s sons and his wife in 2008 on suspicion of beating their servants.
The UK welcomes the Egyptian delegation to Geneva. We recognise Egypt’s commitment to improving human rights and welcome its willingness to discuss challenges.
We note Egypt’s positive steps towards safeguarding human rights in several areas. In particular, we welcome the National Council for Human Rights’ creation and the establishment of a minimum quota of seats for women in the People’s Assembly. However, challenges remain.
Designation on identification cards used to discriminate on basis of religion.
By Damaris Kremida and Will Morris
ISTANBUL, February 5 (Compass Direct News) – A European court on Tuesday (Feb. 2) ordered Turkey to remove the religious affiliation section from citizens’ identification cards, calling the practice a violation of human rights.
Religious minorities and in particular Christian converts in Turkey have faced discrimination because of the mandatory religion declaration on their identification cards, which was enforced until 2006. Since then, citizens are allowed to leave the “Religion” section of their IDs blank.
UK: Judge Cherie Blair gives man reduced sentence because he is devout Muslim
Secular society upset by Judge Cherie decision
By Jerome Taylor, Religious Affairs Correspondent
A senior judge could be called on to investigate a complaint that Cherie Blair handed down a more lenient sentence to a man who had been convicted of fracturing a person’s jaw because he was religious.
COPENHAGEN: The face-covering burqa and niqab veils worn by some Muslim women have no place in Denmark, Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen said onWednesday, adding his government was considering restricting them.
Dina and Maher El-Gohary, Persecuted Coptic Christians Ask Obama for Help
By Deacon Keith Fournier
'We are imprisoned in our own home because Muslim clerics called for the murder of my father.'
The majority of Christians in Egypt are Coptic Orthodox. The very word “Copt” comes from an early Greek name for Egypt. After all Christianity and Egypt have a long and holy history. Perhaps that is part of the reason why the persistent persecution of Christians in Egypt is so appalling.
CAIRO, EGYPT (Catholic Online) – The history of Christianity in Egypt goes as far back as the visit of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. (Matt. 2) To the Christians who live in this historic land the history of the Church is the history of Egypt. The Evangelist Mark brought the Gospel to Egypt in 61 A.D. and it has a proud and inspiring Christian heritage.
AFP/File – A woman wearing a niqab -- the full Islamic veil -- walks through Lyon in eastern France. A French parliament …
by Carole Landry Carole Landry – 1 hr 11 mins ago
PARIS (AFP) – A French parliament report called on Tuesday for a ban on the full Islamic veil in many public places, saying Muslim women who wear the burqa were mounting an "unacceptable" challenge to French values.
European Centre for Law and Justice, submitted Hegazi's case to the UNHCHR
Voice of the Copts Announces
On behalf of Voice of the Copts, President Dottore Architetto Ashraf Ramelah announces the following information regarding the Egyptian citizen, Mr. MOHAMMED BISHOY HEGAZY and FAMILY MEMBERS.
Two leading Egyptian rights groups have criticised authorities for refusing to acknowledge the sectarian dimension in the recent killing of six Coptic Christians in southern Egypt.
"What happened in Nagaa Hammadi was a sectarian killing," Hafez Abou Seada, Secretary General of the Egyptian Organisation for Human Rights (EOHR) said in a statement on Wednesday.
Egypt security court to try suspects in Copt killings
FP/File – Three Muslims accused of gunning down six Egyptian Christians on the Coptic Christmas Eve will stand …
by Samer al-Atrush Samer Al-atrush – Sat Jan 16, 11:53 am ET
CAIRO (AFP) – Three Muslims accused of gunning down six Egyptian Christians on the Coptic Christmas Eve will stand trial before an emergency security court, the state prosecutor said on Saturday.
Egypt security court to try suspects in Copt killings
By Samer al-Atrush (AFP)
CAIRO — Three Muslims accused of gunning down six Egyptian Christians on the Coptic Christmas Eve will stand trial before an emergency security court, the state prosecutor said on Saturday.
Abdel Magid Mahmud said in a statement that the three men were charged with premeditated murder aimed at harming national interests.
(No. 4 – January 7, 2010 – 6 p.m. EST) The Honourable Lawrence Cannon, Minister of Foreign Affairs, issued the following statement condemning the attack earlier today on Coptic Christians leaving a midnight Mass celebrating Christmas in Nag Hammadi, Egypt:
Detaining children in Britain: No place for the innocent
What kind of country drags vulnerable children from their beds at daybreak, puts them behind bars and fills them with terror? Paul Vallely meets a family who have endured this horror – in Britain. And they're not alone
Corridor of power: Europe's largest detention centre for immigrants, Yarl's Wood Immigration Removal Centre, where the Mansours were taken.
The thundering knock came early in the morning. It was 6.30am. Without waiting for an answer the security chain across the door was smashed from its fittings. Feet thundered up the staircase. The five children, all under the age of 10, were alarmed to be woken from their sleep by the dozen burly strangers who burst into their bedrooms, switched on the lights and shouted at them to get up
Seven Coptic Christians, including two priests, were sentenced to prison for allegedly being involved in a brawl in connection with a dispute over the purchase of a property by the Coptic Orthodox Bishopric of Delga and Deir Mawas, 270 KM from Cairo. The Misdemeanor Court in Mallawi upheld a verdict passed by the First Instance Court in April, 2007.
U.S. Coptic Christians to Rally Against Persecution in Egypt
Coptic Christians are planning to hold rallies in at least four U.S. cities Monday to express their "resentment and rejection" of the persecution that fellow believers are facing in Egypt.
The rallies, organized by members of the The Free Copts, will be held in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, and Washington at a time when Christians in Egypt are reportedly facing killings, destruction and looting of their property, deportation from their homes and the forced Islamization of their minor daughters.
A senior leader of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood has acknowledged that government repression has widened the rifts within the organisation as conservative voices fearful for its survival battle with reformists over the merits of political participation.
