The Church of England has issued the following response to the Home Office concerning the asylum letter regarding an Iranian Christian convert. In its refusal of asylum, the Home Office had used quotations of violence in the Bible as evidence of bogus claim.
His Eminence Archbishop Angaelos, Coptic Orthodox Archbishop of London, has also commented on the Home Office response, and this is reproduced below.
Response to Home Office letter regarding Iranian asylum seeker
21/03/2019
Read more: Issues of law and religion in the United Kingdom – with occasional forays further afield
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Asia Bibi: Pakistan acquits Christian woman on death row
- 31 October 2018
Media captionAsia Bibi's escape from Pakistan death row
A Pakistani court has overturned the death sentence of a Christian woman convicted of blasphemy, a case that has polarised the nation.
Asia Bibi was convicted in 2010 after being accused of insulting the Prophet Muhammad in a row with her neighbours.
Read more: Asia Bibi: Pakistan acquits Christian woman on death row
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Egypt’s Coptic Christians have been nominated for the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize for choosing peaceful coexistence over retaliation in the face of persecution, reports the US-based news site PR Newswire.
It is believed to be the first time in the 116-year history of the prize that an ethnic religious group has been nominated, said the news site. The US-based non-governmental organisation Coptic Orphans submitted the nomination.
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Copts Celebrate First Mass in New Church
After seven years of closure of their old church by local authorities due to ‘security reasons’, the Coptic community in the Egyptian village of Kom el – Loufy celebrated the completion of the first phase of building their new church, the Church of Virgin Mary and Martyr Aban, by holding their first ever Mass on Sunday.
Previously, the priest of the Saint Abu Sefein Coptic Orthodox Church near the village of Ezzbet Rafla welcomed the Copts in his church.
Following the closure of the old church, the Copts experienced serious discrimination as two young angry Muslims set fire to four Coptic homes in the village after rumors had spread that one of the houses would be turned into a church.
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International Religious Freedom Report for 2017
United States Department of State • Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor
EGYPT 2017 INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM REPORT
Executive Summary
The constitution describes freedom of belief as “absolute” and specifies Islam as the state religion. It also enshrines the principles of sharia as the primary source of legislation, which local lawyers stated creates potential legal ambiguities with regard to the freedom of belief guaranteed in the constitution. The constitution only provides adherents of Islam, Christianity, and Judaism the right to practice their religion freely and to build houses of worship. The government continued not to recognize and restrict Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormons, and Bahais. According to multiple sources, authorities continued to detain and physically mistreat former Muslims. Irrespective of religion, authorities also did not apply equal protection to all citizens and sometimes closed churches, in violation of the law, according to multiple sources. Courts charged citizens, including Muslim clerics, with “denigration of religions.” Christians reported discrimination by authorities, especially in rural areas. The government completed rebuilding 78 churches and other church-owned properties which had been destroyed or damaged in mob violence in 2013 and repaired Saints Peter and Paul Church in Cairo after a December 2016 suicide bombing that killed 29 people. It also issued an unprecedented civil marriage license to a Bahai couple with no religious affiliation designated on their national identity card. The government continued its efforts to preserve the nation’s Jewish heritage, including starting work to renovate and protect a historic synagogue in Alexandria. There were incidents of official anti-Semitism and public anti-Semitic statements by Al-Azhar, the country’s primary institution for spreading Islam and defending Islamic doctrine. According to religious leaders, educators, and families, the Ministry of Education made progress in removing language from school textbooks that it said could engender hate toward non-Muslims or promote the view that Islam was superior to other religions. The government-supported Islamic institutions Al-Azhar and Dar al-Ifta, the country’s fatwa issuing authority, continued to debate reforms to Islamic jurisprudence which mandates the death penalty for apostasy from Islam.
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After a three-year wait, the Egyptian Coptic families of 20 men beheaded by the so-called Islamic State in Libya in 2015 have finally received their loved ones’ remains.
The leader of the Coptic Church, Pope Tawadros II, accompanied by several bishops, priests and deacons, welcomed the 20 coffins at the Cairo airport on Monday evening, 14th May, with prayers and Coptic chants.
The families finally received their loved ones’ remains yesterday. PICTURE: World Watch Monitor
From there the coffins were transported to the village of Al-Our in Minya province, where the Church of the Martyrs of Faith and Homeland, dedicated to the victims, had been inaugurated in February in anticipation of their repatriation.
Read more: Families of beheaded Copts finally reunited with remains of loved ones in Egypt
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Egyptian expats participation in presidential elections is historic: Copts for the Homeland
Hend El-Behary
The participation of Egyptians inside and outside the country is a national duty
The president of the General Union of ‘Copts for the Homeland’ Karim Kamal said that the participation of Egyptian expats in the 2018 presidential elections is ‘historic’ and the scene of voters lining up in queues will be recorded in history.
Kamal praised the participation of Egyptians in Gulf countries and the United States saying that the number exceeded all the expectations.
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Zubeida appearance reveals lies of BBC correspondent: SIS
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In connection with the statement issued by the State Information Service (SIS) about the BBC documentary report aired and published 23 February 2018 refuting the professional errors and violations as well as allegations it included on the situation in Egypt, especially regarding the “enforced disappearance” of citizen Zubeida, the State Information Services wishes to reiterate a range of issues:
Read more: Zubeida appearance reveals lies of BBC correspondent: SIS
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Egypt surpasses SA as top investment spot in Africa – report
BY DESTINY MAN REPORTER
Rand Merchant Bank's report shows that Egypt has displaced South Africa as Africa's leading investment hotspot
Egypt has knocked South Africa from its long-standing top spot regarding investments in Africa, according to Rand Merchant Bank’s latest Where to Invest in Africa report for 2018, released on Monday.
Read more: Egypt surpasses SA as top investment spot in Africa
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'Britain committed to war against terrorism,' UK minister Burt tells Egypt's FM Shoukry
Egypt's foreign minister Sameh Shoukry met on Thursday in Cairo with Alistair Burt, the UK's minister of state affairs for the Middle East and North Africa, where they discussed the war against terrorism and the latest developments in the Middle East, the Egyptian foreign ministry said in a statement.