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Ninth anniversary of Maspero Massacre
Publication Date: 17/10/2020
Source: Middle East Monitor
Today marks the ninth anniversary since the Maspero Massacre, when over 20 Copts were murdered in front of the Egyptian state TV headquarters by Egyptian military personnel.
On 9 October 2011 Copts marched to the Maspero television building to protest against the authorities’ failure to hold the people who attack churches in the country accountable.
The peaceful march was spurred on after a recent burning of a church in Aswan.
Coptic art adorns Cairo’s historic mosques
Author: Hani Sameer
Publication Date: 17/10/2020
Source: Al-Monitor
Islamic art is not the product of one country or one people, writes Tharwat Okasha in his book, “The Encyclopedia of Islamic Photography.” Rather, it is the merger of the arts of several civilizations that flourished before Islam, including the Persian, Roman and Byzantine civilizations, due to the geographical expansion of the Islamic state.
Mukhtar al-Kasbani, a professor of Islamic and Coptic antiquities at Cairo University, told Al-Monitor, “Religious tolerance in Egypt instilled harmony between religion and art. Egyptian rulers had focused on the competences and skills of artists or architects without discrimination based on religion. This prompted Muslim architects to learn the decorative features of Coptic art. They subsequently developed these stylistic features and gave them an Islamic identity, turning them into what became known as Islamic art.”
In Egypt, Christians competing strongly for parliament seats
Author: Amr Emam
Publication Date: 10/10/2020
Source: Al-Monitor
The phone on the desk in front of Maged Talaat Ramzi does not stop ringing.
Every now and then, someone calls him to confirm support.
"I find support wherever I go," Ramzi told Al-Monitor. "People are able to differentiate between those who will defend their rights and those who give them lip service only."
Ramzi is one of dozens of Christian candidates running in the House of Deputies (lower chamber of parliament) elections, which will be held between Oct. 24 and Nov. 8.
Around 108 candidates are running within the four party lists contesting the 284 seats specified for the political parties in the parliament.
Dozens of other Christian candidates are running, among a total of 4,000 candidates, as independents, including Ramzi. They are contesting an additional 284 seats
Latest attack on Coptic Christians highlights religious violence in Egypt
Publication Date: 16/10/2020
Source: Crux Now
On October 5, 2020, a mob of Islamic extremists attacked the homes of Coptic Christians in the Egyptian village of Dabous, located in the Upper Egypt region of Minya.
According to International Christian Concern, two young Muslim adults beat up a ten-year old Coptic Christian child. Some Christian adults retaliated, triggering the attack the next day.
Christians make up about 10 percent of Egypt’s 100 million people, making the country home to the largest Christian population in the Arab world.
The vast majority of Christians belong to the Coptic Orthodox Church, the largest Church in the Oriental Orthodox communion – However there are about 350,000 Eastern Orthodox Christians, 300,000 Protestants, and just under 200,000 Catholics.
Maronite Patriarch: Negotiations over sea borders do not represent "normalization" of bilateral relations with Israel
Publication Date: 14/10/2020
Source: Agenzia Fides
The negotiations between Lebanese and Israeli delegates to determine the sea borders between Lebanon and Israel cannot necessarily be interpreted as the beginning of the normalization of relations between the two Countries, which have never formally revoked the state of war.
Beirut, young Christians and Muslims: the thread of hope
Author: Pierre Balanian
Publication Date: 8/10/2020
Source: AsiaNews
Thousands of young people are busy clearing the city of debris and rubble; they help elderly people to survive; they offer water and food paying with their own money or collected from friends and relatives. Young Syrian refugees also join in efforts. A Syrian Protestant pastor, a Muslim who converted to Christianity, offers sandwiches and bottles of water to the displaced.
Holy Land economy on its knees as pilgrimages stop because of COVID-19
Publication Date: 22/10/2020
Source: AsiaNews
For the first time in 1,600 years, no pilgrims have come to the Holy Land. The losses reach a total of US$ 320 million. Tourism-related activities support 10,300 families. For expert opinion, the situation is worse than during the intifada. We need an overall plan for after the crisis that also involves the dioceses in the world.
Lebanon is a Christian foothold in the Middle East. But for how much longer?
Author: Beth Griffin
Publication Date: 8/10/2020
Source: Catholic Herald
Christians in the Middle East could be losing their “last foothold” as Lebanon spirals into crisis, the country’s most senior Catholic cleric has said.
