Christians in the Middle East and North Africa are facing increasing insecurity as their countries undergo huge changes in their political structures.
It's a time of great opportunity for all those nations caught up in the Arab Spring, and as Andrew Boyd, press officer for "Release International" says, "nobody is going to stand up and say three cheers for hardline dictators who've kept their countries repressed for years. It's fundamental that there should be a move towards democracy in these nations, but at the same time, because the lid has been taken off - nation after nation - in that world, what we are seeing is an increasing tension beteween secular factions who want democracy, and islamist factions who want to see in one form or another, a form of islamic law brought into these nations".
King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia (right) speaks with Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa. 'It’s no secret that they have been terrified of the prospect of the Egyptian 'contagion' spreading to their societies.' Photograph: Reuters
While protesters were fighting street battles with the military police in Cairo last week, Egyptian officials were bowing courteously before King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia asking forgiveness for the unruly behaviour of demonstrators outside his embassy in Cairo.
Senior generals promise to cede power to new president by 30 June – a pledge regarded by many Egyptians with suspicion
Major General Mokhtar al Molla (left) and Major General Mohammed al-Assar at the news conference in Cairo. Photograph: Asmaa Waguih/Reuters
Egypt's ruling generals have launched an aggressive defence of their record in power since the country's revolution last year and denied any involvement in the deaths of up to 20 protesters killed in violent clashes outside the Ministry of Defence on Wednesday.
Actor Adel Imam attends the Awards Show and Closing Night Red Carpet and Screening of 'The First Grader' during the 2010 Doha Tribeca Film Festival in Doha October 30, 2010.
Credit: Reuters/Mohammed Dabbous
CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's Adel Imam, the Arab world's most famous comic actor, had a conviction and three-month prison sentence for insulting Islam in his films and plays overturned on appeal, a state newspaper reported on Thursday.
Saudi Arabia jails Egyptian lawyer for defaming king
Egypt's foreign ministry is trying to secure the release
of an Egyptian lawyer detained in Saudi Arabia on charges of defaming King
Abdullah.
Ahmed al-Gizawi was arrested last week as he arrived in Jeddah to undertake
Umra, the lesser pilgrimage to Mecca.
Unknown to Mr Gizawi, a Saudi court had earlier sentenced him in absentia to
a year in prison and 20 lashes. He is due to receive the lashes on Friday.
Mr Gizawi's case has aroused widespread anger in Egypt.
Ultraconservative, Hazem Abu Ismail, became a frontrunner in the presidential race
With his signature smile and long, whitish beard, Hazem Abu Ismail, can still be seen on posters all across Cairo - on cars, roadsides and even on the walls of some schools and government buildings.
His short-lived presidential campaign, unambiguously calling for a tighter application of Sharia, or Islamic law, quickly gained appeal among ordinary Egyptians.
Egypt's military takes
bigger role in constitution
File Photo: Egyptian protesters sit by a banner that reads in
Arabic "The Constitution first" during a rally at Tahrir Square 27 May (PHoto-
AP)
Egypt's ruling military
council demand constitution be written before a president is appointed sparking
fears that the short timeframe may allow them to remain in power past the
handover deadline to civilian authority
Egypt's ruling military has inserted a new
element of confusion even as Egypt tries to sort out turmoil surrounding its
upcoming presidential elections. The generals now insist a new constitution be
written before a new president is seated, a rushed timeframe that some fear may
prolong their hold on power.
For weeks, the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamists sought to dominate the
writing of the country's first new constitution since the fall of President
Hosni Mubarak more than a year ago. But after Islamist domination of the process
sparked a backlash of criticism, the military has stepped back in to take a more
direct role.
Mr Cameron will express his concern for the rights of millions of Christians, especially in Egypt, where the Coptic minority say they are facing increasing persecution
Muslims 'must embrace democracy' says David Cameron
Muslims must embrace democracy and respect the rights of Christians around the world, David Cameron will say.
Prime Minister David Cameron in Jakarta, IndonesiaPhoto: EPA
By Rowena Mason, Political Correspondent, in Jakarta
Speaking in Indonesia, the world’s largest Islamic country, the Prime Minister will urge young Muslims to abandon “the dead-end choice of dictatorship and extremism” by forcing their countries to hold elections.
He will claim it would be “the greatest defeat that Al Qaeda could ever suffer,” if more rebel and follow the lead of the young Muslims who sparked the Arab Spring.
Mr Cameron will express his concern for the rights of millions of Christians, especially in Egypt, where the Coptic minority say they are facing increasing persecution. In a strong rebuke to Egypt’s powerful Muslim Brotherhood party, Mr Cameron will demand it does not “deny the rights of religious minorities who do not share their specific religious views”.
An Egyptian court on Tuesday suspended a 100-member panel selected by MPs from the Islamist-dominated parliament and tasked with drafting the country's new constitution.
Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood's presidential candidate, Khairat al-ShaterPhoto: EPA
The ruling was a blow to the Islamists, who have catapulted into the centre of Egypt's political stage since the ouster 14 months ago of longtime authoritarian leader Hosni Mubarak.
It followed complaints by political groups, secular politicians and constitutional experts over parliament's decision to give MPs half the seats on the panel.
The constitution will determine the influence of Sharia on Egyptian law and minority rights
A court in Egypt has suspended the 100-member assembly appointed last month to draft the country's new constitution.
Several lawsuits had demanded Cairo's Administrative Court block the decision to form the panel as it did not reflect the diversity of Egyptian society.
They said women, young people and minorities were under-represented.
Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood Freedom and Justice Party supporters protesting. Photograph: Mohamed Abd El Ghany/Reuters
Western governments have been encouraging Egypt's nascent political powers to consider offering the military generals currently running the country immunity against prosecution, according to the Muslim Brotherhood.
The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (Scaf) has been in control of the country since the toppling of former president Hosni Mubarak in February 2011, with the junta's rule marked by continued violent confrontations between revolutionaries and security forces, including allegations that they have ordered the shooting of unarmed protesters.
Liberals, Islamists tussle over Egypt constitution
By Shaimaa Fayed
CAIRO | Tue Mar 27, 2012 2:35pm BST
CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian liberals and leftists wary of Islamist dominance of an assembly drafting a new constitution said on Tuesday they would write their own, deepening a row overshadowing a major element of the transition from President Hosni Mubarak's rule.
Liberals who have quit the 100-member assembly in protest at its make-up were among those who signed a statement that pledged to write an alternative constitution to the one being drafted by the official body, which was formed at the weekend.
"We shall undertake this duty from outside the official assembly in collaboration with all the segments of society and experts that should have been included from the beginning," said the statement, released at a news conference where one speaker after another accused the Islamists of seeking to dominate.
CAIRO (AP) — Egypt's Islamists looked poised Saturday to dominate a key lever of power that will help determine the country's political future as parliament selected a panel to draw up the country's new constitution. Liberal lawmakers denounced the process as a "farce" and walked out in protest.
The constitution, which will be written by the 100-member committee, will determine the balance of power between Egypt's previously all-powerful president and parliament, and define the country's future identity, including the role of religion and minority rights. With so much at stake, the question of who should sit on the panel has sparked fierce debate in Egypt.
Gloomy economic forecast puts Egypt in the doldrums
Gloomy economic forecast puts Egypt in the doldrums
Young Egyptian students stand in front of their home after returning from school in the poor area of al-Zabbalin in Cairo (AFP Photo / Khaled Desouki)
More than a year after the revolution in Egypt, high hopes of a better life for everyone have faded with its faltering economy. Expectations for the civilian rulers who will take over in June are high, but the cost of failure may be higher.
The declared transition to democracy is a messy process in Egypt.
Despite the public’s great expectations, living conditions for the average Egyptians remain poor in the wake of the revolution.
CAIRO (Reuters) - Christians gathered on Sunday to pay final respects to Pope Shenouda III, who sought to soothe sectarian tension in his four decades atop Egypt's Orthodox Church but saw increasing flareups in the majority Muslim nation in the last months of his life.
Friction has worsened since President Hosni Mubarak, who suppressed Islamists, was ousted last year. Since then Shenouda, who died on Saturday aged 88, often called for harmony and regularly met Muslim and other leaders.
A ship carrying a cargo of weapons with explosives en route from the USA to Egypt must not be allowed to offload because of a substantial risk the weapons will be used by Egyptian security forces to commit human rights violations, Amnesty International said on Thursday.
The organization has tracked the Dutch-flagged ship, MV Schippersgracht, for the past two months. It is currently in the Mediterranean Sea and due to arrive in Egypt early next week.
An Egyptian military tribunal on Sunday acquitted an army doctor of a charge of public obscenity filed by a protester who claimed she was forced to undergo a virginity test while in detention.
Army doctor Ahmed Adel speaks to the media after being acquitted in Cairo Photo: REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El-Ghany
The court denied the humiliating tests even took place, despite a ruling by another court and admissions by generals quoted by a leading rights group.
The ruling further infuriated the country's revolutionary youth movements, who have said claims of the virginity tests were the first sign that the generals who took over from deposed President Hosni Mubarak 13 months ago were carrying on his repressive practices.
This is from Ikhwan Web, in English only, why not in Arabic???
Freedom and Justice Party Supports Role of NGOs as Essential to Democratic Process
The Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) today re-iterated its support for the role of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in supporting the democratic process, especially in nascent democracies. Under the previous, autocratic, regime, Egypt suffered many violations of civic and democratic rights
(20 February 2012- Cairo) The Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) today re-iterated its support for the role of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in supporting the democratic process, especially in nascent democracies. Under the previous, autocratic, regime, Egypt suffered many violations of civic and democratic rights. NGOs played an important role during that time in exposing the many atrocities of the regime.
