Please pray for Christians in Egypt

Peanut Gallery: The chaos continues in Egypt and Christians are easy targets for Islamist thugs.

The Western world had pretty much abandoned Egypt’s Christians since the onset of the so-called Arab Spring… and their situation deteriorated steadily under the Morsi-Muslim Brotherhood regime. They simply could not count on the Morsi government to protect them from Islamist attacks. That’s why Coptic Christians generally supported the Egyptian military’s overthrow of Morsi.

Now it’s pay-back time for the ousted Islamists. How bad is it? In the last few days, 58 Christian churches, schools, institutions, shops torched by the Muslim Brotherhood.

See photos here… here… and here. The list below, compiled by Asia News, tells the sad story.

Is it any wonder that Christians have turned to the Egyptian military to protect them? And they have found a champion in the Egyptian military, Gen. Abdel Fattah El-Sisi . El-Sisi has vowed to rebuild Coptic Churches destroyed by the Muslim Brotherhood. In fact, the Egyptian military broadly represents the demographics of the Egyptian people and is intimately entwined with the industrial / manufacturing / commercial community of Egypt. It is the only entity capable of stabilizing Egypt today… and has broad popular support.

PLEASE PRAY:

For Pope Tawadros II – wisdom and courage to lead the Coptic Church through these dangerous times
For Gen. Abdel Fattah El-Sisi – wisdom and restraint in the use of force to restore order in Egypt
For Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood – reject violence, days of rage, and the forces of darkness that permeate their ranks
For Egyptian People – God’s guidance through the wilderness in which they find themselves

Egypt: Islamists Burn Down Dozens Of Coptic Christian Churches

The List of Christian Churches, Schools, Institutions, Shops Torched by the Muslim Brotherhood in the Last Few Days

Cairo (AsiaNews) – At least 58 Christian churches, schools, institutions, homes and shops have been attacked, looted and torched over the last three days by the Muslim Brotherhood and supporters of Mohamed Morsi, the former Egyptian president who was deposed on 3 July . On August 14 the army has tried to evict the sit-in of the Islamists in Rabaa El Nahda Square and Adaweya. In a wave of devastating violence, over 600 people were killed and thousands injured. But violent attacks were also carried out on Catholic, Orthodox, Evangelical churches as well as the homes and shops of Christians, as we have documented
The representatives of the Christian Churches have drawn up a list which we publish below. The list was handed over to AsiaNews by the Press Office of the Catholic Church in Egypt.

The following list of 58 looted and burned buildings (including convents and schools) has been verified by representatives of the Christian Churches.

Catholic churches and convents

1. Franciscan church and school (road 23) – burned (Suez)
2. Monastery of the Holy Shepherd and hospital – burned (Suez)
3. Church of the Good Shepherd, Monastery of the Good Shepherd – burned in molotov attack (Asuit)
4. Coptic Catholic Church of St. George – burned (Minya, Upper Egypt)
5. Church of the Jesuits – burned (Minya, Upper Egypt)
6. Fatima Basilica – attacked – Heliopolis
7. Coptic Catholic Church of St. Mark – burned (Minya – Upper Egypt)
8. Franciscan convent (Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary) – burned (Beni Suef, Upper Egypt)
9. Church of St. Teresa – burned (Asuit, Upper Egypt)
10. Franciscan Church and School – burned (Asuit, Upper Egypt)
11. Convent of St Joseph and school – burned (Minya, Upper Egypt)
12. Coptic Catholic Church of the Sacred Heart – torched (Minya, Upper Egypt)
13 Convent of the Sisters of Saint Mary – attacked (Cairo)
14. School of the Holy Shepherd – attacked (Minya, Upper Egypt)

Orthodox and Evangelical Churches

1. Anglican Church of St. Saviour – burned (Suez)
2. Evangelical Church of St Michael – surrounded and sacked (Asuit, Upper Egypt)
3. Coptic Orthodox Church of St. George – Burned (Minya, Upper Egypt)
4. Church of Al-Esla – burned (Asuit, Upper Egypt)
5. Adventist Church – burned, the pastor and his wife abducted (Asuit, Upper Egypt)
6. Church of the Apostles – burned (Asuit, Upper Egypt)
7. Church of the Holy renewal – burned (Asuit, Upper Egypt)
8. Diocesan Centre Coptic Orthodox Qusiya – burned (Asuit, Upper Egypt)
9. Church of St. George – burned (Arish, North Egypt)
10. Church of St. George in al-Wasta – burned (Beni Suef, Upper Egypt)
11. Church of the Virgin Mary – attacked (Maadi, Cairo)
12. Church of the Virgin Mary – attacked (Mostorod, Cairo)
13. Coptic Orthodox Church of St. George – attacked (Helwan, Cairo)
14. Church of St. Mary of El Naziah – burned (Fayoum, Upper Egypt)
15. Church of Santa Damiana – sacked and burned (Fayoum, Upper Egypt)
16. Church of St. Theodore – burned (Fayoum, Upper Egypt)
17. Evangelical Church of al-Zorby – Sacked and destroyed (Fayoum, Upper Egypt)
18. Church of St. Joseph – burned (Fayoum, Upper Egypt)
19. Franciscan School – burned (Fayoum, Upper Egypt)
20. Coptic Orthodox Diocesan Center of St. Paul – burned (Gharbiya, Delta)
21. Coptic Orthodox Church of St. Anthony – burned (Giza)
22. Coptic Church of St. George – burned (Atfeeh, Giza)
23. Church of the Virgin Mary and father Abraham – burned (Delga, Deir Mawas, Minya, Upper Egypt)
24. Church of St. Mina Abu Hilal Kebly – burned (Minya, Upper Egypt)
25. Baptist Church in Beni Mazar – burned (Minya, Upper Egypt)
26. Church of Amir Tawadros – burned (Minya, Upper Egypt)
27. Evangelical Church – burned (Minya, Upper Egypt)
28. Church of Anba Moussa al-Aswad- burned (Minya, Upper Egypt)
29. Church of the Apostles – burned (Minya, Upper Egypt)
30. Church of St Mary – arson attempt (Qena, Upper Egypt)
31. Coptic Church of St. George – burned (Sohag, Upper Egypt)
32. Church of Santa Damiana – Attacked and burned (Sohag, Upper Egypt)
33. Church of the Virgin Mary – burned (Sohag, Upper Egypt)
34. Church of St. Mark and community center – burned (Sohag, Upper Egypt)
35. Church of Anba Abram – destroyed and burned (Sohag, Upper Egypt)

Christian institutions

1. House of Fr. Angelos (pastor of the church of the Virgin Mary and Father Abraham) – burned (Minya, Upper Egypt)
2. Properties and shops of Christians – Burnt (Arish, North Egypt)
3. 17 Christian homes attacked and looted (Minya, Upper Egypt)
4. Christian homes – Attach (Asuit, Upper Egypt)
5. Offices of the Evangelical Foundation – burned (Minya, Upper Egypt)
6. Stores, pharmacies, hotels owned by Christians – attacked and looted (Luxor, Upper Egypt)
7. Library of the Bible Society – burned (Cairo)
8. Bible Society – burned (Fayoum, Upper Egypt)
9. Bible Society- burned (Asuit, North Egypt).

Burned buildings owned by Christians

1. 58 houses.
2. 85 shops.
3. 16 pharmacies.
4. 3 hotels (Upper Egypt)
5. 75 buses and cars.

Other

7 Victims (killed); 17 kidnapped; and hundreds injured.

Egypt Update: Sexual harassment against women – USA Today post

Egyptian women rising up against sexual harassment

Sarah Lynch, Special for USA TODAY / June 23, 2013

CAIRO – Women here say it crosses class barriers, generations and faiths. It prevails in public buses, trains, streets and homes. It exists online, on university campuses, and in parks, markets, at work and in cafes.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
+ Men pay few penalties for grabbing and groping women in a violent manner
+ 99.3% of Egyptian women surveyed reported experiencing some form of sexual harassment
+ Islamists have blamed victims for their harassment

Sexual harassment of women is epidemic in Egypt, where men pay few penalties for grabbing and groping women in a violent manner.

In the film, *Cairio 678*, one of the lead characters, played by actress Bushra, is repeatedly harassed on bus

The harassment appears to permeate the nation’s every pore, academics say. After decades of such behavior, a growing number of groups and initiatives are working to do something about it.

“For many women who have to rely on walking, public transportation or the metro, it’s a grinding thing that happens every day,” said Helen Rizzo, associate professor of sociology at the American University in Cairo.

“For some women, it’s been very serious: grabbing, touching, trying to pull women into cars, and the whole phenomena of attacking protests,” she said.

A recent report by U.N. Women said 99.3% of Egyptian women surveyed in a recent study reported experiencing some form of sexual harassment — everything from inappropriate sexual jokes, to whistling, touching, groping and rape.

“Through this study we are able to confirm the spread of sexual harassment in Egypt to unprecedented levels,” stated the U.N. report.

Some believe the problem has grown worse since the 2011 revolution that ousted dictator Hosni Mubarak and led to a government under Muslim Brotherhood rule, perhaps due to a drop in effective security.

“Certainly sexual harassment and sexual assault and violent attacks are something not new in Egypt,” said Diana Eltahawy, Amnesty International’s Egypt researcher, noting that under Mubarak they were used as tools to repress women.

The survey is striking for the sheer range of places where women feel they can be victimized.

Almost 83% of surveyed women said they don’t feel safe in the street and 79% don’t feel safe in a taxi. Sixty-seven percent said girls are subject to harassment regardless of what they wear, how they look, their manner of speech or their gait. Female workers and students are most exposed to harassment.

Brutality in the public space now has symbolic value for the nation too, Eltahawy said. Vicious mob attacks and assault happen often in Tahrir Square, the heart of that nation’s uprising where men and women joined and camped out for days to demand democratic freedoms and a fair justice system.

An organization called HarassMap founded in 2010, allows women to report locations of abuse using technology. Through advertising on television, radio, in music and print the group seeks to change perceptions associated with harassment and remind the public it is a punishable offense.

While the law doesn’t explicitly criminalize sexual harassment, three laws that address rape, public indecency and assault can be applied to harassment cases.

“It’s all about culture and misconceptions,” said Dina Samir, communications manager at HarassMap, who says harassment has worsened over the last decade. “If the culture changes it would put pressure on the government to enforce laws.”

“We believe we can play a big role in changing perceptions,” she said.

Men are also getting involved because “it’s not just a women’s issue,” said Ayman Nagy, who founded the Anti-Harassment Movement. “It’s a humanity issue.”

Nagy and a group of 73 full-time volunteers hold workshops in universities and even in the streets among other places to talk about issues that include sexual abuse.

“We need to solve the problem from its roots,” Nagy said. “We’re going to work on the harasser himself, because we think he is a sick person and needs help, and that we can help him.”

Other groups such as Operation Anti-Sexual Harassment seek to end mob harassment and assault, and Tahrir Bodyguard has a team of volunteers in bright green vests who intervene when they see sexual violence taking place during protests.

In March, President Mohammed Morsi launched an effort to help identify challenges facing women through workshops, fieldwork and discussions. Last month, local press reported that the government created an all-female unit of police to battle sexual harassment.

“Time will tell whether or not these are serious attempts, and also whether or not they are going to bring about real changes and results the way grass-roots movements have been able to do,” said Soraya Bahgat, who founded Tahrir Bodyguard and is now working more generally on women’s issues.

Not all groups, however, are on board with efforts to empower women and Islamists have blamed victims for their harassment.

Earlier this year the powerful Muslim Brotherhood condemned a United Nations report meant to reduce violence against women. The Brotherhood criticized articles in the document that gave judges, rather than husbands, authority in cases of divorce and granted women full rights to file legal complaints against their husbands for rape or sexual harassment.

“The document includes articles that contradict established principles of Islam, undermine Islamic ethics and destroy the family,” the Muslim Brotherhood said in a statement.

Despite challenges, activists persist, although their efforts have not led to a measurable drop in harassment.

“We cannot say it has decreased because of our work but the positive side is that it has become less of a taboo and so many activists and initiatives are working on the topic,” HarassMap’s Samir said. “These are the only glimmers of hope.”

Photo Essay: The Muslim Brotherhood Has Turned Cairo Into A Dystopia – Re-Blog

Peanut Gallery: Once again Photo Essayist Robert Johnson has lifted the veil of Cairo and exposed the shattered dreams of the “Arab Spring”… now a long winter under the Muslim Brotherhood. Will they ever recover? Not likely in any foreseeable future.

Please follow the link below to Johnson’s essay posted at Business Insider. The photos tell all….
___________________________

The Muslim Brotherhood Has Turned Cairo Into A Dystopia [PHOTOS]

by Robert Johnson, businessinsider.com / May 23rd 2013 12:55 PM

When Egyptians took to the streets to overthrow an oppressive government in 2011, the world was on their side. But in the two years that followed, as Arab Spring turned to Arab Winter, and Egyptians fell under the rule of the oppressive new government of Mohammed Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood, the world has looked away.

This is what Egyptians told us when we visited Cairo at the end of March 2013.

Many disillusioned Egyptians say things are worse than ever. Thugs often run the streets, crime rates have skyrocketed, and police feel they’re outgunned, faced with the flood of weapons filling Cairo’s streets. Making matters worse, everything from utilities to gasoline is both more expensive and more difficult to acquire than it was before the Muslim Brotherhood.

Click here to see what has become of Cairo >