Arab West Report Egyptian press summaries and media research for dialogue

 

Security forces intensified their presence around the Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in Cairo’s Abbāsiyyah district on Wednesday in anticipation of Pope Shenouda’s weekly sermon, according to a report in al-Shurūq al-Jadīd.

 

The increased security comes after the cathedral received a number of angry messages from Copts in Alexandria, ‘Umrāniyyah, Maghāghah, and ‘Ādwah regarding statements made by bishops and priests rejecting Coptic participation in Egyptian opposition demonstrations.

 

Parishes did not provide the usual bus transport to the cathedral for Copts living in surrounding governorates in an attempt to avoid Coptic anger, the paper says.

 

Despite the church’s lack of an official stance in support or rejection of the protests, criticism by Coptic priests, bishops, and activists has escalated.

 

For instance, the Reverend Ikrām Lam‘ī says it is a retreat from the essence of the Christian message for Coptic leaders to discourage protests. *

 

“We know that the churches did not issue any official statements, but any retreat from the rejection and opposition of injustice is a retreat from Christianity. We are very upset with leaders who have demanded non-participation,” said Lam‘ī, who argued that the church should inherently favor the poor and reject injustice.

 

In addition, Coptic rights activist Kamāl Ghubriyāl is quoted as saying, “I see the church’s disappointing position as a good sign, since it will expose the stand of the church and its leaders in support of the state to the Copts and to Coptic youth, in particular.”

 

Within hours of the church leaders’ statements on the opposition demonstrations, Coptic activists launched an online group called the “We Are All Copts Movement,” through which they encouraged Copts to participate in the protests, despite calls for restraint from a Coptic television channel, which the group described as “suspects.”

 

Commenting on the statement by a Catholic bishop who called on Copts not to participate in the demonstrations, an anonymous source in the Catholic church said the “Coptic Catholic Church is suffering from broad security pressures, especially with the tensions in state-Vatican relations,” referring to the recent dispute over the Azhar’s decision to freeze dialogue with the Vatican over Pope Benedict’s statements concerning the safety of Egyptian Christians.

  

Reviewer: The report does not mention this, but Ikrām Lam‘ī is not a Coptic man of religion, but the Director of the Evangelical Theological Seminary in Cairo, a man who frequently disagrees with the Coptic Church