Posted on 06/18/2012 3:22:43 PM PDT by Milagros
Abdel was born into a Muslim family in Egypt but embraced Christianity about 15 years ago. The decision eventually landed him in prison.
The government in Cairo does not recognize the conversion of Muslims to Christianity, which meant his children were forced to take Islamic religious courses in school. Job ads in his homeland often specified that Coptic Christians need not apply, and some establishments turned him away.
After distributing Christian pamphlets, Abdel was sentenced to nine days in jail.
“Any threat that you can think of, I’ve heard it,” said Abdel, who emigrated from Egypt about a year ago. He was so fearful of retribution for his family that he asked that only his first name be used. “All this happened under a secular government. So what’s coming after this is going to be 10 times worse.”
Like thousands of other Christians in Egypt, Abdel, 42, fled his home in Cairo in part because of religious persecution. About 8 to 12 percent of Egyptians (6 to 10 million people) are Christian, the majority of them members of the Coptic Orthodox Church.
The fate of Copts looks as tenuous as ever... Mohammed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood, who many fear will turn the country into an Islamic state.
Though final results are not yet in, the Muslim Brotherhood has projected its candidate as the winner. Within hours, Egypt’s military caretaker government, which is seen as sympathetic to Mubarak’s old regime, issued an interim constitution that granted itself broad power... approximately 100,000 Coptic Christians abandoned the country for the U.S. or Europe last year following the turbulence of the Arab Spring and attacks on Coptic churches.
“The whole social climate has been strongly encouraging Christians to leave,” Moeller said.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Literacy is dead.
That, at least, is an act worth ex-ing.
This is a definition taken from another website Mission2Go.
I have a friend that is a Coptic Christian that was born and raised in Egypt and now lives in the US with her family. Spoke with her today as she is going back with her daughter in a few weeks to Egypt. They family was hoping and praying for a different result.
Ex-pat Coptic Christians that I have met are very Godly Christian people who really appreciate America and truly know how bad the Muslims are.
The author claims to have a Master's Degree in Journalism.
Look for other examples of her work on HuffPo, Slate, etc.
In fairness to the author, an editor may have written that headline. (But if so, even worse.)
I am familiar with, and sympathetic towards, the Copts.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.