Posted on 09/28/2009 7:51:43 AM PDT by Liberty1970
Mourners Protest Islamic Attacks on Copts in Egypt
Muslim assailant gruesomely slays Christian, attacks two others with knife.
ISTANBUL, September 23 (CDN) — A funeral for a Coptic Christian gruesomely killed on a village street north of Cairo by a Muslim assailant last week turned into a protest by hundreds of demonstrators in Egypt.
Galal Nasr el-Dardiri, 35, attacked 63-year-old Abdu Georgy in front of the victim’s shop in Behnay village the afternoon of Sept. 16, according to research by a local journalist. Other Copts watched in horror as El-Dardiri stabbed Georgy five times in the back, according to interviews by Gamal Gerges, a reporter for newspaper Al-Youm al-Sabeh.
As Georgy fell to the ground, El-Dardiri took his knife and stabbed him four times in the stomach. He then disemboweled him, slit his throat and began sawing off his head, according to Gerges. The Rev. Stephanos Aazer, a Coptic priest who knew Georgy and saw photographs of his mutilated body, said the victim’s head was attached to the body by a small piece of flesh.
After killing Georgy, El-Dardiri got on a motorcycle and rode 30 minutes to another town, where he found Coptic shopkeeper Boils Eid Messiha, 40, and stabbed him twice in the stomach, according to Gerges. El-Dardiri immediately left the scene, went to nearby Mit Afif and allegedly attacked Hany Barsom Soliman. Soliman, a Copt in his mid-20s, managed to fight him off.
Messiha was taken to a hospital where he has been operated on at least five times. He remained in intensive care at press time. Soliman suffered lacerations to his arms but was otherwise unharmed.
On Thursday afternoon (Sept. 17), about 1,000 people gathered at Georgy’s funeral to protest the killing and assaults on Coptic Christians. Protestors chanted that Georgy’s “blood was not [spilled] in vain” as they carried signs that read, “Where are you, government? The terrorists are going to kill us.”
Aazer and several other priests participated in the demonstration. Aazer, of the Behnay area, confirmed that police had been monitoring local Copts and even tracking telephone conversations of clergy.
El-Dardiri was arrested on Thursday (Sept. 17) in Cairo and has been charged with murder. It was unclear when he would appear in court.
Ibrahim Habib, chairman of United Copts Great Britain, said Egypt has encouraged the type of “radicalization” that has led to such attacks.
It is the Egyptian government’s responsibility now to stop the persecution and victimization of its Coptic minority by Islamic fundamentalists,” he said. “The persecution and victimization of the Christians in Egypt has been persistent for three decades and recently escalated to a worrying tempo.”
Habib added that Egypt needs to root out Islamic extremists from government agencies, “including the Egyptian police, which frequently show complacency or collusion with the Islamists against the peaceful Christians.”
END
*Ping*
This is a Ping-List for reports of persecution against Christians. Please message me or reply if you would like to be added.
“Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.” Matthew 5:10-11
“But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you...” Matthew 5:44
Given the way he sequentially attacked 3 separate Copts in 3 separate locations, not to mention the viciousness of the attack (sawing off a head?), this is likely religiously motivated. Not like simple muggers, etc. would act like this.
One of the biggest disgraces of this so-called Christian nation is that we watched some of the world’s oldest Christian communities in Egypt, Lebanon, and Iraq get slaughtered and our government refuses to stick up for these people.
Disgusting.
Ping me for this list,”Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints’- Islam is satanic, Allah is satan!
Now this happens all the time. As for your posting about the 2 evangelicals being hauled into court by the Ethiopian Orthodox Church for preaching-—if they were preaching to Muslims they would have been automatically strung up...no court or anything. Coptic Christians in Egypt (who are about 10-12% of the population) do not evangelize among Muslims. They are just trying to survive. Many Coptic women have been forced to convert to Islam and marry Muslim men.
The religion of peace, progress and justice.
So where’s the outcry from the non-extremists?
Listening...
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.