Massacre in Egypt

partyatmygaff

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12101748

What a terrible start to the new year and from more recent reports

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/03/world/middleeast/03egypt.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

It's absolutely horrible that this was allowed to happen. What's worse is that there had been warnings of an attack two weeks prior yet still this was allowed to happen. According to people on site the bomber walked to the back entrance of the church among the crowds and not in the street as the media is reporting. That makes sense as in the CCTV footage you see the curtains in front of the altar shaking.

RIP to the 22 and counting victims.

Images (GRAPHIC!)
http://media2.newsobserver.com/smedia/2011/01/01/00/337-240Mideast_Egypt_Church_Attack.sff.embedded.prod_affiliate.156.jpg
http://img3.allvoices.com/thumbs/event/598/486/69734718-blood-victims.jpg

Fanny Cradock

I cant help but think whatever Al-Qaeda was at the turn of the century - a relatively small, well financed and well organised group of murderous dissidents - it's now a nebulous ideology (or just an excuse) for anybody who is disturbed enough or pissed off enough to adopt.

IIIOIII

CAIRO (Ahlul Bayt News Agency) – Egypt’s top Muslim cleric on Sunday criticised Pope Benedict XVI’s call for world leaders to defend Christians as interference in his country’s affairs, the official MENA news agency reported.

http://www.abna.ir/data.asp?lang=3&id=219562

partyatmygaff

IIIOIII wrote: »

CAIRO (Ahlul Bayt News Agency) – Egypt’s top Muslim cleric on Sunday criticised Pope Benedict XVI’s call for world leaders to defend Christians as interference in his country’s affairs, the official MENA news agency reported.

http://www.abna.ir/data.asp?lang=3&id=219562

Calling for tolerance and an end to mindless violence and discrimination is now interference? Absolutely disgusting.


It has now been found out that the Church had been part of a "hit list" posted on a terrorist website
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/ipad-application/bombed-church-was-terror-target/story-fn6s850w-1225981468599

AN al Qaeda website identified in December the church in Egypt which was bombed on New Year's Day as among designated as targets.

Al Qiddissin (The Saints) church in Alexandria, where 21 people were killed and 79 wounded on New Year's Eve, was on a list posted by the al Qaeda-linked Shumukh al Islam website of 50 Coptic churches across Egypt.

Coptic churches in several European countries, including France, Germany and Britain, also figured on the list.

A message announcing "bomb attacks against churches during Christmas ... when they will be most crowded" was posted alongside the list of would-be targets.

"Get up and give up sleep," said the message.

"This is an important notice on bomb attacks against churches during Christmas," it said.

It urged "every Muslim who cares about the honor of his sisters to bomb these churches during Christmas celebrations, when they will be most crowded".

No one claimed responsibility for the Alexandria church attack, which came two months after al Qaeda operatives in Iraq claimed responsibility for a deadly Baghdad church hostage-taking incident.

What's very worrying is the fact they're targeting Churches abroad as part of the same list. Considering the orthodox Christmas day is only 4 days there is still a very high possibility of another attack on a Church in either Egypt or abroad.

Sefirah

Lets boycott Egypt



Oh whoops, we only do that to Middle Eastern countries which treat Christians like humans

irishconvert

Sefirah wrote: »

Lets boycott Egypt



Oh whoops, we only do that to Middle Eastern countries which treat Christians like humans

...but treat Muslims like animals.

PDN

Sefirah and Irishconvert - if you guys want to have a Jewish/Muslim fight then please do it outside of the Christianity Forum.

irishconvert

PDN wrote: »

Sefirah and Irishconvert - if you guys want to have a Jewish/Muslim fight then please do it outside of the Christianity Forum.

Not looking for a fight, just responding to the usual bigoted comments from this poster.

I'd just like to say, speaking as a Muslim, whoever committed this atrocity is most definitely not acting in the name of Muslims, or following the teachings of Islam. My thoughts are with my Christian brothers and sisters injured or killed in this barbaric attack.

prinz

irishconvert wrote: »

My thoughts are with my Christian brothers and sisters injured or killed in this barbaric attack.

Don't forget the Muslims injured also. It was nothing but a cynical cowardly attempt to start civil strife in Egypt. Not a huge fan of Mubarak but I hope he comes down hard on those responsible.

partyatmygaff

prinz wrote: »

Don't forget the Muslims injured also. It was nothing but a cynical cowardly attempt to start civil strife in Egypt. Not a huge fan of Mubarak but I hope he comes down hard on those responsible.

7 Muslims with light injuries. The thing about Mubarak is he doesn't really come down hard on anything to do with sectarian violence. The way things seem to go in Egypt following any sectarian violence is that a few Muslims are arrested and then an equal number of Christian protesters are then arrested. This quietens down the Christian calls for justice and turns their efforts in to freeing the ones wrongly arrested. The authorities then stage some sort of a amicable settlement between both parties and release everyone without charge. That seems to have been the trend for almost all sectarian attacks against Christians in Egypt.


I've just received information that there were threats made on facebook hours before the attack. Someone got in to an argument on facebook over religion on New Year's eve and there was a message posted (In arabic) to "Wait and see what will happen in Alexandria after midnight". Then just yesterday there was another message posted threatening of an even larger attack on Christmas eve (6th January for those who do not know). Considering they are also threatening Churches in Europe and the US and I am quite worried that if there is indeed another attack the situation may escalate in to something terrible like a civil war or even a genocide.

IIIOIII

prinz wrote: »

Don't forget the Muslims injured also. It was nothing but a cynical cowardly attempt to start civil strife in Egypt. Not a huge fan of Mubarak but I hope he comes down hard on those responsible.

No Muslims were killed at the Egypt attack. Unless you include a suicide bomber, if one was used. Mr Obama said Muslims were killed, but it was only Christians who were killed in that attack.

prinz

IIIOIII wrote: »

No Muslims were killed at the Egypt attack. Unless you include a suicide bomber, if one was used. Mr Obama said Muslims were killed, but it was only Christians who were killed in that attack.

Which would be why I said injured.

IIIOIII

prinz wrote: »

Which would be why I said injured.

Aye I see that now. I read injured as killed. It's easy done.

georgieporgy

Sefirah wrote: »

Lets boycott Egypt



Oh whoops, we only do that to Middle Eastern countries which treat Christians like humans

isn't it interesting that the one country in that entire region that gave christians complete freedom and state protection to practice their religion freely was Iraq under Sadam. (Lebanon was good too prior to its invasion and destruction in the eighties)

partyatmygaff

For Christians, Saddam wasn't all that bad. Under the current regime in Iraq they are now in great danger.

partyatmygaff

Coptic Churches around the world today are going to be celebrating Christmas at midnight. Considering even bigger attacks have been threatened for today I can't help but feel very worried for those people.

ubertrad

>>Hundreds of Muslims-- including two sons of Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak-- stood around Coptic churches to act as "human shields," protecting against attacks. Mohamed el Sawy, a wealthy art dealer who organized the effort, explained that the terrorist attacks on Christians were an affront to all Egyptians. "We either live together or we die together," he said.

“I would like to condole our sons in Alexandria for the martyrdom of a large number of innocent people, who had committed no sin,” said Pope Shenouda III, head of the Coptic Orthodox Church, during the solemn liturgy at his cathedral.<<

(CWN)