Two Christian Girls Disappear From State Care Home in Egypt

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Parents and lawyers of Christian teens Nancy Fathy and her cousin Christine Fathy, who allegedly converted to Islam, were shocked to learn the two girls have been taken by security officers from the care home where they were entrusted by the attorney general and held in a undisclosed place without knowledge or consent of the attorney general.

Lawyer Amgad Mourad said he went to the orphanage in Hadayel el_Koba on July 3 with the girls' parents, but were surprised to learn that Nancy and Christine were taken by security from the orphanage on June 29. "We contacted south Cairo prosecution general, who was surprised and defensive, as we had a meeting yesterday with the General Council for Childhood and Motherhood and we were assured of the presence of Nancy and Christine in the orphanage."

Today, lawyers with the parents went to south Cairo general prosecutor and were told by him the teens are in a safe place with public security, as they were afraid the parents may go to the orphanage and create problems there, according to Mourad. "Still we were not told where they are staying."

According to attorney Dr Naguib Gabriel, President of the Egyptian Union Organization of Human Rights, who is also one of the lawyers representing the parents of the Christian girls, the girls were moved to another place because of the threats of violence issued by the unlawful Muslim group calling itself "Alliance for the Support of New Female Muslims."

"It may be the Muslims knew the whereabouts of the two girls, and they were moved to the safer place," said Gabriel. He said he contacted Mrs. Lamia Mohsen, head of the Childhood and Motherhood Council and she also had no knowledge that Christine and Nancy were moved from their care home.

Both 14-year-old Nancy Magdy Fathy, and her 16-year old cousin Christine Ezzat Fathy, disappeared while on their way to church on Sunday June 12. Their parents accused two Muslim brothers from a neighboring village of abducting them. Two weeks later, the girls appeared in Cairo and surrendered themselves at a Cairo police station. The Christian minors said they converted to Islam of their own free will, and refused to return to their families, and even applied for protection from them. The prosecution decided to put them in a state care home and provide protection for them, until the completion of the investigation. Al Azhar denied that the two Coptic teenagers had converted to Islam, because they are still minors and have not yet reached 18 years of age, as is required by law.

Investigation of their case was transferred to child prosecution at the south Cairo court as they are still minors. The prosecutor ordered reconciliation sessions between Nancy and Christine and their parents in the presence of a social worker from the Childhood and Motherhood Council. Three sessions were held, only one of which was attended by the parents.

Gabriel stressed that "none of the girls said she converted to Islam. During the meeting with their parents the younger threw herself in the arms of her father, sobbing while the older girl said she was afraid to return home, the matter is not conversion to Islam at all, they are just afraid of family retribution"

He said the lawyers went with the parents yesterday to south Cairo prosecution for child care and met with the committee of the Childhood Council, which is comprised of two social workers and two psychiatrists. "The committee wrote conflicting reports. It reported the girls are psychologically disturbed and cannot control their behavior and then it said one of the girls talked of her preparedness to convert to Islam." He said they objected to the formation of the committee and demanded Christian representation in it. "Even the two social workers wore the Hijab," he explained. They also demanded that the care home would be a neutral one or at least its administration would include a Christian.

Gabriel believes the psychological rehabilitation will never succeed as long as there is the presence of Sharia associations and Hijab-clad social workers. "We are not assured at all. It is not possible to leave them in the hands of a committee without any Christian presence, and it is not possible to leave them in care for 6 months or a year, until they reach 18 years old, when we will be told they have become Muslims."

He said he would be meeting Dr. Lamia, of the Childhood Council, to discuss the timeline foreseen for the intended return of the children to their parents and the schedule of the psychiatric rehabilitation. "The main danger for the girls is being kept away from their parents and not by lodging them in a care home."

He said they demanded that there should be guarantees not to deliver the children to Muslims, or Muslim Brotherhood members, or leave the control over the girls to them, stressing that such requests were approved. "However, we were greatly surprised that after the approval of our demands, the two girls suddenly disappeared from the care home."

Yesterday in Minya the Court of Appeals released until further evidence appears Gomaa Sayed Gomaa and his brother Arafat, the Muslim men accused of being behind the abduction of Christine and Nancy and taking them to Alexandria and Cairo. "This is a very serious matter, as investigations are still going on and the virginity exam has not yet been carried out on the minors, which is a part of the criminal investigations. Depending on the results, charges in this case would be raping of a minor or minors," Gabriel said.

Egyptian Court Dismisses Muslim Case Against Christian Woman

The Egyptian administrative court of the State Council dismissed today(06-29-2011) the lawsuit filed by Muslim lawyers, demanding the disclosure of the whereabouts of Camilia Shehata, the wife of a Coptic priest, who was alleged to have converted to Islam and held against her will by the Coptic Church. In reaching its decision, the court said the Muslim lawyers failed to provide proof to support their claim of the detention of Camilia by the church.

Camilia's attorney, Dr. Naguib Gabriel, said "The only thing the Muslim lawyers delivered as proof for their claims were snippets of newspapers from the Internet."

The case lasted over four months, during which Dr. Gabriel submitted as proof unequivocal documents that Camilia was never detained by the church and she never converted to Islam as alleged. Among the documents was a power of attorney from Camilia for him to represent her at court. "This was issued by the public notary, by a Muslim employee and in which she wrote "Christian" beside her religious affiliation, while she could have easily written Muslim instead." said Gabriel. "If she was really detained by the church, she could have asked for help from the employee when she went to the notary," he added. Also, a certificate from Al-Azhar stating that she never converted to Islam was presented as evidence.

The prosecution also heard the testimony of Bishop Armiya, secretary to Pope Shenouda III, who denied the church had detained her. It also took the testimony of Anba Agapios, Bishop of Deir Mawass, Minya Governorate, who also refuted the charge.

Previously, the court had responded to the Muslim lawyers' demands regarding Camilia's conversion to Islam, saying the issue was the beliefs of people, but whether there was a detainment or not. Also, the Muslim lawyers had demanded Camelia appear in person before the court, which was refused by the court.

"Today's court ruling closes the curtain on one of the most famous and difficult cases in Egypt." said attorney Dr. Gabriel. "Muslims will not be allowed to demonstrate regarding this matter anymore, which they used as a pretext to create sectarian strife between Muslims and Christians."

The story of Camelia Shehata, which became a public issue for the last 11 months, started on July 19, 2010, when after a dispute with her husband, Father Tedaos Samaan, priest at St. Georges Church in Deir Mawas, she left home and went to Cairo to stay with relatives, without telling anyone of her whereabouts. "This was my biggest mistake," said Camilia in an interview with Al-Hayat Christian TV Channel from her hide-out with her husband and 2-year-old son.

Her husband, believing she was abducted by Muslims, like many other cases, came with some 3000 Copts from his congregation to protest her disappearance at St. Mark's Coptic Cathedral in Cairo.

State Security found her a few days later and handed her over to her sister who lives in Cairo. She later reconciled with her husband and the family has lived in hiding ever since, as Muslim demonstrations started to take place, demanding the return of "their sister in Islam, Camelia."

Faked photos of Camilia in a Hijab appeared on the internet and over 20 demonstrations were staged by Muslim, accusing the church of abducting new converts (females) to Islam and holding them against their will in churches and monasteries, where they were tortured.

Camilia appeared in a video clip from her hideout, taken under utmost security by the independent daily El-Youm7, in which she denied ever converting to Islam (video). The Muslims said it was not Camilia but was her double who appeared, and carried on with their demonstration, the last of which was on April 30, when they encircled the Coptic Cathedral and the Pope's residence vowing that "Camilia must return". Camelia appeared for a second time on May 7, in a one-hour interview on Al-Hayat TV, in which she denied all Muslim claims of ever having met any of them or having been to Al Azhar with them. On both occasions she confirmed her Christian faith.

Pastor’s Father Beaten Unconscious in Attack in Rajasthan, India

Hindu extremists threaten to kill church leader in spite of pact to stop assaults.

Hindu extremists in Pratapgarh, Rajasthan have threatened to kill a pastor after beating his family and violating an agreement to stop attacking them, the pastor said.

Pastor Shantilal Ninama of Believers Church told Compass that the Hindu extremists beat his 65-year-old father until he fell unconscious in one of the attacks last month.

On the evening of June 8, after agreeing to do no further harm to Pastor Ninama and his family in exchange for him dropping police charges he’d filed over a previous attack, the enraged Hindu extremists stormed into his home and began beating and stoning his father, sister, wife and three children, he said. As he sought police help, his father fell unconscious and his wife and two of his children ran out into the darkness. Another daughter hid beneath a bed, and his sister escaped and hid in a valley.

“The next day, I asked one Hindu extremist, Bhim Shankar Sharma, to give me a copy of the agreement,” Pastor Ninama said. “But he got angry with me, and verbally abused me and my faith, saying that I am an unclean person because Christianity is an unclean and foreign religion, and that Christians are not worthy to stay in India. He caught me by my collar and slapped me on my face.”

The Rev. Prabhatkar Malladi, secretary of the Udaipur Diocese in Rajasthan, told Compass that the extremists were threatening to kill the pastor.

“The villagers are not allowing any Christian leaders to enter into the village to meet Pastor Ninama, but we are taking necessary steps to help the pastor, and one advocate is now taking up the case,” he said.

Pastor Ninama also told Compass that the extremists were plotting to kill him.

“Well-wishers are telling me to be careful and not to venture out alone, as the extremists are looking for a chance to find me alone, kill me, cut me to pieces and throw my body away,” he said.

He said local extremists initially attacked him and his family for his faith in Christ on June 4; Khatiya Pitakaniya assaulted him as he was repairing his motorcycle.

“I was repairing the tire of my motorcycle when one villager, Khatiya Pitakaniya, came and told me that he did not want to see my face in the early morning as it will bring bad luck to him because I am a Christian,” the pastor said. “Khatiya Pitakaniya grasped my neck when I told him to stop pestering me, but he would not stop and called his wife to bring a knife to kill me. His wife and elder brother ran to get it.”

Bopal Ninama, the pastor’s younger brother, came to rescue him. Pitakaniya later returned with his wife Devali, Pastor Ninama’s older brother Naryayan Nimana and his cousin Jeevan Ninama, and began stoning and cursing him, the pastor said. He fled and locked himself inside his house.

Later the same day, Pastor Ninama filed a complaint at Ghantali police station, and the assailants were furious when they learned about it.

On June 6, the village head and elders called for a public meeting regarding the incident.

“Such public meetings took place several times in the past to discuss on how they could eliminate me from the village because of my faith in Christ,” Pastor Ninama said.

The village head who summoned Pastor Ninama to the meeting told him to gather 10 people from five neighboring villages and offer the meat of five goats and five pots of alcohol as a Hindu ritual to reconvert him back to Hinduism, he said. They also told the pastor to burn his Bible and all gospel literature in front of them, he added. The extremists told him that if he agreed to their demands, they would give him all manner of support.

“I can leave everything – my family, my property – but I cannot forsake Jesus at any cost,” the pastor told the extremists.

The next day, he said, they kept his father from obtaining an electricity connection for installing a water pump.
 

"They told my father to leave Christianity and not to stay with me, or else leave the area,” Pastor Ninama said. “After prayerful consideration, my father decided to stay with me and be faithful to Christ till death.”

The extremists then told the pastor they would do no further harm to him if he withdrew the police complaint. The pastor agreed, and on June 8 the parties gathered to put the agreement in writing. They agreed that anyone who disturbed the pastor and his family would be fined 5,000 rupees (US$111) in exchange for Pastor Ninama dropping the charges, and both parties signed it, he said.

“We went home happily thinking that we will not face any trouble from the extremists in the future,” Pastor Ninama said.

That same evening saw the enraged villagers launching their assault on his family. When Pastor Ninama ran to the police station for help, initially officers said the area was not within their jurisdiction, but after he pleaded with them they went back to the village with him, he said. Sitting near the pastor’s house when he returned with police, the extremists dispersed when they saw the officers.

On June 9, Pastor Ninama went to the Piplekhut police station to report the incident, but officers refused to file a First Information Report (FIR), saying there were no eyewitnesses to the assault, he said. They later filed an FIR after seeing medical reports describing the injuries to his family, he said, but no arrests have been made.

Rajasthan state has been a hotbed of anti-Christian activity since the late 1990s. Pastor Hari Shankar Ninama, 65, was praying for an 8-year-old boy’s recovery from illness at a house in Ambarunda, Peepal Khoont, Pratapgarh district on Feb. 1 when at least 10 Hindu extremists arrived on motorbikes and attacked him.

The assailants beat him and, putting him on one of their motorbikes, took him outside the village, where they stripped off his clothes and struck him. Threatening to kill him if he continued to spread Christianity, they left him naked on the road and fled, he said.

Capture of Mladic and the Bosnian tragedy

The worst crime against humanity and of genocide since the end of the Second World War in the heart of Europe was committed in Bosnia at the end of the 20th century. Triggered by the recent arrest of Bosnian Serb general Ratko Mladic, I am writing this essay lest people forget that episode. Having worked in the World Bank in the 1980s on the-then Yugoslavia, consisting of six republics, including Serbia and Bosnia, I was naturally saddened by the protracted civil war engulfing Yugoslavia in the years 1992-95, particularly in the republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina. The capture after 16 years of Mladic, regarded as the ‘Butcher of Bosnia’, was a great relief to some of us who have long been waiting for it. When a few days ago on television I saw a plane finally carrying him from Belgrade to the International War Crimes Tribunal at The Hague, I felt that the cause of justice will be served at long last.

The current pro-western Serb government, succumbing to the pressure of the European Union and the United States, decided to capture and hand him over to his prosecutors at The Hague. His superior—poet, psychiatrist and ex-president Radovan Karadiz of the Bosnian Serbs—is there since 2008 undergoing trial for war crimes. Mladic is accused of carrying on a ruthless war in violation of the rules of war and humanity and particularly of ordering the cold-blooded murder of 8,000 Muslim men and boys in Srebinica, where they had taken refuge under UN protection and guarded by Dutch troops. Mladic was present there, and TV clips show him patting the boys, assuring them that everything would be alright and then at the next moment callously sending them to death by shooting in a nearby forest.

Bosnia had a Muslim majority (44 per cent) but the Serbs had a significantly large presence (31 per cent). In Bosnian areas adjoining the republic of Croatia, there was also a Croat population (17 per cent). In 1992, Bosnia seceded from the Yugoslav federation, which was dominated by the Serbs and became independent. This was strongly opposed by the Bosnian Serbs as well as by the government of Serbia. A long, brutal civil war followed between the Bosnian Muslims and the local Serbs who were mostly orthodox Christian. The latter, heavily aided by Serbia’s financial resources and armed forces under President Slobodan Milosevic, formed their own government and named it Republika Srpska.

Vast majority of the Bosnian Muslims were ethnically Serbs, who converted to Islam during the long 500 years of Turkish rule in Bosnia. The Serbs, however, treated them as Turks, though there were many inter-marriages between the Muslims and the Serbs. During numerous visits to the beautiful old city of Sarajevo and the picturesque interior areas and the single-span 16th-century Mostar Bridge (now a UNESCO World Heritage Site) built by the Turks over a 90-foot deep gorge in the Neretva River in southern Bosnia, I developed a special attachment for Bosnia and its people. Unfortunately, the bridge was destroyed during the war; it was later rebuilt with international assistance. Sarajevo is the city where the 1986 Winter Olympics were held. During the civil war, the Olympic Stadium was converted into a graveyard such was the number of deaths and the scarcity of places of burial. Staying at the Moscova Hotel, next to the old Turkish Bazaar with antique shops and restaurants serving fine food of kebas, chicken-ala-Kiev and many kinds of sweet Baklavas and a mosque and a Muslim graveyard, we were awakened early in the morning due to azaan on loudspeakers for the Fazr prayers. Mainly Muslim in character and architecture, Sarajevo had, however, a cosmopolitan culture and outlook. Sadly, its 300-year-old library and many other historical buildings and mosques were systematically destroyed by Serb artillery and bombardment.

The brutality of the long Bosnian civil war during 1992-95 and especially the 44-month siege of Sarajevo could be seen daily on TV all over the world. Seeing the Serbs perched on windows shooting the Muslims like chicken while they crossed a street named ‘sniper’s lane’ gave us nightmare. Ten thousand people died during that siege. Bosnian winter is very harsh and due to the energy supplies and roads being cut off, people had to burn their furniture and even books to somehow keep warm. The Serbs, in order to preserve the so-called purity of the Serbian race, unleashed atrocities in the name of ‘ethnic cleansing’. This resulted in the killing of 97,000 and displacement of two million innocent civilians. The terrible suffering of the Bosnian people shocked the Americans and the Europeans and people the world over. It should be mentioned that there were some allegations of crime by the Muslims on the Serbs, too. In the end, US and European pressures during the presidency of Bill Clinton compelled the Serbian president Milosevic to stop the civil war. This allowed the Bosnian Muslims and Croats to settle their affairs under UN supervision. By the way, Milosevic, who was the patron of Karadic and Mladic, was equally guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Milosevic was later handed over to the tribunal at The Hague by the Serbian government but died there in 2006 during his long trial.

Mob kills suspected witches in South Africa

A witch hunt is believed to be behind the killings of two people, one hacked to death and the other burned alive, in South Africa. Four people were injured in the attack in Slovo Park, Eastern Cape, after a mob descended on two homes where they believed witchcraft was being practised.

A woman, 67, was severely burned and died when the group set her flat alight in the first incident late Monday. Her grandson, 16, was stabbed but survived the attack while a 6-year-old girl escaped unhurt.

About 30 minutes later, the home of a 62-year-old woman was set alight. She was stabbed and sustained burns and was in a critical condition in hospital, Lieutenant-Col Mzukisi Fatyela reportedly said, adding that no arrests had yet been made.

Her 35-year-old son was hacked to death and another son and daughter, aged 25 and 30, were in hospital with stab wounds and burns.