HG Bishop Angaelos with Prime Minister David Cameron at a reception in Downing Street

On Wednesday 27 April 2011, Prime Minister David Cameron hosted a reception at Downing Street for a select group of leaders of Christian Churches, denominations and organisations, among whom was His Grace Bishop Angaelos of the Coptic Orthodox Church. The celebration was in light of the Feast of the Resurrection, and there was no mistaking the sentiment shared amongst the guests, and held by the Prime Minister himself, that Britain is, and has always been, regarded to be first and foremost a Christian country.
The Prime Minister spoke personally with His Grace Bishop Angaelos about the current state of affairs in Egypt, expressing his concern about the state of the Church and Christians there.
With regards to the state of Britain today, Mr. Cameron spoke about the need for families, people of all faiths, communities, and individuals to help one another to build a “more prosperous, more generous society…”, one that churches in particular can and are already contributing to a great deal.
With uncanny boldness the Prime Minister also expressed the need for Britain to acknowledge its Christian identity, acknowledging that at the heart of politics lies a wealth of moral questions to which we should not be afraid to respond with our Christian values.
Prime Minister Cameron was also quoted by the Church Times saying “I’ve never really understood this argument about ‘Should the Church get involved in politics? Yes or no?’ To me, Christianity, Faith, religion, the Church, is involved in politics because so many political questions are moral questions…So I don’t think we should be frightened about having these debates and these discussions, and frankly, sometimes these arguments about politics in our country and what it means to be a Christian and what faith brings to our politics.”
It was evident from the words spoken at the reception that as a leader, the Prime Minister sees Christianity playing a vital role in maintaining integrity in the political sphere, and that the opinion that faith is in some way irrelevant or detrimental to Britain’s identity, or that it is something for our country to be afraid of and hide, is one that needs to be re-assessed.
As further quoted by the Church Times, the Prime Minister said “Easter reminds us all to follow our conscience and ask not what we are entitled to, but what we can do for others. It teaches us about charity, compassion, responsibility, and forgiveness.”

PUBLIC STATEMENT

International experts and advocates warn of dangerous escalation of attacks on Christians in Egypt and failings of the international media in reporting the incidents accurately.

We, the undersigned group of experts, advocates and faith leaders with an interest in Egypt, religious freedom and human rights, are gravely concerned at the increasing frequency of attacks on Coptic Christians in Egypt, and the manner in which such attacks are being reported by the international media.

We rejoiced at the determined yet dignified manner in which the Egyptian people asserted their right to enjoy fundamental freedoms. We were particularly encouraged by the solidarity and compatriotism demonstrated by all of the country’s creeds and political groups throughout demonstrations against the Mubarak regime. It was profoundly moving to see Muslims and Christians take turns in protecting one another while holding prayers in Cairo’s Tahrir Square.

The collapse of the powerful state apparatus and the subsequent power vacuum this created, however, quickly opened a ‘Pandora’s Box’ of social problems that the Mubarak regime had either maintained or failed to address. As anticipated, we are now witnessing political struggles for power and influence in the new Egypt. While most of this is a necessary part of the emergence of true democracy in Egypt, the increase in and intensity of attacks on Christians are indicators of imminent civil unrest and the potential for widespread ethno-religious violence that demands an immediate response.

We are deeply concerned by the nature of these attacks on Christians, and the clear lack of action on the part of the Supreme Council of Armed Forces. These attacks have been following established patterns. They have either been terrorist attacks, or well organized mob attacks by radical Islamist groups, referred to as Salafists, who are demanding Egypt become an Islamic state, free of Christians. Yet far from upholding the revolutionary spirit of unity we witnessed in January and February, the Armed Forces not only fail to provide adequate protection, but also continue to follow the policy of Mubarak’s regime by failing to uphold justice or arrest the real culprits, and by forcing reconciliation meetings on the victims that favor their attackers.

Both local and international media reporting of the attacks have been deeply problematic. Mainstream Egyptian media describes such incidents as communal clashes, with at times, inaccurate reports that they are incited by Coptic Christians. Some Islamic media uses harsher and more dangerous tone, with frequent calls to “punish” and ostracize the 10 million strong Coptic community.

The international media is reporting the attacks as “sectarian clashes”. However, these events are not clashes between two sects, such as Sunni and Shiite clashes in Iraq; they constitute a disturbing pattern of escalating attacks and violence against a minority community. Erroneous wording in media reports enable radical groups to continue their aggression, and the Egyptian authorities to remain oblivious and insensitive towards a vulnerable minority.

As we have seen in all cases of mass violence in the 20th Century, radical groups demanding a homogenized society, poor and compliant state performance and widespread scapegoating in media reports are all early indicators of ethnic violence, massacres and genocides.

Unless the international community shows strong resolve and tenacity in keeping the emerging Egyptian leadership accountable, millions of Egyptian citizens will continue to face escalating violence and serious human rights abuses. We urge the Egyptian authorities to uphold rule of law and show resolve in addressing the worrying trends, which have the potential to pull Egypt into further chaos.

Signatories:*

Ziya Meral; Joseph Crapa Fellow, United States Commission on International Religious Freedom

Khataza Gondwe; Team Leader, Africa and the Middle East, Christian Solidarity Worldwide

Dr Jenny Taylor, Director, Lapido Media

Paul Marshall, Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute Center for Religious Freedom

Nina Shea, Director, Hudson Institute Center for Religious Freedom

Dr Elizabeth Iskander; Dinam Research Fellow, London School of Economics

Thomas F. Farr, Director, Religious Freedom Project- The Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs

Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali, Oxford Centre for Training, Research, Advocacy & Dialogue

Dr Mariz Tadros, Fellow, Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex

Adam Hug, Policy Director, the Foreign Policy Centre

Baroness Caroline Cox, CEO, Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust



*Disclaimer: This statement reflects the personal views of the signatories and not their affiliated organizations and institutions.

To contact the signatories and request more information on religious freedom in Egypt, please email: EgyptConcern@gmail.com

Statment By HG Bishop Angaelos on Alyoum7 Article regarding Imbaba

Statement from Bishop Angaelos, General Bishop of the Coptic Orthodox Church, United Kingdom



In response to what was published on the website of Alyoum7, as originating from Middle East News Agency (London), I have noticed a lack of precision in the report of my interview with BBC World regarding the matter of unrest in Imbaba. My comments are therefore as follows:

There was no mention of this incident being a ‘isolated incident’ but that it is part of a series of similar incidents, starting with the attack on the church of Atfih, which is alarming
There was no mention in the article of my comment that the revolution was a nationalistic one, void of religious separation, and that extremist directions will jeopardise the continuity of the nationalist direction of a ‘new’ Egypt
With respect to the Supreme Military Council, I clearly stated that although the church was built, what was needed was to bring to justice the perpetrators of this crime so that we would not find ourselves in this situation in Imbaba today
Maintaining the right to the correction of misrepresentation, an investigation into, and correction of, this article will be demanded due to the sensitivity of the matter at hand.





بيان من الأنبا انجيلوس الأسقف العام بالمملكة المتحدة







رداً على مانشر على موقع اليوم السابع نقلاً عن وكالة أنباء الشرق الأوسط - لندن لوحظ أنه لم يتم تحري الدقة في نقل الحديث الذي جرى مع هيئة ألاذاعة البريطانية تعقيباً على أحدث امبابة كما يلي







لم يتم ذكر أن ماحدث هو حالة خاصة ولكن ذكر أن تسلسل ألأحداث الأخيرة منذ ماحدث بكنيسة أطفيح يدعو إلى القلق

لم يرد في الخبر ماقيل أن الثورة حينما قامت كانت تمثل جموع المصريين بدون تمييز ديني أو مذهبي ولكن الفكر المتطرف يهدد إستمرار الفكر الوطني وبداية عصر جديد لمصر

في صدد ذكر المجلس الأعلى للقوات المسلحة تم التعليق أنه بالرغم من اعادة بناء الكنيسة المنهدمة بواسطة المجلس كان المطلوب تقديم المتسبب للمحاكمة لكي لا نجد أنفسنا في الوضع الحالي في امبابة

عملاً بحق الرد سوف يطلب تصحيح الخبر وتحري الدقة المطلوبة نظراً لحساسية الموقف