G-money where u at?

I love this _______.

(Blank)?

50 piasters prize if you can guess correctly.

For other pictures of Egypt, click here.

Not in my Name.

Campaigning has finally begun for the ten contenders for the Sept. 7 2005 Egyptian Presidential Elections.

Pope Shenouda is coming to Corpus Christi in a couple of days to open a new monastry that was purchased by the diocese. Maybe he'll answer why he supports a murderous tyrannt.

Wish me luck.

He's done it again!

Not again!

Pope Shenouda, has once again played the dhimmi to the government and dismissed a priest who did not support the incumbent President Muhammed Hosni Mubarak's bid for a fifth term. Instead of joining the ranks of the National Democratic Party, Priest Philopateer Gameel, of Giza's Virgin Mary Church joined Mubarak's contender for the presidency, Ayman Nour of the Al Ghad Party.

It is not customary in the Coptic Church for a priest to break ranks with the Pope, but Priest Philopateer Gameel, had many reasons to go against Mubarak and work for change within Egypt. The Al Kosheh Massacre of 2000 in which 30 Christians were killed without anyone being prosecuted is the main reason for joining the Al-Ghad party. It's been five years since justice has been reached for the families that lost their children, grandparents, cousins, sisters and brothers.

Priest Philopateer Gameel had a vision for Egypt, one in which Christians could live right next to their Muslim neighbors without feeling unequal or harbor feelings of unease. This revolutionary priest saw an Egypt where churches could be built with ease; where discrimination was a distant thought; where Copts could become governors, mayors, university deans, ambassadors, elected members of parliamant and even president of Egypt. Unfortunately our Pope has abandoned his flock to please the government.

The suspended priest is a victim of our silence. The majority of Copts look at their Pope more than a spiritual figure but as a loving father, who would sacrifice his life for the good of his flock. There are murmurs within the Coptic Community but nothing serious can come of it, because the catastrophe has yet to come. Pope Shenouda has made a deal with the devil, supporting a corrupt murderer who sees not the Copts as equals but as dhimmis.

Confessions of an Islamist

Ahmed Awny Shalakamy, was formerly an Islamist who preyed on young Coptic women during the 70's. Shalakamy who was firmly raised in the Islamic faith and worked closely with his father who oversaw construction projects for an Islamic charity. This Islamic Charity forcefully brought Islam into the homes of thousands of Copts by sheer trickery. Millions of dollars flowed from the Gulf so that Egypt can become completely Islamic by the next fifty years. Although he was very successful in making many Christians convert to Islam, he felt something missing from his life, something not found in his faith. The following story gives a glimpse at how Islamists convert Copts:

D.B.A

When I met DBA, she was studying in a college located one and a half hours from her home. She came from a wealthy family. Her father and mother were physicians and her brothers were physicians in the Egyptian armed forces. Though she was a churchgoer, she was not religious. DBA was outgoing in her friendships with both Muslims and Christians. Yet despite her congeniality, we did not find it easy to get to her and had to resort to foul play. As Muslim men, we believed we were in a perpetual war with the “filthy infidels,” and therefore it was OK to trick them.

One day I received a visit from a young Muslim man who told me he wanted to marry DBA and asked me to help him convince her to convert to Islam. After much planning, I found out that this girl’s best friend was a religious Muslim. But she still considered the Christian girl her sister and I was disturbed by this. So I paid a visit to the Muslim girl and talked to her about the corrupt beliefs of Christianity and reminded her of what Allah says in the Quran (Jews and Christians won’t accept you until you follow their religion) and also (Ye believers do not take Jews and Christians as friends and those who befriend them are from them, as Allah does not show the right path to the unjust). I told her that jihad against them is the duty of every Muslim and she should contribute to the victory of Islam. The Muslim girl was convinced that I was right and asked what was required of her. I told her not to show hatred toward her Christian friend, but to treat her as usual and even try to strengthen their friendship and follow all of my instructions.

I then went to a Muslim pharmacist who is a member of our association and asked him for a drug to induce hallucinations. I told him why I needed the drug. He told me he wanted to contribute to the victory of Islam and therefore he agreed to provide it. I then gave the drug to the Muslim girl and told her to dissolve two tablets in a glass of milk and give it to DBA to drink, and then call us as soon as she noticed any changes in the girl.

The Muslim girl called us as soon as DBA started to hallucinate and lose control in her apartment. When my friend and I arrived, we had a camera and a video recorder. We started joking with DBA and she was responding, not realizing what we were doing until my friend managed to strip her of her clothes and took her to the bedroom.

I recorded everything on video and took pictures for about three hours. When DBA came around, she realized what had happened and started screaming and crying. She insulted us, Islam and the prophet of Islam, and tried to tear up the Quran, which was with her girlfriend. I showed her the video tape and the photos and threatened to make copies and distribute them to her family, as well as to other Christian families. I reminded her that she would be humiliated by the scandal. She cried and fell to the ground kissing our shoes pleading with us not to do this, but we insisted that she had to do whatever we told her to do, as she knew her brothers and relatives might even kill her if they were to see that video.

She gave in. Her tears and desperation made me ecstatic. Over the next few weeks, she accompanied us to the association where she was brainwashed by the sheikhs. She could not argue with anything they said. She was miserable and never stopped crying.

We taught her what to say before it was time for her to go the police department. She followed our instructions when she was interviewed by the police. And when a police officer asked her why she wanted to convert to Islam she said that the Prophet Mohamed came to her in a dream and greeted her with the Islamic greeting calling her Aisha. Jesus was also in the dream, greeted her with the Islamic greeting and denounced all Christians saying there is no God but Allah. She said that Jesus told her that he is Allah’s slave and prophet and Mohamed is Allah’s prophet. Then, she said, Jesus kissed Mohamed’s head and asked her to repeat after him Allah’s words from the Quran (those who believe in any other religion but Islam, Allah will not accept it from them in the end, and they will be losers).

She not only said this in front of the police officers, but also to her family members and the priests who came to visit her. Her reactions during these visits, which were called counseling sessions, were staged by us and agreed on by the police before the meeting. It was all a fraud and though she was visited by different priests, she could only tell them what we had coached her to say.

After all the legal procedures were completed, we got her new ID and new Islamic name: Aisha Abdalla Elmahdy. We had achieved our plan and the Muslim man, Yasser, a Mujahid, got the girl he desired along with his financial reward, which was quite hefty because she was from a prominent Christian family. I received 25% of his share, plus my share of the amount I paid to the collaborating persons involved.

Aisha’s family was dishonored and humiliated as expected. As a result, her mother sold her pharmacy and her father sold his clinic. They moved to a place where they could disappear away in the crowd in order to flee the scandal.

So Aisha married Yasser and lived as an outcast, because she was despised by her in-laws. She was married for two months when Yasser said he had enough of her and did not want to keep her anymore. He divorced her and threw her out into the street.

Since she was our sister in Islam and cannot be homeless, I took her to the association where she lived and worked as a maid, cleaning the clinic for her food and board. She stayed there for three months until she was legally allowed to re-marry. The groom to be was a Muslim who knew her story. He was a coolie and was already married with six children. During the day, he labored in the maintenance workshops of the governorate administration. Aisha did not want to marry him and begged us not to allow her to go through with it. We ignored her, and she was forced to marry a man she did not like.

She lived in misery. She worked as a maid to clean homes and sold vegetables in order to feed her husband and his children. It was impossible to imagine that she was once a girl from a wealthy family of physicians and a college student. Her life was ruined. Her second husband divorced her after five months. Since she had been married twice she did not re-marry and because many had found out about the video tapes and photos taken of her when she was drugged, she was considered unclean. She became homeless and had to spend the night in emergency camps where she lived in sub-human conditions. As she hit bottom she cried: God have mercy on me. God showed mercy and answered her prayer.

During the time she was homeless, I became a Christian was looking for the girls I tricked into converting to Islam. I found out what had become of her and went to visit her with my wife who had returned to the church. My wife and I offered to take care of her in our home. We sought to inform her parents about her situation, so I sent a relative of my wife together with a priest who talked to them. They all cried at the news and expressed their desire to see her. The family reunion was arranged in one of the churches in Cairo. It was an impressive reunion. Though I expected the parents to chastise her, they didn’t and were happy to see her.

As her family hugged and kissed her, I was so touched by the love I saw that I wondered why we were hurting Christians the way we did. I have always despised the smiles they had on their faces when we criticized, hurt or humiliated them. I used to tell myself that they were smiles of malice because they were a minority and could not stand up to us Muslims. Now I know the reason for their smiles. It is their love, forgiveness and tolerance toward their enemies. It is the Christian characteristic of making peace.

After DBA met her family, she went back home with them and they welcomed her with love and kindness as the scripture says in the story about the prodigal son. Her mother bought her beautiful clothes and her father bought her jewelry. They celebrated her coming home and repeated the words of the Bible (Our daughter was dead and now is alive and was lost and is now found).

A request was submitted to the Clerical Council to endorse her return to Christianity, which was approved. A Christian lawyer volunteered to petition the court to give her back her Christian name and identity card. The court ruled in her favor. She now lives in France where she serves in the Coptic Church with her husband and daughter.

Whether this story is true, isn't the point. It has striking similarity to the Wafaa Constantine episode. What the Islamists wouldn't do to make Egypt fully Islamic.

Coptic Pride.

Fcuk the System salute to our Copts abroad.

The Coptic Nation strikes another achievement in the land of immigration. A non-profit charity, Coptic Orphans has recently been mentioned by the Washington Post for the 2005 Award for Excellence in Nonprofit Management. It also received a “grant for $2,500 to be used for organizational capacity building in our Washington DC office.”

Coptic Orphans was founded in 1989 with the sole purpose of alleviating the effects of poverty on children by providing them with “spiritual, physical, economic, and social - through programs that provide both tangible and intangible benefits.”

Currently the charity is helping over 10,500 children throughout Egypt. “Coptic Orphans has four programs in Egypt that include Child Assistance (the largest in scope and geographic coverage), the Valuable Girl Project, the Emergency Housing Program, and Serve to Learn. Our services cover most of Egypt, including Cairo, Alexandria, Benisuef, Minya, Assuit and reaching as far south as Sohag, Luxor, and Aswan, not to mention many remote village and slum areas.”
This group is testament to Christian values of helping others in the face of discrimination and strife.

Donate Now!

The Coptic Path

The following is an article written by Jonathan Eric Lewis, who is a writer for the prestigious Wall Street Journal.

“On the day before Christmas, as we prepare to worship and to celebrate, let us not forget the plight of the Coptic Christians of Egypt—a people who are, to put it with supreme understatement, less free than we are to practice the religion of one’s own choosing.
Egypt is the most populous of the Arab countries, and in many ways the most sophisticated. Its path will determine the fate of a region stagnating under archaic economic and political systems. And no group in Egypt would benefit more from democratization than the beleaguered Copts, particularly when democracy is defined not simply by voting rights but by pluralism and the respect for the rights of minorities. Indeed, for Egypt to democratize, it must end its discrimination against its Coptic population, arrest and prosecute the Islamic extremists who have repeatedly targeted the Christian community, and include the Coptic community in all aspects of civic and political life. This would not only go a long way to foster democratic change in Egyptian society, but would also serve as an impetus for other Arab states to begin to better include their ethnic and religious minorities in the region’s cultural and political life. Most significantly, the protection of Coptic rights within a stable, pluralistic Egypt allied with Washington is in America’s national interest.
* * *
Constituting 15% of the population, Coptic Christians, though technically a minority, are an integral part of the Egyptian nation. Indeed, the term “Copt” is the Greek linguistic root of the English word “Egypt.” Although castigated by Islamic extremists as agents of the West, Copts maintain cultural, linguistic, and religious traditions that long predate the advent of Egyptian Islam in A.D. 641. They trace their strong Christian faith back to St. Mark the Evangelist’s mission to Alexandria in the 1st century A.D. Although they primarily belong to the Coptic Orthodox Church, they also maintain smaller Catholic and Protestant communities. Having had to live under dhimmi, or inferior non-Muslim, status for much of their history, Copts nevertheless produced a rich corpus of theological literature for Near Eastern Christianity, particularly during the 13th-century Coptic Renaissance.

It was not until 19th-century Ottoman reforms, however, that Coptic Christians were freed from their subservient status under Islamic rule and were released from paying the jizya, a discriminatory tax mandated for non-Muslims. Throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Copts, like Christians in other parts of the Ottoman Empire, experienced a cultural rebirth and reasserted their distinct identity. Partially due to British imperial influence in Cairo, Copts began to take an active part in political life of the modern Egyptian state.

Much of the 20th century, however, has not been kind to the Copts, who have seen their distinct identity denied and their faith assailed. Copts face severe discrimination in the public sector, as there are currently no Christian governors, mayors, or police chiefs, and they are substantially underrepresented in national politics. They likewise face educational discrimination, ranging from the lack of school curriculum on Coptic history to being barred from attending the state-funded al-Azhar University. Copts also face hostility from local officials when they complain about harassment and violence from Islamic extremists who continue to force Copts to pay the jizya under the nose of the local police.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
While Americans only became aware of the dangers of Islamism terrorism on Sept. 11, Coptic Christians were subjected to a campaign of intimidation and violence throughout the 1990s when Islamists repeatedly targeted Coptic civilians. Given the fact that Egyptian Islamism was an incubator for al Qaeda, one can justifiably view Copts as the victims of the same sort of Islamic extremism that, left unchecked, went on to cost innocent lives from New York to Bali.
Coptic intellectuals in Egypt have sought various means of addressing this systematic discrimination, while promoting peaceful coexistence with their Muslim neighbors. Many Copts, however, have chosen emigration to the U.S. over the alternative of living as second-class citizens in an increasingly Islamic Egypt, and now maintain vibrant communities in California, New Jersey, and Texas. This has allowed for a degree of Coptic political activism in the Diaspora that would be inconceivable back in Egypt. The U.S. Copts Association, formed in 1996, seeks to give a voice to the approximately 700,000 Egyptian Christians in the U.S. and to advocate on behalf of their brethren on Capitol Hill. This promotion of Coptic rights by Diaspora activists is in America’s long-term national interest. Yet Washington should realize that a heavy-handed approach by congressmen to this sensitive issue would only further enrage Egyptians already seething with anti-Americanism. Michael Meunier, president of U.S. Copts Association, has likewise warned of how “the fury expressed towards the United States has been manifested in hostility towards the Christian minority.”

In officially designating Jan. 7—Orthodox Christmas—as a national holiday for the first time in Egypt, President Hosni Mubarak has finally taken a welcome step toward better weaving Copts into the greater fabric of Egyptian civic life and in countering some of the anti-Christian forces in Egyptian society. Such a move should be complemented by gradually introducing more Coptic culture and history into Egyptian school curricula and by curtailing incitement in the media that portrays Christians as infidels and America’s Middle East policy as being a “Crusade.” The Egyptian authorities should likewise vigorously investigate cases of kidnapping and forced conversions of Coptic girls and make it clear that the government does not tolerate such acts.
The advancement and protection of Coptic rights should not be viewed as a Christian issue, but more broadly as a human-rights issue within the larger context of the Middle East’s democracy deficit. The Bush administration should promote energetically the understanding that democracy does not simply mean free elections and majority rule, but also the protection of minority rights under the rule of law. An Egypt in which Copts feel insecure and are subject to violence by Islamic extremists should give way to an Egypt in which all citizens, Christian, Muslim, and secular alike, can take part in the full civic life of the nation. A democratic and pluralistic Egypt allied with the U.S. and respecting minority rights will be a beacon for liberty throughout the Middle East.”

Immortal Egypt

These pictures were made possible by GoogleEarth. It's a good program especially when bored and homesick. Download it and travel the world.
Here are some pictures of Egypt.

Al Ahzar Gardens.
















A church in Cairo.
















CityStars Mall from space.
















Cairo's most fashonable corniche.

The Pyramids of Egypt.

Lets play a game of pin the tail on the dhimmi!

The Nazarist Spirit

The term Nazarist comes from Muslims linking Jesus’ birthplace in Nazareth, Palestine to Christians all over the Middle East. It isn’t a term that invokes violence but one that fights in a peaceful way for the inalienable rights of man. Nazarists have no need for violence like their predecessors in the past (Hizb al-Umma al Qubtiyah), who in 1954 in the face of Islamic extremism kidnapped Pope Amba Usab and made him abdicate for his ‘nonchalant’ stance over rising discrimination against Copts. Although President Nasser disbanded this group by heavy force, the dream of a pan-Arab Christian group of lawyers, professionals, doctors, teachers and engineers working hand in hand to fight against injustice that many of our brothers and sisters deal with everyday, remains on the collective conscience of many.

You won’t find the term on google.com or even copts.net, it is a term that is close for all Christians in the Middle East.

Egypt

Immortal Egypt.

Egypt today isn’t the same as it was in the past; with rising unemployment and low foreign investment many Egyptians suffer even to have basic commodities that make us human. Unfortunately, the battle on the street for the hearts and minds of the Egyptian people isn’t about unemployment but about Islam. Extremists like the Muslim Brotherhood have brought the Islamist dialogue to the forefront of the National agenda, but fortunately for us they now use in their demonstrations ‘token’ phrases like “the Copts are the Sons of Egypt too.”

Why hasn’t a Coptic organization risen up to defend the rights of Copts and other Christians in Egypt?

There needs to be a new organization to promote the rights of the Copts because our church is to busy pleasing the government and trying to keep the Coptic community aboard silent to do anything else. In an interview with Pope Shenouda, a question was posed asking him whether it is acceptable for a Copt to run for the President of Egypt against incumbent President Mubarak, our holiness replied that “the President should represent the religion of the majority.”

With this kind of talk, we don’t need the Muslim Brotherhood or the ‘tolerant’ Egyptian government to limit the inalienable rights of the Copts. Our dreams are being inhibited by our Pope and our history denied from the public schools. We can’t build churches legally without papers from governors, police chiefs, presidents and even chief engineers but increasingly our churches are being surrounded on all sides by mosques. There are no Coptic ambassadors, even though there are more Copts outside Egypt than Muslims. No deans, syndicate leaders or even elected parliament represented are Copts. We have to depend on his grace Mubarak to give us a few seats in the Parliament.

Aren’t we Egyptians?

Unfortunately, we are complacent in being dhimmis. It’s sad that our government says we are less than 10% of the population yet we are more around 15-20 percent. Our church is so afraid of having a census that we have denied ourselves our right to join the political process, in so doing we have denied a part of humanity.

What about Neguib Sawiris or other successful Coptic businessmen?

President Nasser’s attempt to destroy the ‘corrupt’ upper classes caused many industrialists to lose their businesses, including a great number of Coptic entrepreneurs who controlled approximately 45% of Egypt’s economy. Arab Socialism was really a guise to transfer the wealth from the wealthy to the lower classes, but with an Islamist agenda. Following the revolution, many Egyptians transferred their wealth abroad. Presently this amount equals more than 150 billion dollars, which could help the economy grow if democracy and property rights were introduced. Sawiris got lucky; no doubt having a large wealth outside helped him get back on his feet when he went to Libya then America. The Coptic businessmen bounced back but political reforms must come forward in order for Egypt to join the developed world.

Egypt in the Past

It ceases to surprise me that instead of going forward, Egypt is instead going back to the medieval ages thanks to the Islamist agenda. Whatever happened to the March 1919 demonstrations that united all Egyptians under the flag of the Crescent and Cross?

“Leave Religion for God! Egypt for the Egyptians!”

With the Copts silent and progressive Muslims murmuring quietly all is lost. Silence is the enemy and currently we are losing the war. Egypt needs to improve; denying mistakes and problems only creates more problems in the future. Ordinary Egyptians must rise up in an organized manner with concrete goals of reform instead of demanding the resignation of the president or ministers.

Coptic Links

I know this website is a joke, but it’s so cool
http://www.amcoptic.com/

I've become an Nazarist!

The events unfolding in the Middle East have made me embrace radical thoughts, these ideas if acted upon could bring the nations of the Middle East on the verge of collapse.

Nazarism- is a political movement among Christian Arabs, who are tired of the centuries of discrimination and oppression forced upon them by a faith that views Christians and Jews not as equals, but as dhimmis--- a subservient class. Nazarists want to keep the cross firmly planted all over the Middle East without the threat of forced conversions or rapes that currently plague our nations. It’s time to throw it up and create a new system one in which we are in control of our own lives and most importantly our futures. We owe it to future generations to fight for our way of life.

Endangered Christians Groups

The Christians of Egypt
The Christians of Lebanon
The Christians of Palestine
The Christians of Jordan
The Christians of Iraq
The Christians of Syria

In the coming days, I’ll be writing a series of essay about each of these tortured groups and how they survived centuries of prosecution and torture.