Religious Liberty Prayer List – No. 104 – Wed 14 Feb 2001

————————————————— EGYPT: ‘. . . THE LIFE OF A CHRISTIAN HAS NO VALUE’ —————————————————

In August 1998, two Coptic Christian youths were murdered and their

bodies dumped back into their home village of el-Kosheh. Coptic Bishop Wissa and others identified five Muslim youths as being involved in the killings. Using Egypt’s emergency laws, and on the pretext of ‘preventing sectarian strife’, the police rounded up and tortured over 1,000 Coptic Christians from el-Kosheh, until they had ‘witnesses’ and a Christian scapegoat, William Shayboub Arsal.

None of the police involved in this illegal torture campaign were disciplined – some were even promoted. That sent an ominous message to all of Egypt and only 16 months later the Coptic community of el- Kosheh felt its consequences during Ramadan 1999-2000.

On 31 December 1999, a dispute between a Christian cloth seller and a Muslim trader wanting goods on credit erupted into a full scale riot. Armed Muslims, called to ‘jihad’ from the mosques, entered el- Kosheh en masse the next day, through a police cordon. Twenty-one Christians were hacked to death, with 260 Christian homes and businesses being destroyed in the 3-day rampage. One Muslim died, accidentally shot by another Muslim. There were 96 arrests.

The past eight months have exposed seriously disturbing trends in Egyptian ‘justice’. Despite 20 pieces of evidence proving his innocence (including proof of fabricated evidence, witness tampering and torture) William Arsal (38, married father of 3) was, on 5 June 2000, sentenced to 15 years’ prison for the double murder of his young cousin and the other Coptic victim in August 1998. Bishop Wissa, whose diocese includes el-Kosheh, was charged with National Security offences.

Then on 8 December 2000, all 89 defendants present in the 1999-2000 Ramadan rampage ‘el-Kosheh II’ case were released without bail. On 5 February 2001, the court acquitted all but four of them, including the 38 charged with murder. Judge Mohammed Affify accused three priests in the predominantly Christian village of failing to put a stop to the rioting. Affify stated that Fr Gabriel, Fr Bessada and Fr Isaac should ‘shoulder the moral responsibility’.

In an all-too-familiar scenario, Egypt’s courts have once again sent a very dangerous signal to Egypt’s anti-Christian element: Christians can be harassed, persecuted and even murdered with impunity. Bishop Wissa denounced the blanket acquittal of all the murder suspects as an open incitement to more killings and injustice. As he declared, ‘This verdict means that the life of Christians has no value.’

PLEASE PRAY SPECIFICALLY FOR:

* this travesty of justice to attract international attention and outrage, working ultimately for good.

* Egypt’s President Mubarak’s visit to Washington in the coming months, that USA will be prepared to tackle human rights and religious liberty issues in spite of economic interests.

* all in el-Kosheh who grieve, that they may be assured that the lives of their lost loved ones are counted precious to God and to us; may they know God’s peace and grace to forgive.

* encouragement for William Shayboub Arsal, the falsely convicted scapegoat of the 1998 double murder, for safety in prison and for his physical, emotional and spiritual strength; for his family. May international attention be attracted to his case.

‘Woe to those who make unjust laws…to deprive the poor of their rights and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people.’ Isaiah 10:1,2

‘Let all those who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you.’ Psalm 5:11

SUMMARY TO USE IN BULLETINS UNABLE TO RUN THE WHOLE ARTICLE: ——————————————————————- IN EGYPT, ‘…THE LIFE OF A CHRISTIAN HAS NO VALUE’

In August 1998, two Coptic youths were murdered in the village of el-Kosheh. Though five Muslim youths were identified as the killers, police rounded up and tortured over 1,000 Coptic Christians until they had a Christian scapegoat to charge. The police were rewarded and William Arsal was sent to jail for 15 years, in spite of evidence proving his innocence. Then, during Ramadan 1999-2000, armed Muslims rampaging through el-Kosheh left 21 Christians dead and over 260 Christian properties destroyed. On 5 February 2001, 85 defendants charged over that incident were acquitted, including 38 Muslims on trial for murder. Coptic clergy were blamed for not stopping the riot. As Bishop Wissa declared, ‘This verdict means that the life of a Christian has no value.’

—————————————————- Please pass this along to others with attribution to World Evangelical Fellowship (WEF) Religious Liberty Prayer List <> —————————————————-

The WEF Religious Liberty Commission sponsors this RL Prayer List to help individuals and groups pray specifically and regularly for religious liberty issues, and in particular to uphold the Church where it is suffering persecution.

RL Prayer is moderated by Ron Clough, a commissioner of the WEF RLC and convenor of the Australian EA RLC. Elizabeth Kendal researched and compiled this message.

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