As 2014 draws to a close, ancient communities of faith confront the destruction of their world.
A few weeks ago I found myself at the gates of Saint Elias Church, one of many in the traditional Christian quarter of Erbil, the capital of Iraq’s Kurdish region. But there was nothing at all traditional about the scene that greeted me there.
An Egyptian Coptic Christian couple were murdered and their daughter kidnapped on Tuesday in Libya in what officials said may have been an attack motivated by religion.
"Unidentified armed men killed Christian Egyptian doctor Magdi Sobhi Toufik and his wife in their house at the Jarf health centre in Sirte," 500 kilometres (310 miles) east of Tripoli, local council chairman Yussef Tebeiqa said.
Earlier this week Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi approved a law to govern the upcoming parliamentary elections, presently scheduled to occur “before the end of March 2015.” The law creates an electoral system which is overly complex, marginalizes political parties, and allows for easy government manipulation.
God brings light and hope to those in darkness
As Advent winded to a close, Christians around the world celebrated the birth of God. Every human heart should be gladdened by the tidings of comfort and joy that were revealed to poor shepherds two millennia ago. But some are particularly in need of hope and cheer. For persecuted Christians around the world, 2014 has been a trial by fire.
Egypt’s police force is to be bolstered by a new round of young recruits as per a decree issued by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. In amending the Police Authority Act, he has also granted this new rank the power of arrest.
Coptic Solidarity 2014 Conference
The Annual Conference was held in Washington, D.C. on June 26-28, 2014.
Marina Shalaby, a researcher at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, is declared the winner of the Coptic Solidarity Writing Contest for 2014.(Click Here)
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