St Luke's Church Eccleshill - Articles from "The Link"

22 Christians arrested in Egypt

As St Luke's will be supporting Chris and Angela Chorlton as CMS mission partners in Egypt, we publish this article, from ANS (Assist News Service) to try to increase our understanding of the religious situation in Egypt today.

22 Christians were arrested in October by Egyptian police, reports the Barnabas Fund, a major Christian rights group which supports persecuted believers. They are being beaten, interrogated and tortured.

The arrests began on 21st October as a Christian couple, Yusuf and Mariam (whose former Muslim names were Ahmad and Saher) were taken from Alexandria to police stations in the capital Cairo. By the end of the week the number had risen to 22: all "converts to Christianity and Christians who have tried to assist them."

"Local Christians fear the arrests will continue and many other converts from Islam, who have been living quietly as Christians may now be arrested." Christians make up about 6% of the population of Egypt, where 90% are Muslims.

Officially those arrested are being charged "with falsifying ID papers," because they have changed their Muslim names to Christian names. Egypt has no law against apostasy from Islam (unlike Saudi Arabia, Iran and Sudan), but "in practice converts are actively punished by the police, and often face imprisonment, beatings and torture on various pretexts in order to try to force them to return to Islam.

"A Christian who converts to Islam in Egypt can receive ID papers with a new adopted Muslim name within 24 hours, but Muslims who convert to Christianity can never change their names to Christian ones at all - they will always be regarded as Muslims in the eyes of the law" (says the Fund). Yusuf and Mariam were investigated after another Christian admitted their conversion to the police, and they are also alleged to have been involved in leading other Muslims to convert to Christianity.

The arrests are particularly disappointing because in September Egypt signed the Declaration of the Interparliamentary Conference on Human Rights and Religious Freedom in Brussels. This states that "Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion; including freedom to have or adopt a religion or belief. Everyone has the freedom alone or in community with others and without any outside interference to express their religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance." But Egyptian Supreme Court Justice Said Al-Ashmawi said that while conversion away from Islam is not specifically illegal, it is still understood to be unacceptable in Egypt.

See www.assistnews.net and www.barnabasfund.org for more details.

	*St Luke's Church, Eccleshill - The Link* magazine** The Link is published monthly at 40p (Senior Citizens 35p), and we deliver free within the parish and post copies (at the reader's expense) to those who request it. Please contact us if you would like a free copy for a trial period. December 2003, Page 4.
Home Page. Index of articles. Missionaries: index, Shifting, Short Break, Copts in Egypt, Egyptian Harvest, Arrests in Egypt. CMS, Chorltons. In this issue: (December 2003) Vicarage Christmas, Advent Crafts, Arrests in Egypt, Question.	22 Christians arrested in Egypt As St Luke's will be supporting Chris and Angela Chorlton as CMS mission partners in Egypt, we publish this article, from ANS (Assist News Service) to try to increase our understanding of the religious situation in Egypt today. 22 Christians were arrested in October by Egyptian police, reports the Barnabas Fund, a major Christian rights group which supports persecuted believers. They are being beaten, interrogated and tortured. The arrests began on 21st October as a Christian couple, Yusuf and Mariam (whose former Muslim names were Ahmad and Saher) were taken from Alexandria to police stations in the capital Cairo. By the end of the week the number had risen to 22: all "converts to Christianity and Christians who have tried to assist them." "Local Christians fear the arrests will continue and many other converts from Islam, who have been living quietly as Christians may now be arrested." Christians make up about 6% of the population of Egypt, where 90% are Muslims. Officially those arrested are being charged "with falsifying ID papers," because they have changed their Muslim names to Christian names. Egypt has no law against apostasy from Islam (unlike Saudi Arabia, Iran and Sudan), but "in practice converts are actively punished by the police, and often face imprisonment, beatings and torture on various pretexts in order to try to force them to return to Islam. "A Christian who converts to Islam in Egypt can receive ID papers with a new adopted Muslim name within 24 hours, but Muslims who convert to Christianity can never change their names to Christian ones at all - they will always be regarded as Muslims in the eyes of the law" (says the Fund). Yusuf and Mariam were investigated after another Christian admitted their conversion to the police, and they are also alleged to have been involved in leading other Muslims to convert to Christianity. The arrests are particularly disappointing because in September Egypt signed the Declaration of the Interparliamentary Conference on Human Rights and Religious Freedom in Brussels. This states that "Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion; including freedom to have or adopt a religion or belief. Everyone has the freedom alone or in community with others and without any outside interference to express their religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance." But Egyptian Supreme Court Justice Said Al-Ashmawi said that while conversion away from Islam is not specifically illegal, it is still understood to be unacceptable in Egypt. See www.assistnews.net and www.barnabasfund.org for more details.
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