Australian Coptic Movement (ACM)

The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights recently decried the security establishment’s treatment of mob attacks against Coptic Christians villagers. Villages in various governorates saw tensions and attacks on Copts after local committees came to survey churches that applied for legal status with the regularization committee. The most recent sites of attacks include Beni Manin in the Fashn district, Komir and al-Halila in the Esna district, and al-Toud in the Abu Tisht district, all discussed in detail below.  The recent mob attacks on Christian communities in Egypt coincide with a spike in reports of kidnappings and disappearance of Coptic girls from all over the country. 

The remains of 20 Egyptian Coptic Orthodox Christians killed in 2015 by Islamic State in its
former Libyan stronghold of Sirte, have finally been returned to Egypt.  The Coptic Christians along with one Ghanaian citizen were beheaded on a beach in February 2015 wearing orange jumpsuits,
in a video recording. The Australian Coptic Movement has been reporting on the affairs of Coptic Christians in Libya since
early 2014.  

Dr Monica Hanna is a well known Egyptologist and third generation descendant of Morcos Gerges Saad. Dr Hanna writes about an unfortunate event that has taken place in Matai, El Minya, where an ancient church was demolished.  Dr Hanna  pursued her doctorate at the University of Pisa with a dissertation on the “Problems of Preservation of Mural Paintings in the Theban Necropolis: a Pilot Study on the Theban Tomb 14 using 3D Scanning Techniques.  

Discussions across the day focussed on the five priority pillars of Australia’s Human Rights Council engagement: gender equality, freedom of expression, good governance and robust democratic institutions, human rights for indigenous peoples, and strong national human rights institutions.  This is the third consecutive year we attended the annual Forum.  

The following tribute was originally published on the occasion of the first 4oth day memorial service in 2012. 

This is not the time to be sending vulnerable Coptic Christians back to Egypt.  2017 was the worst year in living memory for Egypt’s Copts.  

Fr Simon Shehata was brutally murdered with a meat cleaver in broad daylight.  We do not want
to see a another cover up and meaningless rhetoric from the Egyptian Government and it’s institutions 

Suzy is a little angry following comments criticising her position on the bigger issues facing Copts in Egypt. Visit our Facebook page to view Suzy’s video for more.  

Islamist terror is not the only threat to Egypt’s Copts. Coptic Christians have been subject to mob violence, massacres, restrictions on worship, attacks from security forces and widespread discrimination.