16 December 2013

 

Human Rights Watch (HRW) reports on 21 August 2013 that attackers have torched and looted churches and Christian property across the country since 14 August, and that security forces were largely absent or failed to intervene:

“Since August 14, 2013, attackers have torched and looted scores of churches and Christian property across the country, leaving at least four people dead. Authorities should also investigate why security forces were largely absent or failed to intervene even when they had been informed of ongoing attacks.

Immediately following the violent dispersal of the Muslim Brotherhood sit-ins in Cairo on August 14, crowds of men attacked at least 42 churches, burning or damaging 37, as well as dozens of other Christian religious institutions in the governorates of Minya, Asyut, Fayum, Giza, Suez, Sohag, Bani Suef, and North Sinai. Human Rights Watch has verified with family members and a lawyer that at least three Coptic Christians and one Muslim were killed as a result of sectarian attacks in Dalga, Minya city, and Cairo. […]

In the vast majority of the 42 cases Human Rights Watch documented, neither the police nor the military were present at the start or during the attack. In one case, in Dalga, a village in southern Minya governorate, residents said that men had attacked the local police station around the same time. In Kirdassa, Giza, west of Cairo, an activist said that mobs attacked the local police station, killing 15 officers according to the Associated Press, before attacking Al-Mallak church. A priest in Malawi, a town in Minya governorate south of Minya city, told Human Rights Watch that he called emergency services and police multiple times while mobs burned his church, but no one came. Another Dalga resident said that on August 16 the governor promised to send armored personnel carriers to protect Copts from ongoing violence, but that none came.“ (HRW, 21 August 2013)

The HRW report contains a list of 37 churches burned or damaged and a list of five churches attacked, but not damaged. The lists contain churches in Minya, Asyut, Fayum, Giza, Suez, North Sinai, Bani Suef, Helwan and Cairo (HRW, 21 August 2013). The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR), an independent rights organization, also published a List of Attacks on Churches, Religious Buildings and Christians' Private Property from 14 August to 17 August 2013 (for details see EIPR, 25 August 2013).

 

The Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, a non-governmental organization in special consultative status, writes in its statement to the UN Human Rights Council (HRC), published in September 2013, with regard to the events in August that authorities have repeatedly neglected to provide the necessary protection to Coptic Christians:

“Islamist leaders have been fomenting sectarian strife for years, and such rhetoric continued unabated through the anti-Morsi demonstrations of June 30 and the removal of President Morsi (of the MB’s [Muslim Brotherhood’s] Freedom and Justice Party) on July 3. The sectarian violence which broke out as a result was sanctioned by the MB both by their refusal to condemn these crimes and by the continued use of sectarian rhetoric used by the group’s leaders, including on the stage at the sit-in at Rabaa al-Adawiya Square. Despite this threat, the Egyptian authorities have repeatedly neglected to provide the necessary protection to Coptic Christian citizens and their property and places of worship, to decisively confront sectarian attacks, and to enforce the law by holding those responsible for these acts to account. Churches across Upper Egypt and Sinai have been attacked, leading to the destruction and arson of several of them, and Coptic Christian citizens continue to be threatened with further physical violence in several cities and towns. For instance, in the eastern town of Beni Ahmed, located in the governorate of Minya, the state institutions and security forces blatantly refrained from intervening to put an end to the sectarian tensions which had been on the rise for a full month between the town’s residents, who are mostly Christians, and supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi from the surrounding villages. This negligence led to residents from these villages surrounding and attacking Beni Ahmed on August 3. Clashes broke out between the two sides, yet the police did not intervene until over two hours later. Although police did secure the town’s church, they neglected to prevent attacks on private property, including homes, cars, and shops. It is also reported that a large number of Christians from northern Sinai have been displaced, as they have been forced to flee the continual threats to their lives. Churches have remained closed most of the time due to fears that they will be attacked, as they are not provided sufficient protection by the military or the police. Coptic Christians have also been targeted for killings and kidnappings at the hands of Islamist extremists in Sinai, including the priest Mina Aboud Sharoubim and Coptic citizen Magdi Lamaai, who was killed after his family was unable to pay the ransom demanded in return for his release. Mina Matry Shouqi was also abducted, yet he was released after his family paid the required ransom. Furthermore, the authorities did not make adequate preparations to contain the violence which was expected to be carried out by the MB and its supporters in response to the dispersal of the sit-ins – despite the fact that public incitement to sectarian violence as well as acts of retaliatory violence against Copts in several governorates had begun several weeks before. When it was announced that the two sit-ins were being dispersed, at least 45 churches were simultaneously attacked, leading to the deaths of seven citizens, the burning of 25 churches, and the looting and destruction of seven more. Other property belonging to Copts, including schools, was also attacked.” (Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, 6 September 2013, pp. 2-3)

A report published by Amnesty International (AI) on 9 October2013 contains details on the August events:

“Pope Tawadros II, the Patriarch of the Orthodox Church, the largest Coptic Christian denomination in Egypt, stated that 43 churches were completely destroyed on 14 August, with a further 207 Christian properties attacked. The campaign group Maspero Youth Union documented the destruction of 37 churches across the country, with 23 additional churches targeted for attacks and/or partially damaged. Attacks took place in Alexandria, Assiut, Beni Suef, Fayoum, Giza, Greater Cairo, Luxor, Al-Minya, North Sinai, Sohag and Suez. […]

Amnesty International visited sites of attacks in Al-Minya, Fayoum and Greater Cairo and spoke with eyewitnesses, religious leaders and government officials. The organization documented the deaths of four men in sectarian attacks on 14-15 August: three in Al-Minya and one in Izbat al-Nakhl in Greater Cairo. In all cases documented by Amnesty International, attacks took place during and in the aftermath of the forcible dispersal of the two main pro-Morsi protest camps in Greater Cairo: the sit-ins of Rabaa al- Adawiya and Nahda.3 In some incidents, attacks were carried out by passing pro- Morsi marches or by mobs of angry men armed with various weapons, including firearms, metal sticks, and knives. Eyewitnesses told Amnesty International that the violence was also marked by the use of sectarian and inflammatory slogans and chants, frequently preceded by incitement from local mosques and religious leaders. Graffiti sprayed on areas in the vicinity of attacks such as church walls and Coptic Christian homes, such as: ‘They killed our brothers during prayer’ and: ‘[The] religion of God is Islam’, leave little doubt about the vengeful nature of the attacks against Coptic Christians, perceived as widely supporting the ousting of former President Mohamed Morsi. […]

Amnesty International has documented decades of attacks on Christians and other sectarian attacks, including under the rule of Hosni Mubarak, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces and Mohamed Morsi. However, there has been a notable increase in sectarian tension and an unprecedented level of attacks since Minister of Defence Abdel Fattah al-Sisi announced on 3 July that Mohamed Morsi was no longer President – characterized by security forces’ failure to protect Coptic Christian lives, property and places of worship.6 The phenomenon of sectarian attacks was particularly felt in Upper Egypt and other Islamist strongholds, where bubbling sectarian tensions occasionally erupt onto the surface – at times for the most mundane reasons, such as altercations between neighbours. The latest sectarian attacks were marked by a rise in inflammatory sectarian discourse adopted by some members and supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood, blaming Coptic Christians for the ouster of Mohamed Morsi and scapegoating them for the crackdown on his supporters.” (AI, 9 October 2013, pp. 2-3)

“Following the attacks, the Egyptian authorities, including the Prime Minister, were quick to condemn them and point the finger at supporters of Mohamed Morsi, as part of the government’s narrative of ‘fighting terrorism’. Egypt’s Minister of Defence also announced that the army would rebuild churches with its own money. On the other hand, the authorities have failed to acknowledge the discrimination faced by Coptic Christians in Egypt for decades, and the impunity enjoyed by perpetrators of previous incidents of sectarian attacks committed under successive Egyptian governments, from Hosni Mubarak, the subsequent rule of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, to the one-year presidency of Mohamed Morsi. Officials have frequently favoured holding ‘reconciliation’ sessions between communities over providing justice and redress, and failed to address the root causes of sectarian attacks against Coptic Christians or to repeal discriminatory provisions in Egyptian law.” (AI, 9 October 2013, pp. 3-4)

In July 2013, Amnesty International (AI) reports on events of 5 July, when four Coptic Christian men were killed by local residents and 110 Christian homes were attacked in a village west of Luxor. The report also deals with the reaction by police and security forces:

“On 5 July 2013, four Coptic Christian men were killed by local residents in the Nagah Hassan district of Dab’iya village, some 18 kilometres west of Luxor. At least four other Coptic Christian men were seriously injured and required hospitalization, and scores of Christian homes were torched and looted. The attack was triggered by the discovery at about 2:30am of Hassaan Sidqi Hanafi’s dead body, ditched by the Nile.” (AI, July 2013, p. 5)

“Local residents told Amnesty International that they woke-up on the morning of 5 July 2013 to hear screams of ‘the Nasara [a derogatory term for Christians] killed a Muslim’ and ‘Allahu Akbar’ (God is Great). The Coptic Christian residents saw angry crowds outside their homes and businesses carrying tree branches, metal sticks, blades, knives, hammers and other ‘white’ weapons. The Coptic Christian residents told Amnesty International that the crowds of villagers threatened to burn down their homes if they didn’t leave them. According to local Coptic Christian leaders, by 12pm on 5 July 2013, some 110 Christian homes had been attacked, with varying levels of intensity and damage. In some instances, residents said, attackers set the Coptic Christians’ homes on fire with petrol bombs and butane.” (AI, July 2013, p. 10)

“Local Coptic Christian religious leaders contacted the security forces, including the local head of the police investigation unit (normally the second-in-command at a police station), as soon as the violence erupted in the early hours of 5 July 2013. They also called the police and army’s hotlines throughout the day in vain. When reinforcement failed to arrive, they went to the city of Luxor, desperately seeking the help of the military police, military forces stationed at the Luxor Governorate building, and security forces stationed near the main Luxor Church. At about 4pm, the activist Safwat Saaman, of the National Centre without Borders, also called a number of security officials, including the local head of the National Security Agency and the Hamindar (major-general, the deputy head of security in Luxor Governorate). Security officials reportedly told a number of residents that they were overwhelmed by the violence and the number of assailants, and could not ‘fight an entire village.’” (AI, July 2013, p. 11)

“During the night of 5 July 2013, the security forces arrested 25 residents of Nagah Hassan and surrounding areas. A prosecutor in Luxor told Amnesty International that a total of 46 people stand accused of attacks on Coptic Christians. Of these, 10 are accused of murder or attempted murder; and the rest of destroying property, physical assaults and ‘thuggery’. The prosecutor said that of the 46, 18 people had already been arrested and detained, including two children: four on charges of murder; one on charges of attempted murder; and the remainder on charges of destroying property, physical assaults and ‘thuggery’. Arrest warrants have been issued for a further 28 in relation to the attacks on Coptic Christians.” (AI, July 2013, p. 19)

In a 23 July 2013 report by Human Rights Watch (HRW), further information on the attacks can be found (HRW, 23 July 2013).

 

The July 2013 Amnesty International (AI) report states with regard to sectarian clashes in the past and the reaction of state actors to violent attacks:

“Egypt has for decades witnessed sectarian clashes that varied in intensity but were mostly rooted in religious stereotyping and inequalities, in some cases perpetuated by state actors. Coptic Christians in Egypt have repeatedly complained that the Egyptian authorities have not done enough to protect them or prosecute their attackers. The authorities have often favoured ‘reconciliation’ over the prosecution of offenders. Under Hosni Mubarak, at least 15 major attacks on Copts were documented. On 6 January 2010, six Coptic Christians and a Muslim police guard were killed in a drive-by shooting as worshippers left a church in the city of Nagaa Hammadi. On 1 January 2011, a bomb attack on a Coptic Christian Church in Alexandria killed over 20 people. The situation didn’t improve under the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, the military body which ruled the country between the downfall of Hosni Mubarak and the election of President Mohamed Morsi. On 8 March 2011, clashes between Muslims and Coptic Christians at the Al-Muqattam Hill, east Cairo, left 10 dead. On 9 October 2011, soldiers killed 27 protesters around the state television building, Maspero. All but one were Coptic Christians. The situation also didn’t improve under Mohamed Morsi. In 2013, under the last months of Mohamed Morsi’s administration, amid a rise of sectarian rhetoric by members and allied of the Muslim Brotherhood, Coptic Christian activists reported at least six attacks on churches or affiliated buildings, in the Governorates of Aswan, Beni Suef, Cairo, and Fayoum. No adequate investigations were conducted, no measures put in place to avoid further violence, and nobody was punished.

This pattern of inaction is not only a failure of the Egyptian authorities and a breach of their international obligations but it also contributes to the sense of injustice, discrimination and vulnerability felt by Christians in Egypt, and leads perpetrators to believe that they can carry on attacking Christians and get away with it.” (AI, July 2013, p. 7)

The Minority Rights Group International (MRG) states in its annual report published in September 2013 that there has been an increase in attacks on Christians and churches since the fall of the Mubarak regime. The report also mentions that the Egyptian government has failed or been slow to protect Copts:

“Religious minorities, including Copts, Shi’as and Bahá’is, continued to experience discrimination and their situation did not improve in 2012. There has been an increase in attacks on Christians and churches in Egypt since the fall of the former regime. The Egyptian government has failed or been slow to protect Copts, who comprise about 10 per cent of the population, and other religious minorities. There were a number of incidents in which Copts and churches were targeted during the year. In January 2012, homes of Copts in Sharbat village, near Alexandria, were burned following rumours of an alleged relationship between a married Muslim woman and a Christian man. In February, eight Christian families were evicted from the village by police, and local religious and political figures, reportedly following a so-called ‘reconciliation’ session. The eviction was overturned two weeks later after media campaigns and a visit by some parliamentarians to the village; however no one was prosecuted. In August, in Dahshour, Giza governorate, about 100 families escaped after Christian homes and shops were set on fire. While the number of fatalities and injuries from sectarian violence fell in 2012 compared with 2011, the situation remained very serious and escalated in early 2013 with the attack on the Coptic Orthodox St Mark’s Cathedral, seat of the Coptic Pope Tawadros II, in April 2013. Two people were killed and over 80 were injured. Police fired tear gas into the compound and were accused of standing by as assailants attacked those inside. The congregation had gathered to mourn four Copts who had died the weekend before in religious violence in Khosous. A Muslim also died in that earlier incident. During 2012 a number of Copts were imprisoned on blasphemy charges. In September Bishoy Kameel, a Copt from Sohag, was detained and then sentenced to six years in prison after posting cartoons on Facebook allegedly insulting to the Prophet Muhammad and President Morsi. Also in September, Alber Saber, an atheist from a Coptic family, was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment on blasphemy charges with regard to both Islam and Christianity. He posted videos critical of religions. He was released in January 2013 and left the country. In contrast, Ahmed Mohammed Abdullah, known as Abu Islam, mocked Christianity on his TV show and tore the Bible in front of the American Embassy in Cairo. He was tried but released on bail. In May, 12 Copts in Minya were sentenced to life in prison and eight Muslims were acquitted by an Emergency State Security Court in connection with clashes between Muslims and Christians in 2011. No Muslims were jailed on this occasion. The case went to retrial in January 2013. The violence and lack of accountability gave rise to a growing climate of impunity. Moreover, legislation remained in place requiring official permission that made it difficult for Coptic communities to construct churches; no new churches were built during 2012. A rising number of Copts were leaving the country by the end of 2012, according to community leaders.” (MRG, 24 September 2013, p. 195)

In a December 2013 article, the Integrated Regional Information Network (IRIN) reports on attacks on Copts between July and September 2013. The article mentions “anti-Coptic hatred fomented by some Islamist leaders” and “lacklustre response of various state agencies to sectarian attacks”:

“Father Mina Abud Sharubiyin, a Coptic Orthodox priest in al-Arish, was killed in early July. Later that month, according to the New York Times, Magdy Lamie, a Christian shop owner in al-Sheikh Zuwaid, was also killed, ‘his head severed, his torso in chains’. Another Copt from al-Arish, Hani Samir Kamel, was killed on 1 September.

Rights groups in Egypt attribute attacks on Copts - in Sinai and elsewhere in Egypt - to the common belief that the Christian community demonstrated almost entirely against the Muslim Brotherhood in the lead-up to the coup. ‘Militants used to not threaten civilians …Now there are random killings. People have started fearing them as much as the military ‘ No group has claimed responsibility for the murders of the three Copts in North Sinai, but according to Ishaq Ibrahim, a programme officer for freedom of religion with the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR), these are political and religiously motivated attacks.

‘Sectarian attacks cannot be understood in isolation from the anti-Coptic hatred fomented by some Islamist leaders and their threats of retribution for widespread Coptic participation in protests that led to the removal of the former president [Morsi],’ he told IRIN. ‘Nor can one ignore the lacklustre response of various state agencies to sectarian attacks, which ensures that suspects can commit crimes with impunity. The police haven’t arrested anyone for it so far.’ Many Christian families had fled the areas of Rafah and al-Arish in July or August, Ibrahim and residents of al-Arish said, but they are coming back as police say they are securing the area.” (IRIN, 11 December 2013)

Several sources report on the killing of four people by masked gunmen who opened fire on a wedding outside a Coptic Christian church in Giza on 20 October 2013 (Daily Star, 21 October 2013; AFP, 20 October 2013; BBC News, 21 October 2013; CSW, 21 October 2013). Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) reports the following on the details of the incident:

“Four people, including an eight-year old girl, died after masked gunmen opened fire on a wedding in Giza on the evening of 20 October. As wedding guests were leaving the Coptic Orthodox Church of the Virgin Mary in Warraq al-Hadar, Giza, a car and a motorcycle pulled up, and a masked gunman on the motorcycle opened fire with an automatic weapon. At least 15 bullets were fired indiscriminately before the attackers drove away. Two guests were killed during the attack, with two more dying later from gunshot wounds. The deceased are eight year-old Mariam Ashraf, twelve year-old Miriam Nabil, 45 year-old Samir Fahmy and 56 year-old Camilia Attiya, the mother of the groom. CSW’s sources confirm that 18 others were injured and that all of the deceased were Christians. According to Father Thomas Daoud Ibrahim, priest of the Warraq church, three wedding services had been taking place at the time of the attack. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack; however, it comes after a wave of violence by Muslim Brotherhood supporters targeting the Coptic community, which they claim played a primary role in the removal of former President Morsi.

Groups from across the political and religious spectrum have condemned the Warraq attack, with Prime Minister Hazem el-Beblawi calling it ‘a cowardly, criminal act’, and urging Egyptians not to allow such attacks to sow hatred between communities. Al-Azhar Grand Imam Sheikh Ahmed el-Tayeb expressed his personal condolences to the families of the victims, denouncing the shootings as ‘a criminal attack against religion and morals’. However, the Maspero Youth Union, a Coptic rights group, faulted the interim government and security forces for failing to protect the Coptic community, which has been targeted since the crackdown on two pro-Morsi sit-ins on 14 August.

Islamist groups, including Al-Gamaa Al-Islamiya, the Salafi Nour Party and the Muslim Brotherhood, have also condemned the attack and denied involvement. However, senior members of the Muslim Brotherhood have called for retributive attacks against the Coptic community for their perceived role in the overthrow of the former president.” (CSW, 21 October 2013)

Agence France-Presse (AFP) reports on clashes between Muslims and Christians in November 2013:

“One man was killed when armed groups of Muslims and Christians clashed in central Egypt over a relationship between a Coptic Christian and a Muslim woman, state news agency MENA reported Friday. It said the Muslim man was killed when violence erupted late Thursday in an area called Deir Muwass in Minya province. The fighting stopped during the night but resumed after Friday prayers when a Muslim mob set ablaze two houses owned by Christians in the area, MENA said. Six people were also wounded in Friday's violence, it said, adding that police intervened to stop the fighting. Egypt's Christians, mostly Copts, account for six to 10 percent of the country's 85-million population. Rights groups say Copts have come under repeated attacks, mainly in the central provinces of Minya and Assiut since the ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi. They have long complained of discrimination and marginalisation, particularly under the presidency of Morsi who was removed from power by the army in July.” (AFP, 29 November 2013)

The Washington Times reports in September 2013 that the Muslim Brotherhood and its supporters forced Christians to pay a jizya tax:

“The Muslim Brotherhood and its supporters have began forcing the roughly 15,000 Christian Copts of Dalga village in Egypt to pay a jizya tax as indicated in Koran 9:29, author and translator Raymond Ibrahim reported on Sunday. Jizya is the money, or tribute, ‘that conquered non-Muslims historically had to pay to their Islamic overlords ‘with willing submission and while feeling themselves subdued’ to safeguard their existence,’ Mr. Ibrahim explained. According to Fr. Yunis Shawqi, who spoke yesterday to Dostor reporters in Dalga, all Copts in the village, ‘without exception,’ are being forced to pay the tax. ‘[The] value of the tribute and method of payment differ from one place to another in the village, so that, some are being expected to pay 200 Egyptian pounds per day, others 500 Egyptian pounds per day,’ Mr. Shawqi said, according to the translator. In some cases, families not able to pay have been attacked. As many as 40 Christian families have now fled Dalga, Mr. Ibrahim reported.” (The Washington Times, 10 September 2013)

The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace writes in a report on violence against Copts in Egypt, published in November 2013:

“With respect to the wave of kidnappings and church burnings, the absence of an effective legal framework has become an acute problem. After Mubarak fell, economic decline stirred material predation. After Morsi’s removal, political frustration contributed to hate crimes. Rather than aggressively defending the rule of law, Egyptian officials at the national and local levels have favored informal dispute resolution over court proceedings, a bias that advantages Muslim perpetrators over their Christian victims. As a result, criminals have kidnapped members of affluent Coptic families—not because of religion differences but because of official indifference and perceived monetary opportunity. A similar sense of impunity emboldens mobs committing acts of aggression against Coptic churches. The frequency of anti-Coptic assaults could be reduced, if not eliminated, by prosecuting assailants and adopting a unified law on construction of houses of worship. Such laws and their enforcement would be one element in a broader effort to guarantee citizenship rights for all Egyptians.” (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 14 November 2013, p. 20)

Please also refer to the following query response of the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB) on the situation of Coptic Christians, including treatment and state protection, published in October 2013:

·      IRB - Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada: Egypt: Situation of Coptic Christians, including treatment; state protection (July 2013-October 2013) [EGY104625.FE], 17 October 2013 (available at ecoi.net)

http://www.ecoi.net/local_link/261945/375246_en.html

 

 

References: (all links accessed 16 December 2013)

·      AFP - Agence France-Press: Gunmen shoot dead 3 outside Cairo church: ministry, 20 October 2013 (published by ReliefWeb)

http://reliefweb.int/report/egypt/gunmen-shoot-dead-3-outside-cairo-church-ministry

·      AFP - Agence France-Presse: One dead in Muslim-Christian clash in Egypt, 29 November 2013 (published by ReliefWeb)

http://reliefweb.int/report/egypt/one-dead-muslim-christian-clash-egypt-report

·      AI - Amnesty International: Egypt: "There Was No Door on Which I Did Not Knock": Coptic Christians Caught in Attacks and State's Failures. [MDE 12/037/2013], July 2013 http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/MDE12/037/2013/en/cdc3330f-2409-4162-8ba6-8071ccedab29/mde120372013en.pdf

·      AI - Amnesty International: “How Long Are We Going to Live in This Injustice?” Egypt's Christians Caught Between Sectarian Attacks and State Inaction [MDE 12/058/2013], 9 October2013

http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/MDE12/058/2013/en/3dfdf662-073a-4980-90bd-8027136a72af/mde120582013en.pdf

·      BBC News: Egypt gunmen open fire on Coptic Christian wedding in Cairo, 21 October 2013

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-24605130#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa

·      Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies: Written statement submitted by the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, a non-governmental organization in special consultative status; Human rights in Egypt [22 August 2013] [A/HRC/24/NGO/86], 6 September 2013 (published by HRC, available at ecoi.net)

http://www.ecoi.net/file_upload/1930_1380203034_g1316712.pdf

·      Carnegie Endowment for International Peace: Violence Against Copts in Egypt (author: Jason Brownlee), 14 November 2013

http://carnegieendowment.org/files/violence_against_copts3.pdf

·      CSW - Christian Solidarity Worldwide: Egypt: four killed in attack on wedding in Giza, 21 October 2013

http://dynamic.csw.org.uk/article.asp?t=press&id=1593&search=

·      Daily Star: Egypt hunts for Cairo church wedding attacker, 21 October 2013

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/Oct-21/235242-egypt-hunts-for-cairo-church-wedding-attacker.ashx

·      EIPR - Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights: List of Attacks on Churches, Religious Buildings and Christians' Private Property from 14 August to 17 August 2013, 25 August 2013

http://www.eipr.org/en/content/2013/08/25/1796

·      HRW - Human Rights Watch: Egypt: Sectarian Attacks amid Political Crisis. Scant Protection As Christians Attacked in Several Cities, 23 July 2013

https://www.hrw.org/news/2013/07/23/egypt-sectarian-attacks-amid-political-crisis

·      HRW - Human Rights Watch: Egypt: Mass Attacks on Churches. Christians Say Pleas for Protection Fell Largely on Deaf Ears, 21 August 2013

http://www.hrw.org/news/2013/08/21/egypt-mass-attacks-churches

·      IRB - Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada: Egypt: Situation of Coptic Christians, including treatment; state protection (July 2013-October 2013) [EGY104625.FE], 17 October 2013 (available at ecoi.net)

http://www.ecoi.net/local_link/261945/375246_en.html

·      IRIN - Integrated Regional Information Network: Egyptian civilians in crosshairs of Sinai militants, 11 December 2013 (available at ecoi.net)

http://www.ecoi.net/local_link/264859/378675_en.html

·      MRG - Minority Rights Group International: State of the World's Minorities and Indigenous Peoples 2013, 24 September 2013 (available at ecoi.net)

http://www.ecoi.net/file_upload/1226_1380799052_middle-east-and-north-africa.pdf

·      The Washington Times: Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood to Coptic Christians: Convert to Islam, or Pay 'Jizya' Tax, 10 September 2013

www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/sep/10/egypts-muslim-brotherhood-convert-islam-or-pay-jiz