Chief Egypt Imam rebuffs Pope's concern for killed Copts ~ as interference in Egypt's [Islamic] business

Egyptian man cleans blood stains from the main gate of the Al-Qiddissine (The Saints) church following an overnight car bomb attack that targeted the church in the Egyptian port city of Alexandria on January 1, 2011.

The same Egyptian religious authority issued a statement to the Copts, just a few months back telling them that they live in an Islamic state [of Egypt] and that they hold only the dhimmi or lower status ~ which is conditional on respect for Islam.

If anything he is saying to the Pope ~ we will deal with our dhimmis as we see fit.

Once a majority Christian country ~ is an example, as to what happens when Islam is allowed free rein ~ to take over ~ in just 60 short years Pakistan is another stark example.

A "Statement to the Nation" was released by the al-Azhar's Islamic Research Council on Saturday, September 25 [2010] in which Grand Imam Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb...

...stresses the fact that Egypt is an "Islamic State" according to the text of its Constitution, which represents the social contract between its people. "From this stems the rights of citizenship, as taught to us by the Messenger of Allah ɥɐllɐ in his pact with the Christians of Najran, in which he decided that they were to enjoy rights and duties as the Muslims. However, these rights are conditional to respect for the Islamic identity and the citizenship rights as set by the Constitution."

The Christians of Najran, Medina, refused conversion to Islam in 631 A.D. and offered Mohamad to maintain their faith, accept the dominance of Muslims and pay an annual tribute (the jizya), he accepted and the pact was sealed between them.

Magdy Khalil, head of the Middle East Freedom Forum, issued a press release on September 27, saying the Al-Azhar's "Statement to the Nation" brings us back to the era of Dhimmitude.


"We refuse to bow to their condition of respecting the Islamic Identity, in order to get our citizenship rights," said Coptic activist Selim Riad. "We have our separate Coptic identity, and our rights are not at the disposal of Muslims setting conditions for us to obtain them."

Cairo (AsiaNews / Agencies) - The suicide attack on the Coptic Church of Saints (Al Kiddissine) in Alexandria was carried out by local elements of the Islamic Jihad, according to specialist anti terrorism sources. President Hosni Mubarak immediately after the attack had asked Copts and Muslims to show unity in the face of "an foreign attack." The New Year's Eve suicide bombers who carried out the bombing on the church of Alexandria had, at first, tried to get inside the place of Christian worship to cause the greatest number of victims among the faithful.

An Egyptian police source cited by the Arabic daily 'Al-Quds al-Arabi', according to some witnesses said the bomber had tried to enter the church. However he changed his mind on seeing officers on guard outside the main door. Instead the terrorist waited for the faithful to emerge from the Church after mass. Investigators are analyzing an unidentified corpse found at the site of the attack in an attempt to identify the bomber. Meanwhile, a dozen people have been detained and questioned, seven are still in police custody.

The anger of the Copts after the attack, which caused 22 dead and dozens wounded, shows no sign of abating. Hundreds of demonstrators clashed with police in Alexandria and Cairo, demanding more protection. The Copts accuse the authorities of discriminating against them, of preventing the construction of churches and of paying little attention to violence perpetrated by Islamic radicals. Yesterday Copts attacked the car of the Minister of Interior and the imam of Al-Azhar Islamic University on a visit of condolence to the patriarch Shenouda III.

Just prior to the visit to Shenouda III, the imam of Al-Azhar University, Ahmed Al Tayeb, criticized the Pope's Angelus address yesterday and his January 1 address. Defining them as "unacceptable interference in the affairs of Egypt" he accused the Pope of having "a biased view on Muslims and Christians who are at risk of being killed around the world." The newspapers interpreted the Pope's words as an invitation to Western governments to defend the Christians in the countries they inhabit. Vatican spokesman, Father Federico Lombardi replied: "The Pope spoke of course of sympathy for the Coptic community that has been so hard hit, but then expressed concern for the impact of violence on the entire population, both Christian and Muslim. So it is difficult to see how the Pope’s words, so eager to inspire non-violence in all, can be considered interference.'' "I think there has been a misunderstandings in communication, but I do not think that there is any need to insist on the imam’s declaration”, concluded Father Lombardi. (see: Pope: The attacks in Egypt and Iraq are an offense against God and humanity).