I just came across this piece of news that states that Saint Anthony's Monastery has been restored by the Egyptian Government at a cost of nearly £9 million pounds.
I thought Copts were protesting about the inability to restore or do any maintenance work on their religious properties, yet the Egyptian government, so it seems, has not only allowed it, but apparently paid for it also:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/8500091.stmIs this a turning point for Coptic Christian rights in Egypt? or is it just a dead duck?
Comments
Is there still discrimination then?
With respect to the obstacles Copts were having over building and renovating Church buildings (and requiring a Presidential Decree just to go and fix a toilet) - has this changed in your opinion??
What do you mean by that?
Is there still discrimination then?
With respect to the obstacles Copts were having over building and renovating Church buildings (and requiring a Presidential Decree just to go and fix a toilet) - has this changed in your opinion??
you are only saying this because you heard it from the pope's interview....go and listen to the rest of that interview with Amr Adib.
The thing is that everything is OFFICIALLY done right. But others make problems on that.
To not stray from the post's topic, this is a restoration to the oldest monastery in Egypt. OFFICIALLY, Egypt is run with democracy and not Theocracy. So when it is announced that: "The government-sponsored restoration project cost over $14m (£8.9m) and took more than eight years" than it means it's from the Egyptian Government to that specific place. Also, i actually think that this is being done through pressure of one of the societies here in the USA or probably from England who went and studies that specific monastery.
It's that simple.......don't complicate things for the sake of arguments and the rising of hate and dislike in our coptic minds towards people including MUSLIMS....
Its well known that there were obstacles facing Copts with respect to restoring and renovating Church buildings. I was just asking if this is over or not - perhaps from someone living there or close to this news could have helped.
I still have no idea what your opinion is?
My question is SO simple: is there still a problem with Copts building or renovating Churches in Egypt, or have they passed this milestone?
Taishori, i have no idea why you think this post is argumentative. I posted it not only as a sharing of information about our Church, but at the same time, I felt it was good news also that the Egyptian Government is helping to renovate our Church Buildings.
Maybe I'm missing something, but what is so argumentative about ASKING whether or not a problem concerning Coptic rights in renovating their Church buildings still exists??
he/she (sorry i don't know) is merely giving posters a piece of information and posing a question
to answer your question, in my opinion, the egyptian gov't is doing a better job with the copts after naga hammadi
I highly doubt Certifiedorthodox is trying to start an argument
he/she (sorry i don't know) is merely giving posters a piece of information and posing a question
to answer your question, in my opinion, the egyptian gov't is doing a better job with the copts after naga hammadi
Thanks for your answer.
But - I go to news.bbc.co.uk, and everytime I go to the Middle East Section and there's a story on Coptic Egypt, or the CoC, they always give a brief overview of our Church with the following information:
* Copts make up 10% of Egypt's 80 million muslim population
* Copts often complain about discrimination and lack of civil rights
* And then they always state that we cannot build or renovate our churches.
But this renovation was happening way WAY before Naga Hammadi.
So, is this a sign then that times have changed? Despite Nagaa Hammadi - doesn't this give the impression that Egypt is becoming fairer. I mean, for the Egyptian Government to have spent $14 million US Dollars on renovating a Christian heritage site, surely that's just plain remarkable??
Is this a PR tactic from the Egyptian Government or is it really done with sincere intentions to respect our faith and treat Christian sites with the same respect that muslim sites enjoy also??
Egypt religious freedom report (2007)
If anyone knows of a more recent report, I would appreciate a link to it, either here or by PM. Everything I have heard is that it is very difficult to get the permits necessary to care for churches, often because local authorities delay or deny them outright. I don't know how true that is, but it would not surprise me given how often stories of other types of oppression (often with collusion, or at least inaction, on the part of local police and other authorities) relating to the Copts pop up in international Christian-focused media.
Perhaps being Saint Anthony's monastery, being a huge touristic attraction, the Egyptian Government have probably come to realise that they have a mutual interest in maintaining these sites for tourists.
I would really like to hear from people also living in Egypt, or involved with Church renovations in Egypt as, not to belittle anyone here, I'm not really sure where or who I should trust for real information.
That is the real information. Articles regarding government toward Coptics from outside views, it is not complete. In other words, you have to have a sense about how things really go on in Egypt. If you can understand arabic, hear Pope Shenouda's recent interview, very sensitive about issues in Egypt.
My parents grew up in Egypt and I lived there for five years, so I don't know specifics besides an understanding of realistic expectations in these situations. I have to say your tourist idea is not at all what I would have thought of.
Does anybody else know about this-- Saint Anthony's Monastery specifically?
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Guys......this was already DONE..."wezaret el-athar" of the government is what lead these renovations
How do I know that this was already done? What on earth do I know about this?
Do you think I deserve this kind of response over a simple question??
If you have any information to give Mina, give it. Otherwise, please do not cause problems for no reason.
[quote author=minagir link=topic=8776.msg110032#msg110032 date=1265439180]
Guys......this was already DONE..."wezaret el-athar" of the government is what lead these renovations
How do I know that this was already done? What on earth do I know about this?
Do you think I deserve this kind of response over a simple question??
If you have any information to give Mina, give it. Otherwise, please do not cause problems for no reason.
I just gave the info i had.......WHAT DID I DO?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!