Jihadists strike again, 25 Copts die in Cairo church bombing:

• Ashraf Ramelah <donotreply@voiceofthecopts.org>
 
• Dec 15 at 10:47 AM

Message body

JuneFeburaryAugustDecember December 15, 2016                                                                       Voice of the Copts, a nonprofit organization, fights the spread of Islamic supremacy and Sharia throughout the Western world through education, advocacy and action. By drawing attention to the suffering of Coptic Christians in Egypt, it endeavors to educate the Western world as to the chilling effect of Sharia (Islamic law). Founded in 2007 by Dr. Ashraf Ramelah, Voice of the Copts focuses on three key issues: freedom of religion, cultural identity and women’s rights.  Save Biography of Dr. Ashraf Ramelah   ​ Dr. Ashraf Ramelah is the founder and president of Voice of the Copts, a human rights nonprofit organization 501 (c) (3). The organization has offices in Italy and the United States.  Dr. Ramelah is dedicated to the Coptic cause and believes that this life’s mission is to speak up for the oppressed Copts who cannot speak up for themselves, hence the name, Voice of the Copts. When he is not meeting with political figures and policy makers, Dr. Ramelah spends his time travelling throughout the country giving talks about the Coptic issue and explaining to the West the oppression against the Copts in Egypt. Dr. Ramelah was invited to address the European Parliament (2010) and to be the keynote speaker in the Italian Parliament (2011) on the issue of Coptic persecution in Egypt. He has done various interviews with Italian newspapers and appears frequently in the Italian and Arab Media. Dr. Ramelah is a featured author at American Thinker.com, Family Security Matters.com, and Canada Free Press.com.   Dr. Ramelah is well known to the Egyptian government due to his advocacy for the Egyptian Copts as well as for Voice of the Copts’ lawsuit against them on behalf of Muslim convert to Christianity Mr. Hegazy and his family in 2009-2010. Ashraf Ramelah also appears as an entry in the Coptic History Encyclopedia (http://www.coptichistory.org/new_page_5260.htm).   Dr. Ramelah, himself a Copt, was born in Cairo, Egypt. At the age of 17, he travelled to Italy to study architecture. He graduated with a doctorate in architecture from La Sapienza – Universita’ Degli Studi di Roma, Italy. His special study is restoration of old monuments and history of architecture.   His career as an architect took him to work and live in Italy, Saudi Arabia, Gabon and the USA. His personal interests are Egyptology and Coptic history in the period after the Arab invasion of Egypt in 651 AD.   Voice of the Copts is dedicated to bringing fair, correct and balanced information to the entire world regarding Copts and Christians in countries with an Arab-Muslim majority.   Dr. Ramelah is managing editor of a website in both English and Italian with the same name.   Education Advocacy Action Donate Jihadists strike again, 25 Copts die in Cairo church bombing:  Voice of the Copts urges reforms Members of the Voice of the Copts community offer sincere condolences to the Coptic families mourning today for the loss of loved ones as a result of Sunday’s (Dec 11) bombing of the Botrossia Church in Cairo that killed at least 25 people attending mass. We grieve with our brothers and sisters and pray that those responsible for this heinous, cowardly crime will be arrested and made to stand trial. Once again, Christian Copts are made the scapegoat in an ongoing struggle between Egypt’s government and Islamic religious leaders. A state funeral with three days of national mourning declared by the regime is appropriate. However, acts of terror and religious jihad continue to grow unchecked. Our hearts grieve with you today as we pray for the end of your tribulations and the beginning of peace in our beloved homeland. The presence of President Al Sisi in attendance of the victims’ funerals does not impress us anymore knowing that his compassion has not yet led him to implement the effective steps to remove Christian Copts from the crosshairs of Islamic supremacy. We urge Egypt’s government to secure the Coptic community and every community of Egypt by ensuring that justice takes place through full investigations, arrests and trials in order to deter future acts of terror. In addition to the current attack on the Botrossia Church days ago on December 11, we demand a full investigation into earlier terrorist crimes for which no suspects have yet been arrested: -         The burning and bombing destruction of 87 Coptic Christian churches in a 45-day rampage in June and July of 2013 -         The murder of 23 peaceful Christian protesters demonstrating in Maspero (Cairo) against violence in October, 2011 -         The Two Saints Church bombing and killing of 87 Christians on New Year’s Eve, 2010 -         The forced displacement of innocent Copts due to local government use of the Bedouin tribal arbitration system applied to Copts after unprovoked attacks upon their homes and community Moreover, no one truly believes that rhetoric will stop terror against Christians in Egypt. The following reforms must be made: -         Remove religious teachings and examples from public school course work and textbooks. -         Remove religion courses from public schools. -         Transfer all non-religious schools to the public domain and permanently remove them from the auspices of Al Azhar Institute. -         Stop public taxpayer money from financing and supporting religious institutions. -         Reinstate the Egyptian Constitution of 1923 in totality to replace the current constitution which allows Islamic Sharia religious law to dominate the nation. In sympathy, Ashraf Ramelah Voice of the Copts Founder and president   The following is my interview with Il Foglio (Italian Newspaper) concerning the same issue: http://www.ilfoglio.it/esteri/2016/12/12/news/egitto-copti-sisi-attentato-chiesa-cristianesimo-islamismo-il-cairo-110597/     *********************************************************************************     For more information regarding Voice of the Copts please visit www.voiceofthecopts.org   To schedule Ashraf Ramelah for an interview, please write to:  http://voiceofthecopts.org/index.php/contact   P.S. Your support is meaningful, impactful and potentially will save the lives of Christians around the world living under persecution.   Who Are The Copts Copts are by far the largest Christian community in the Middle East. Ninety-five percent of Copts in Egypt are Orthodox and the remaining population is divided between Catholic and Protestant denominations. Copts living in Egypt represent between 15-20% of the total population of Egypt today.   History In the time of Jesus, the whole world, including Egyptians, were pagan (Jews excluded). Egypt was occupied by Romans when in 60 A.D. Apostle Mark reached Alexandria preaching the Gospel. Over the next two hundred years, Egypt became a Christian country. The Church of Alexandria was one of the first five original churches of Christianity planted by the Apostles of Jesus Christ.   After the invasion of Egypt by Arab-Muslims in 641 A.D. native Egyptian Copts were forced to Islamicize by adopting the Arabic tongue along with Arab-Muslim culture and customs. It is wrong and unfair to apply Arab ethnicity to Copts. It is appropriate to recognize Copts for who they are – non-Arab descendents of the ancient civilization of Egypt and followers of Christ.   Etymology The Greek word "Egyptos" came from the ancient Egyptian word, "Hikaptah" (Ha-Ka-Ptah). After their conquest of Egypt, Arabs referred to the population of Egypt with the term "Gypt" from the Greek word "Egyptos." Over time "Gypt" anglicized into the word "Copt." Copt means Egyptian.   Ancient History The history of Egypt begins with King Mina or Menas who united the northern and southern kingdoms of Egypt circa 3050 B.C. The ancient Egyptian civilization under the rule of the Pharaohs lasted for approximately 3000 years. Many Copts accepted the teachings of Christianity possibly because the ancient Egyptian religions believed in life after death. This is evidenced by their elaborate efforts to preserve the bodies of the dead by embalming or mummification.   Like other early Christians throughout the Roman Empire, the Copts suffered from persecution due to the new religion. Many Copts shed their blood in testimony for Jesus Christ. Saint Mina or Menas is one of the major Coptic saints. He was martyred 309 A.D. 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This message was sent to rodriman49@yahoo.com from: Ashraf Ramelah | donotreply@voiceofthecopts.org | Voice of the Copts Coop. | 74 Via Stamira | Roma, Italy 00162, Italy