Christians arrested for defiling Qur'an, blasphemy


Pray for those in Egypt detained
for allegedly desecrating the
Qur’an and other charges.

Mina Nady Farag and Nabil Nagy Rizk, ages nine and 10, were detained on September 30 when Ibrahim Mohamed Ali, a local imam from their home village of Ezbet Marco in the Beni Suef province of Egypt, accused the children of tearing pages of a Qur'an. The children denied the incident and said they found the pages on a street. The charges were dropped and the boys released on October 10 after a deal was reached between the Christians, Muslims and security officials.

On September 13, Alber Saber, an Egyptian Christian blogger, was arrested after being accused by neighbours of posting the anti-Islam film, "Innocence of Muslims," on his Facebook page. Saber has been imprisoned for more than three weeks on charges of disdaining religion and ridiculing religious beliefs and rituals.

In another case, Nevine al-Sayed, a Christian school teacher in the Upper Egypt town of Assiut, was accused by one of her students of insulting the Muslim prophet Muhammad in class. Al-Sayed allegedly used the word "unfortunate," which is very close to the word "poor" in Arabic, when describing Mohammad's upbringing, according to an interrogation report. She has since been released.

Please pray that the Lord will intervene in these cases and bring about just and favourable outcomes. Pray that the Lord will protect his people from further accusations. Pray that He will give all believers in Egypt the strength to remain faithful and the grace to act as witnesses for the gospel. Pray that many more in Egypt will come to faith in Jesus.

Go to the Egypt Country Report to learn more about the struggles Christians face in Egypt.

  • Country Information

    Population
    109,546,720 (2023 est.)

    Ethnicity (%)
    Egyptian (99.7), other (0.3)

    Religion (%)
    Islam (90), Christianity (10)

    Leader
    President Abdelfattah Said El-Sisi (2014)

    Government type
    Presidential republic

    Legal system
    Mixed legal system based on Napoleonic civil and penal law, Islamic religious law, and vestiges of colonial-era laws

    Source: CIA World Factbook

  • Pray for Egypt

    Pray on behalf of those who are facing economic and social challenges because of their Christian faith. Ask the Lord to provide for their spiritual and practical needs – further strengthening and emboldening them so they can effectively share the message of the Gospel with others in their communities. May the hearts of those who hear it be open and receptive to the wonderful truths contained in God’s Word.

Egypt News

  • Christian Homes and Businesses Burned
    A water truck is working to douse a fire.
      

    Late into the evening of April 23rd, Islamic militants set fire to several homes and shops owned by Coptic Orthodox Christians in the village of Al-Fawakher, which is located in Egypt's southern Minya province. Although the attackers attempted to prevent the occupants from leaving their burning homes, thankfully there were no reported fatalities.

  • Temporary Church Building Burned
    Two images of a room full of chairs. In the first, the chairs are neatly arranged. In the second, the chairs and interior of the building are burned.
    The temporary church building before and after the arson attack.
    Photo: Christian Solidarity Worldwide

    Local Christians in the village of Misha'at Zaafaranah, located within Egypt's Minya Province, are working to get approval to build a place of worship. The required documents have been submitted to the authorities and, for the meantime, the group of believers were meeting in a temporary structure on the land belonging to the church.

  • Attack on Church Building Site
    Multiple crosses sit atop of a church roof.
    A Coptic church in Egypt.
    Photo: Flickr / Mark Fischer (cc)

    Since 2016, the government of Egypt has been slowly approving the registration of more than 3,700 church buildings that were operating without the required licencing. These buildings were established before 2016, during a time when permits were virtually impossible to get. Although the licencing process now being administered has been long and tedious, thankfully progress is eventually taking place.

  • An Additional 216 Church Buildings Legalized
    Saint Mark Church in Helipolis
    A church in Egypt.
    Photo: Flickr / Andrew A. Shenouda (cc)

    Seven years ago, the Egyptian government formed a committee to work through applications to legalize unlicensed church buildings. When the committee was first formed, there were 3,730 outstanding applications. Though the process has been exceedingly slow, thankfully that number has been gradually decreasing. To review previously posted reports on this situation, go to our country report.