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EGYPT - Christians devastated by mob attack
Christians in the Upper Egypt village of Al-Nagameesh have been left devastated after a mob, armed with petrol bombs, went on the rampage, destroying homes and businesses.
The attack last Friday was apparently triggered by suspicions that local Christians had turned a community centre into a church. That centre was also destroyed by fire.
Pray for our brothers and sisters in Sohag governorate, as they start to rebuild their lives.
The community centre was a focal point for Al-Nagameesh’s Christian minority who gathered there for funerals, weddings and sometimes prayer. There is no church in the village.
Three days before the attack, a local pastor held a ceremony at the centre to mark the first anniversary of his father’s death. The next day, extremists handed out leaflets claiming Christians had turned the centre into a church and urging Muslims to attack it. They cut off the village water supply and blocked firefighters’ routes in advance, so that fires could not be controlled.
Tensions have been made worse by new legislation, passed in August, which has imposed further restrictions on the building of churches in Egypt.
UPDATE
Pray for our Christian family in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, where three churches are currently scheduled for demolition. The churches have mounted a legal challenge and a court ruling on the case is expected on Sunday.
On Monday, the next hearing in the case against three Sudanese men and a Czech Christian accused of ‘spying’ is due to take place. Sudanese pastors Hassan Abduraheem and Kowa Shamaal, Petr Jašek (a Czech national) and Abdulmonem Abdumawla stand accused of crimes that carry a possible death sentence. Please pray for their immediate acquittal. (Source: Middle East Concern)
Please forward this to Christian friends so that they will pray too.
Christians in the Upper Egypt village of Al-Nagameesh have been left devastated after a mob, armed with petrol bombs, went on the rampage, destroying homes and businesses.
The attack last Friday was apparently triggered by suspicions that local Christians had turned a community centre into a church. That centre was also destroyed by fire.
Pray for our brothers and sisters in Sohag governorate, as they start to rebuild their lives.
The community centre was a focal point for Al-Nagameesh’s Christian minority who gathered there for funerals, weddings and sometimes prayer. There is no church in the village.
Three days before the attack, a local pastor held a ceremony at the centre to mark the first anniversary of his father’s death. The next day, extremists handed out leaflets claiming Christians had turned the centre into a church and urging Muslims to attack it. They cut off the village water supply and blocked firefighters’ routes in advance, so that fires could not be controlled.
Tensions have been made worse by new legislation, passed in August, which has imposed further restrictions on the building of churches in Egypt.
- Pray that God will provide for all those whose homes and livelihoods have been destroyed or damaged in this attack.
- Pray that local officials will take firm action to clamp down on extremism and ensure such attacks do not go unpunished.
- Continue to pray that the Government will uphold religious minorities’ rights in practice and throughout the whole of Egypt.
UPDATE
Pray for our Christian family in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, where three churches are currently scheduled for demolition. The churches have mounted a legal challenge and a court ruling on the case is expected on Sunday.
On Monday, the next hearing in the case against three Sudanese men and a Czech Christian accused of ‘spying’ is due to take place. Sudanese pastors Hassan Abduraheem and Kowa Shamaal, Petr Jašek (a Czech national) and Abdulmonem Abdumawla stand accused of crimes that carry a possible death sentence. Please pray for their immediate acquittal. (Source: Middle East Concern)
Please forward this to Christian friends so that they will pray too.
