Copts Under Siege
The New Year’s Day attack on a church in Alexandria that claimed the lives of 23 Coptic Christians was preceded by threats against churches and individual believers in Europe and North America, raising the possibility that Coptic Christmas celebrations slated to take place on Jan. 7, 2011 will be marred by acts of violence, not only in Egypt but elsewhere throughout the world. Fortunately, these threats have been getting a fair amount of attention from the mainstream press.
On Dec. 21, 2010 – more than a week before the attack in Alexandria – the Toronto Sun reported that Muslim extremists have posted the names, phone numbers and photos of Coptic believers in Canada on the Internet with the apparent desire to target them for death. “The fact [that] photos and phone numbers accompany the names of those targeted is believed to mean someone inside Canada is providing the information [to extremists outside the country],” the Toronto Sun reported.
Three days after the attack, the Washington Post reported that governments throughout Europe have provided stepped up protection to Coptic Christians in their countries in response to online threats against this community.
While such security arrangements have long been part of Jewish life in Europe, the need for officials in Europe to provide security for local Christian worship services is a new phenomenon.
Will media outlets cover the anti-Coptic incitement in the Middle East? They should. It’s not that hard a story to cover. Websites fomenting hostility toward Coptic Christians are relatively easy to find on the Internet. For example, this anti-Evangelization website displays an image of the decapitated head of Coptic Pope Shenouda III surrounded by flames. The image is displayed below the jump. (Warning: Not for the faint of heart.)
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