09/20/16

Coptic Pope muzzles US Copts in favor of Al-Sisi

By: Dr. Ashraf Ramelah | Voice of the Copts

Egyptian Copts in the diaspora of New York and New Jersey must decide to obey a call by Orthodox Pope Tawadros II of Egypt for a NYC rally at the UN General Assembly in support of President Al-Sisi’s speech on September 20. An official statement by the Coptic Church indicated that Bishop Beeman of Nakada and Qus and Bishop Yuanis of Assuit were sent to the US to arrange and promote Coptic crowd support prior to the president’s arrival.

The statement said that “We, all Egyptians loyal to our home land, must welcome the president and strengthen him in all the work he does for the good of Egypt.” Because “the Pope has great interest in the success of this visit,” the message urged that Copts do everything possible to ensure the success of this visit, adding, “It is good for Egypt and all Egyptians.” The statement concluded by saying that “Egyptian leaders of evangelical churches in America demand the same support of their followers and should rally for the president.”

The reaction of Copts to this idea is split, and the issue is complex. Statements coming from Bishop Beeman in New Jersey last week accused Copts of causing 60 percent of sectarian violence in Egypt by their insubordination within the church community, offering no explanation or references. Copts are angered and disappointed to receive this criticism and view it as pressure to perform.

Makrius Saweres, priest of the Saint George Church in Jersey City, is demanding that all Copts in the tristate area gather to welcome Al-Sisi on the sidewalks near the UN, warning that, “any wrong doing on the part of the Copts in America [during this event] such as insulting or minimizing the role of the president will reflect on Copts in Egypt.” By this he meant that Copts will pay a dire consequence, as usual, in their Egyptian home towns if they speak their minds.

Many might rather protest against Al-Sisi with this opportunity, but such a timely reminder of violence back home is now an effective muzzle. Furthermore, showing up at all to gather as religious authorities suggest is risky business given the possibility of Muslim Brotherhood gangs doing the same. This could lead to a direct clash between Copts supporting Al-Sisi and Islamists against him. We can’t ignore that Egypt’s Islamists (MB and Salafi) consider Copts behind the fall of Morsi’s regime. Should conflict here take place it could in turn lead to copycat clashes in Egypt. Various potential scenarios in New York could bring sectarian ramifications to Copts in Egypt. Once again, Coptic religious leaders conspiring with the regime in Egypt score political points on the backs of their people.

The Coptic community inside or outside of Egypt never delegated their spiritual leaders as political spokespersons. But this is not new to Copts who were once discouraged by US Coptic Church leaders on orders from Pope Shenuda from protesting against the former Egyptian President Mubarak during his visits to the US. The “alliance” between Shenuda and Mubarak can now be similarly seen here between Tawadros II and Al-Sisi despite Tawadros’ promise upon his installation to be hands-off of political issues, which admittedly are outside of his role.

Even if this plan to support Al-Sisi through an organized rally were appropriate and now needed, it should be initiated and led through the diplomatic channels of the embassies. In which case, both Christian and Muslim supporters of Al Sisi would be included in this call to action. As it stands now, it separates Egyptians by religion even though the Pope’s message declared this to be good for Egypt and “all Egyptians.”

Mobilizing Copts in support of Al-Sisi’s UN General Assembly speech focusing on international issues and not the internal affairs of Egypt has no relevancy. There is absolutely no gain by it except for the power gained by Pope Tawadros II in his political maneuvering, which unfortunately does not calculate for the safety and well-being of his people.

09/11/16

Stealth war on American soil began with chaos of 9/11 terror

By: Ashraf Ramelah | Voice of the Copts

I grew up in an Islamic country within the Coptic Christian community of Egypt. On September 11, 2001 I was already a free man living between two nation-state democracies – Italy and the USA. I must admit I never looked back. I never again thought of tyrannical rule and persecution – the words and actions of a cruel, irrational dictator and his minions. I escaped bigotry and hatred. I chose a future for myself and left my family and country behind – radical but necessary. I never spoke of my origins thereafter – the persecution Copts suffer. In a sense, I tacitly endorsed Egypt’s official “democratic” image projected to the West.

The horror of 9/11 broke my heart and my silence, giving birth to Voice of the Copts (a human rights organization) as a response to Islam’s expression here in America. Memories of my childhood flooded back, and I was suddenly compelled to speak out for the Copts of Egypt — explain our plight as a warning to America. Unlike the Coptic community of 20 million in Egypt that has no military, no soldiers, and no political leaders, America could and would strike back. I wasn’t worried about that kind of warfare.

What alarmed me more almost was another facet of jihad – propaganda spreading wrong information about Islam through deception tactics to gain power within our civilization; slowly erode and conquer us through our culture and our laws. Deception and conquest are fundamental to Islam’s religious political doctrine.

After 15 years, civilization jihad has made progress in the West. Many Americans still don’t recognize or acknowledge the process taking place. This may be due to America’s failed leadership who collaborate with the enemies of freedom. At one point, Hillary Clinton promised the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) she would do her best to see that “shame-based” speech was employed in America in response to its request for suppression of free speech critical of Islam.

America chased down a single man in a single country in the Middle East in response to 9/11, but today its seems we have no real strategy to eradicate quiet civilizational, stealth jihad conducted from the Middle East inside our country – in fact the opposite is true; we are helping things along. This is why President Obama has said “the terrorist threat continues,” as he recently announced his extension of the 9/11 “State of Emergency” for his eighth time” (consistent with section 202 (d) of the National Emergencies Act). He should know. He has had so much to do with it.

No doubt America is dealing with explosive numbers of inner city and rural town encampments of Somalian and Syrian Muslims streamlined into the country by Obama’s advocacy and policies. Obama’s White House press release on August 30 says, “The national emergency declared on September 14, 2001, and the powers and authorities adopted to deal with that emergency must continue in effect…” So the American people must give power and authority away and suspend constitutional rights. This is the worrisome part, and again my mind floods with memories of the authoritarian Egyptian regime.

From the 9/11 tragedy, America has lost more than the thousands of innocent victims we mourn for today as we continue to see the ideology behind the attack sow into the fabric of our great nation. For that we must mourn as well and move forward to change it.

08/26/16

Egyptian judoka Salafi-style: No withdraw, no win, no handshake

By: Dr. Ashraf Ramelah | Voice of the Copts

The ancient Greek Olympiad, the origin of today’s Olympic Games, was held in honor of Zeus. The games were used as a political tool between rival city-states. It was all about victory and the assertion of dominance. The inception of the Olympiad dates back to nearly nine hundred years before the moon god, Allah, whispered his special message into humanity through the angel Gabriel. So, it is not odd that upon completion of the August 12 judo match of the Rio Olympics between Egyptian competitor, Islam el-Shehaby, and Isaeli champion, Or Sasson, that the devout Salafi publicly observed his god by refusing, according to Quranic commandment, to shake the extended winning hand of Sasson, the Jew.

When the match was over, Shehaby ignored Sasson, following the Quranic verse 2:65 (And will ye knew those amongst you who transgressed in the matter of the Sabbath: We said to them: “Be ye apes, despised and rejected”). This was not the case of a sore loser. The devout Muslim was paying homage to Allah. Deference to Allah is why Egyptian Copts are barred (unofficially) from Egypt’s Olympic training camps at an age when children are singled out for athletic talent. Christian family ancestry (the name of one’s great-great-grandfather) or simply the mandatory Egyptian ID card indicating Christianity will shut any candidate out.

Shehaby was internationally ranked very high at 25 in his weight class. As Egypt’s state champion, Salafi Shehaby’s chances were very good for victory; predictions were made that Islam would dominate. The Egyptian Olympic Authority knew it risked the dreaded possibility that Shehaby could face an Israeli champion. Sure enough the 32nd round of the judo matches determined this to be when the draw brought Sasson, ranked at 5, to face Shehaby. Cries of protest from the devout of Egypt (and other Islamic countries) for Shehaby to withdraw were deafening.

To settle the matter, Khalid Abdul Aziz (Egyptian Minister of Youth and Sports), relegated religious considerations to the rules and regulations of the world games. Shehaby’s potential triumph over an Israeli Jew would not be relinquished when the possibility of his dominance would bring great honor to Islam. Aziz went on CNN Arabic to quote the Olympic Charter, “Egypt is committed to the Olympic Charter, which does not recognize withdrawal of a participant, and it is not acceptable for any Egyptian athlete to withdraw from any competition. This would expose the player and country to sanctions. Egyptian athletes must accept competition with everyone, regardless of any other considerations.”

This actually gave the 34-year old Salafi judoka a choice. Reminded of his duty to the Charter and his country, he could stay on track. Otherwise, withdraw from the contest and abide by the religious dictates of his conscience (embodied in the disapproval of fellow believers). Shehaby, no doubt, had in mind fellow athlete, Ramadan Darwish, who overpowered his Israeli competition in the 2012 Dusseldorf quarterfinals of the German judo games delivering Egypt the Bronze medal. Darwish brought a double honor to Allah when he disregarded the after-match handshake in submission to the laws of his religious doctrine.

However, what Shehaby didn’t know choosing to go forward was that two days hence he would honor Allah in front of the world only by half his former teammate – losing the combat and likewise refusing the sportsman’s handshake. The final push for his decision to engage came from the president of the Egyptian Olympic Committee, Hisham Kattab, who confirmed that no one can force Shehaby to withdraw and shatter his hopes of an Olympic competition just because he happens to face an Israeli player. He went on to wish Shehaby a win and the achievement of an Olympic medal.

On the day of the match, reporters described Shehaby looking haggard, stepping onto the mat with his eyes darting and knees quivering. Bigotry is not easy. Just the thought of proximity is unnerving and, in this case, weakened resolve. Like Nasser’s ‘67 five-day defeat, in five minutes it was over for Shehaby. The Egyptian president returned from the world stage to apologize to the Egyptian people as Shehaby needs to do now. Egyptian government authorities and their Olympic committee publicly condemned Shehaby’s behavior calling the player back home. Meanwhile, Shehaby’s success resides in his contribution to the expansion of Islamic ideology.

Christian Coptic participation in Egypt’s Olympics is tokenism, if and when we see it. In their formative years, Egypt’s Christian children know they haven’t a shot at striving for the pinnacle of athletics and, for that matter, government, academics, politics or the military. Only just recently are there a handful of elected Christians to the Egyptian parliament. However, this will not yet lead to the reversal of institutionalized second-class status for minority religions.

Shehaby’s scraggly Mohammed-style beard, worn by devout Salafi Muslims, contradicted the ideal of former Egyptian participants in past Olympics, placing worship over country. Reaction to Shehaby upon return can be summed up in the malicious mockery found in the comments of media host and secularist, Dr. Khaled Montaser, who blogged on social media, “It’s clear that our judoka player is a cocktail of crap. He also refused to shake hands with the president of the Olympic Committee [a woman] during the investigation because it is haram [a sin]!!” An investigation by the Olympic Commission was made into Shehaby’s refusal to bow to his opponent according to regulation when the match ended. Montaser then evoked Osama Bin Laden’s hideout to say, “Even if this were the Tora Bora team one would never act like that!! El-Shehaby thought that he was in the Khaybar Gazwa.” He added, “Who sent such an Uncle Salafi to shame and disgrace us?”

12/6/15

Coptic Pope’s trip to Israel stirs hope to end ban on visits

By: Ashraf Ramelah
Voice of the Copts

When the subject is Israel, passions flare. In Egypt last week, a hornet’s nest of reactions surrounded Coptic Orthodox Pope Tawadros II’s decision to go to Jerusalem upon the death of the Coptic Church’s second-in-command, Bishop Abraham, who was head of the Jerusalem and Near East Orthodox Diocese in Jerusalem since 1992. Respectful of the bishop’s last will and testament designating Jerusalem as his final resting place, Tawadros II led a delegation of clergy from Cairo to Israel.

When the church announced the news of Pope Tawadros II’s trip to lead the bishop’s funeral, angry reactions flooded the Egyptian media — writers, intellectuals and politicians ran the gamut of speculation and opinion over the “real” reasons for the pope’s visit. In order to go to Israel, Tawadros II had to disobey the Coptic Orthodox 1980 Holy Synod Resolution inherited from his predecessor, Pope Shenuda III even though he pointedly upheld the resolution upon his installation three years ago. The edict forbids Orthodox Christians to travel to Israel without exception.

Background

Upon Egypt’s signature to the Camp David agreement (the peace treaty forged between Israel and Egypt in 1978) the Coptic Orthodox Church issued a ban on travel to Israel for all its members and added ecclesiastical sanctions that are still in place today. The Holy Synod of March 26, 1980, forbids Coptic Orthodox to pilgrimage to the Holy Land under any and all circumstances — a stance taken in the wake of Pope Shenuda III’s refusal to accept President Sadat’s invitation to travel with a state delegation to Israel back in the late 70’s.

The dispute between the two leaders reached scandalous proportions when in September 1981 President Sadat removed the pope from his seat and confined him to asylum in the Wadi Natrun Monastery. Military tanks guarded the pope’s quarters until his release and reinstatement years later under the Mubarak regime.

Shenuda III was not at odds with church policy upon his rejection of Sadat’s invitation. He was consistent with Pope Cyril VI’s earlier decision to stand with Nasser after the 1967 war in solidarity with Arab countries against the unity of Jerusalem with imposing an Israel-visit ban upon the church. In each case, the church body was forced to relinquish visits to Israel and now in place for more than four decades.

Copts favor honesty over deception

Copts are in favor of the pope’s trip for the funeral mass and now use the issue to vocally challenge the 1980 Resolution. For years, deceptive practices have been used by the community to skirt the it. Copts travel from Egypt to Israel via Jordan (and use letters from other church denominations to obtain visas) just to avoid confrontation with Orthodox sanctions. Now the pope’s delegation to Israel highlights the hypocrisy of church leaders as well as its members. However, in answer to the community’s ongoing dilemma, Father Pules Halim responds to the current issue with political correctness, “there is no other below the Pope personally to head funeral prayers” — deflecting the issue altogether.

A cogent argument by the Coptic community remains for the dissolution of the 1980 Holy Synod Resolution. The personal wish of the beloved bishop of Jerusalem to “rest in peace” in Israel defies that church law. As such it now becomes part of the bishop’s legacy for the Orthodox Church’s connection to Israel and its holy sites and many say must lead to the termination of a political document favoring past regimes. Away with the disproportionate penalties of ecclesiastical sanctions for disobeying; such as the loss of communion rights and marriage rights in the church.

The basis for the 1980 Holy Synod Resolution

The religious grounds for the Coptic Orthodox 1980 Holy Synod Resolution is spurious. It states that ecclesiastical sanctions shall not be overturned “until such time as the [Coptic Orthodox] Church repossesses the Sultan Monastery of Jerusalem [now in the possession of the Ethiopian Orthodox Monks]; such resolution is in effect and will be renewed automatically as long as the Monastery has not been re-established, or has not issued a decision about the compound otherwise.”

On the face of it, the resolution is a religious matter. But a deeper look shows that the monastery in question is held in possession by Ethiopian Orthodox monks who, in fact, answer to the Coptic Orthodox pope as fellow worshipers within the same church hierarchy. The monastery is Tawadros II’s jurisdiction over which he holds the ultimate decision power. Upon his order at any time he can reverse the occupation or decide to drop the possession issue as irrelevant.

Furthermore, Pope Shenuda III did not wait for the Sultan Monastery to change hands to install Bishop Abraham in 1992 to oversee the Jerusalem Diocese. He rightly ignored it in order to preserve the church sanctuary and Orthodox community in Jerusalem. Meanwhile, securing the Orthodox Jerusalem site had no bearing on the ban in place for visits to Jerusalem holy sites by Orthodox parishioners from Egypt.

1980 Holy Synod Resolution is linked to Islam

Religion is politics in Egypt. In the end, it boils down to a purely political game. The late Pope Shenuda III said some years back that he would “visit Jerusalem only when he and the Al Azhar imam can go hand in hand.” Supporting his statementa few weeks ago in a meeting with PLO President Abbas in the Coptic Cathedral in Cairo,Tawadros II mimicked Shenuda III’s sentiments when he said, “I hope to visit Jerusalem together with Al Azhar Imam.” Meanwhile, the Coptic community sacrifices pilgrimages to the Holy Land to wait for an Al Azhar Imam.

Pope Shenuda III’s quote and its reiteration by the next pope is nothing more than code for the liberation of East Jerusalem and return of it to Arab-Muslim control. The anti-Israel stance is nothing new. Coptic religious heads were lopped off from the body of the community as early as Egypt’s first regime — in 1952 when Nasser overturned the king. This was the silent coup inside the church. Nasser, Sadat and Mubarak were able to control and oppress the political will of the Coptic Christian population through their church leaders.

Pope Tawadros II was installed at a time when Islamic terrorists known as the Muslim Brotherhood were in control of Egypt and, admittedly, under severe pressure to conform to the Islamic state. This was no time to break with traditions of former popes who compromised with Egypt’s regimes against the best interests of their people. Even so, Tawadros II is accepted and loved by his flock without reservation. The pope is recognized and followed as a profound spiritual leader and respected for his public declaration of non-involvement in Egyptian politics.

Monkhood days together – bishop was teacher of the pope

Pope Tawadros II and his Egyptian delegation to Israel celebrated the funeral mass of his dear friend and colleague, Bishop Abraham of Jerusalem, on November 29, 2015. Monkhood together with Abraham when the bishop was the teacher of the pope added a very personal dimension for Tawadros II in the bestowal of honor and prayers upon the bishop in his final resting place. Hopefully, with this comes an examination by church leaders of the motives behind the Coptic Orthodox 1980 Holy Synod Resolution — sidestepped here once again by clergy to answer the call of duty — to lead to the elimination of this stranglehold upon the entire Coptic Orthodox family.

06/10/15

Will the Sharia save Morsi?

By: Ashraf Ramelah
Voice of the Copts

death-sentence

Just three weeks ago the Egyptian court sentenced Egypt’s former Muslim Brotherhood president, Mohammed Morsi, to the death penalty after evidence presented from Egyptian intelligence documents proved him guilty of spying for Qatar, Iran and Turkey.

There are more than one hundred names on the list with him who are all convicted of the same crimes: murdering protesters, transferring top secret military documents to foreign countries, and burning the museum library which destroyed rare manuscripts and ancient artifacts.

Included on the death-penalty list is Mohamed Badie, the former Muslim Brotherhood spiritual head and his two deputies, Khairat El-Shater and Mahmud Ezzat, as well as Yousef Al Qaradawy, Hamas’ spiritual leader now living in Qatar.

As required by Egyptian law, the Egyptian court directly transmitted the list of the sentenced to the Grand Mufti of Cairo for his pronouncement of the Sharia opinion (approval) on the court’s verdict and sentencing. This past week, a few hours before the court resumed on June 2, a sealed envelope was passed to the court containing the Grand Mufti’s decision.

The court postponed the June 2 proceedings until June 16, and the envelope remains sealed at this moment. Some say the court did so to protect the country and President Al-Sisi who was in Germany on June 2 — waiting for his return in case violence erupts as a result of the announcement.

What are the chances that the Mufti has approved the death penalty? After all, the hundred or so Morsi aides and accomplices condemned to death along with the former president are guilty of nothing more than consistency with the cleric’s ideological and religious views.

If the death penalty is not approved and the civil court ignores the disapproval and goes forward to implement the death penalty, this could mean that the court is secured by the backing and protection of the President in order to serve justice. This in turn reveals that Al-Sisi is truly willing and able to go forward with cleaning corruption and rolling back religious extremism in an effort to reform the country.

But Al-Sisi is a mystery. He recently gave a statement to the German press indicating his agreement with the official story of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood wherein Morsi was elected fairly and democratically and won with 55 percent of the vote. This is very odd since Al-Sisi’s own legitimacy as the people’s president rests on the opposite view — the well-known truth that Morsi became president through corrupt elections, violence, fraud, and outside interference.

The second alternative would be for the civil court to comply with the Grand Mufti’s disapproval of the death sentences, subjecting itself to the authority of the religious clerics which is current practice. In an unreformed Egypt this can be expected from the court.

If we find that the Mufti has approved the death sentences, we are experiencing Al-Sisi’s power for the first time within his term of office and know as well that he is genuine. If so, the promise of modern reform has real potential, and Al-Sisi will have succeeded in spite of outside pressures (Merkel, Obama, and the CIA), Egypt’s political legacy (Mubarak, Sadat, and Nasser) and religious ultra-conservatives threatening secular initiatives (Salafists, Muslim Brotherhood and Al-Ahzar Institute).

The Coptic minority remains under the same pressures today as during previous administrations ruling Egypt. Muslim supremacies prevail, often with violence, against the sub-class within Egypt’s population. Al-Sisi, the man and the president, is yet a sign of hope for the country – Muslim and Christian watch Al-Sisi teetering between positions usually by omissions but not defaulting to the comfortable pattern of his predecessors.

01/8/15

Jews cope with Egypt’s hysteria and revision of Jewish-Egyptian history

By: Dr. Ashraf Ramelah
Voice of the Copts

Abu Hasira

At the end of last month, the Egyptian courts of Alexandria delivered a verdict to ban annual visits to the historic mausoleum of Moroccan Rabbi Yacoub Abu Hasira in the nearby village of Demto. After thirteen years in the court system, the Administrative Court of Alexandria issued a definitive verdict to abolish the annual celebrations of the Rabbi’s birth on the merit of evidence that Jewish visitors “violate public order and morality and use the opportunity to desecrate the land of Egypt.” In response to the verdict, Israelis requested to have the tomb of Abu Hasira transferred to East Jerusalem. Egyptian authorities denied their request.

The Jewish tradition to journey to the Demto Abu Hasira tomb began in 1907. Jews from around the world — in particular, France, Morocco and Tunisia — made the week-long pilgrimage each year to the Demto tomb to celebrate the Rabbi’s birth (December 26 through January 2). The new ruling now forbids this. Until now, Egypt has always allowed foreign Jews (except for Israeli Jews) to visit the Jewish historical landmark despite the fact that virtually all Jewish-Egyptian citizens have been expelled from Egypt since the Nasser regime – only twenty Jews reside in Egypt today.

Israeli Jews were only allowed visits into Egypt after the signing of the 1979 peace treaty between Israel and Egypt. Special permission was sought from the Sadat government to allow organizing celebration tours (pilgrimages) to the Abu Hasira mausoleum and shrine. This current ruling has put an end to these tours.

Who was Yacoub Abu Hasira, and why is his birthday celebrated? His original name was Jacob Ben Massoud, and he was born in 1805 in southern Morocco. Jewish narrative depicts him as an aged rabbi leaving Morocco by ship on a journey to the Holy Land. During his trip the ship sank, and he clung to a mat (hasira) until he safely reached the shores of Syria. Upon his return from the Holy Land he chose to travel by land. While transiting through Egypt he died, but the miracle of his journey to the Holy Land has been kept alive.

Critically, last month’s court ruling also includes an order for Egypt’s Minister of Antiquities to remove the Rabbi Yacoub Abu Hasira mausoleum from the records of Egyptian Antiquities where it is officially designated a historic monument. The tombs physical conversion into a mausoleum and simultaneous entry into the records of Egyptian Antiquities can only be considered a second miracle in the Abu Hasira story. Egypt, with its climate of relentless racial bias and paranoia against Jews, is more likely to disavow Jewish-Egyptian history than to embrace it.

But the reason for the tomb’s designation has more to do with a political decision made by the ambitious former Egyptian Minister of Culture, Farouk Hosni, in preparing for his bid for the head of UNESCO and the favor he sought for that upcoming election. This occurred shortly before Egyptians and their courts began to stir up the issue of prohibiting visitors to the Abu Hasira tomb. Today, Hosni denies that the tomb conversion and upgrade in 2001 was his doing, citing a committee’s responsibility for it.

However, as Culture Minister, committee decisions came through him, and now his response to distance himself

Abu Hasira’s Tomb

His efforts to seal Egypt’s Jewish heritage only serves to highlight his bigotry. At the time, advocating for the rabbi’s tomb had been politically useful for Hosni in mitigating the impact of one of his previous ideas, publicly declared, to burn all Hebrew books found on the shelves of Egyptian libraries. He was widely known for this anti-Semitic initiative (never materialized) both inside and outside of Egypt which ultimately deprived him of the UNESCO position.

Grievances from Egyptians concerning the Abu Hasira mausoleum and Jewish celebrants began as early as Sadat’s 1977 visit to Israel as a form of indirect opposition to Sadat’s show of friendliness toward the Jewish state. Years later, during Mubarak’s presidency, a heated debate began in 2001. Poor villagers expressed gratitude for the increase in local business during the week-long visits. Although they claimed the Jews were harmless, and no harm would come to them by allowing the festivities, the opposition expressed the standard complaint that Jews in Egypt were a national security problem.

Brainwashed by mosque indoctrination and the public school system, Egyptians tend to believe that Jews coming to Egypt from Israel are spies for the Israeli government. Town’s people backed by Muslim Brotherhood members in the Egyptian Parliament began a case in the Alexandria courts and won an injunction against the Jewish celebrants. A ruling was issued prohibiting the pilgrimage. But this verdict was appealed and reversed within the same year.

The warfare against Abu Hasira continued. In 2010, Jews around the world were warned by Israeli authorities and the Egyptian embassies that attending the pilgrimage might be dangerous in view of the Muslim Brotherhood rise to power and anti-Jewish graffiti smeared on the mausoleum walls. A national television talk show videotaped the Jewish Abu Hasira festivities and saw nothing wrong, but bystanders claimed they saw vicious acts. One witness recalled seeing “slaughtering of pigs in the streets.” A reporter from the Egyptian press described “hysteria and half-naked dancers, unethical behavior.” Chancellor Jaber Qasim, Deputy General of Sufis, ranted that, “the pilgrims are a plot and plan of Zionism to rape the nation by claiming that Jews have roots in Egypt …”

This frenzy — fabrications and hysteria — was the “evidence” used by the courts to decide last month’s verdict — ignorance and prejudice once again leading to the discrimination of minorities. This court ruling now sets a precedent whereby every non-Muslim religious monument, artifact and sacred place in the historic registry becomes vulnerable to the whims of Egypt’s biased courts. In the first place, Egypt’s courts do not have jurisdiction over the status of antiquities or the registry of monuments in the Ministry of Culture where its protection act has the absolute authority. It is not the job of the courts but rather for panels of experts to decide. Moreover, this case sets a precedent which directly contradicts Egypt’s constitution – Part 1, Article 4 and Chapter 3, Article 47-50, 64 – which declares freedom of religion and respect for all religions. Israeli authorities have now launched a complaint with UNESCO where the Abu Hasira mausoleum is recorded as a historic Egyptian monument.