Africa

As Egyptians anxiously head to the polls this week to vote for a new president whom Christians hope will ensure fair treatment under the law, it has been reported that a local court has sentenced 12 Coptic Christians to life and acquitted eight Muslims involved in clashes last year that left two people dead.

The ruling, reported Monday by The Associated Press, found that the Christians were guilty of "sowing public strife" and killing two men in the April 2011 case that began with a Muslim bus driver's confrontation with security guards outside the home of a rich Coptic in the country's Minya province.

The bus driver had apparently complained about a speed bump outside the home and was allegedly beaten by the security guards. The man, unnamed by the AP, returned to his village and gathered supporters to accompany him to complain about the alleged beating at the offices of an ultraconservative Islamist group. more >>

As Egypt's first democratic presidential elections get underway Wednesday, the choices have narrowed down to two groups of candidates: Islamists and politicians once linked to former President Hosni Mubarak. Historically, neither of these groups have meant good news for the Christian community, but there are two secular candidates, Amr Moussa and Ahmed Shafiq, who experts agree would be better for religious minorities in Egypt.

If an Islamist president is elected in light of the mostly-Islamist parliament, religious freedom and the safety of the Christian community would be put in jeopardy, experts argue.

Moussa and Shafiq both served under Mubarak, who was ousted in Feb. 2011 following the Arab Spring revolution. These two non-Islamist candidates have become the most viable options for Coptic Christians, the largest Christian group in the Middle East and in Egypt, constituting about 9 percent of the country's population. more >>

JOS, Nigeria  – The Nigerian military's discovery here of a Muslim terrorist base full of ammunition and explosives on Saturday (May 19) refutes Islamist claims that Christians have been bombing their own churches, a local pastor said.

Following an intensive three-day search by Nigeria's Special Military Task Force that found four Improvised Explosive Devices – along with one that detonated without casualties – the pastor of a church less than two kilometers away said God has vindicated area Christians.

"It's a vindication, as in the past Muslims, after attacking Christian churches, have claimed that Christians have been responsible for these bombings," said the pastor, whose name is withheld for security reasons. "But now, everyone knows that Boko Haram has carried out the attacks and bombings on Christians and our churches in collaboration with other local Muslims in Jos." more >>

Around 100 people held a rally last week at the Eritrean Embassy in London to mark the 10th anniversary of the government's crackdown on Christians and religious people in the small African country often compared to North Korea for its repressive regime.

The government of Eritrea grants religious freedom to only a handful of faith groups – the Roman Catholic Church, the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahdo Church (which is not recognized by the Orthodox papacy), the Evangelical Lutheran Church and Sunni Islam. All other faith groups are illegal, and as many as 2,000–3,000 Protestant Christians in the country have reportedly been jailed for their beliefs.

Every church in Eritrea not belonging to these specific faiths has been closed down, despite activists and concerned citizens calling on the international community to put pressure on the government and call for the release of all prisoners of conscience. more >>

The offices of the Sudan Council of Churches (SCC) and the offices of relief organization Sudan Aid, both in the Darfur region, have reportedly been closed down by the Sudanese government without warning. Observers suspect Sudan's reported war on religious minorities, specifically Christians, may have been motivation for the closures.

Given the context of the Muslim government's reported animosity toward non-Islamic groups, the news coming from the SCC has attracted widespread criticism from the Christian community.

The Sudan Council of Churches' offices are located in Nyala, the main city of Southern Darfur state. The SCC officials told the press last week that on April 22, just as they came to work like on any other day, agents from the Sudanese National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) showed up, ordering the staff to hand over keys to the premisses as well as company vehicles. Then, the authorities ordered SCC staff to leave immediately, without providing explanation, the organization said. more >>

Egypt's Coptic Christians fear they could face further persecution should an Islamist candidate win next week's presidential elections, as frontrunners vying for leadership stem from the Sharia-leaning Muslim Brotherhood. One of the major issues on their agenda is a controversial law that puts heavy restrictions on building and maintaining Christian houses of worship.

The emerging top Islamist candidates in the race include Abdul Moneim Aboul Fotouh, a former leading figure in the Muslim Brotherhood; Salafist candidate Hazem Abu Ismail; and the Muslim Brotherhood's own Khairat Al-Shater, who said in April that Sharia should become the ultimate law of the land.

Meanwhile, some Copts are hoping that candidate Ahmed Shafiq, former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's prime minister and a former military commander, would be the one to help end the discriminatory rules concerning building churches, Reuters reported this week. more >>