Deputy Head of the Egyptian Democratic Social Party Emad Gad said that pressure from religious groups in the country is corrupting the judicial system in Egypt.

"The court's response to the request submitted by Abu Islam's defense staff is a reflection of the authorities' submission to the pressure exerted by religious groups who work to Islamize the public sphere in Egypt," Gad told Mideast Christian News.

"The exclusion of the court's secretary was to further extend the Islamization of cases and further sedition amongst employees … it is normal, reasonable and expected request from abu-Islam's defense," he added more >>

Priest Ekram Lamei, Chairperson of the Evangelical Synod, criticized the decision issued by a Cairo court to exclude the secretary of the court from a hearing session because he is a Christian.

The decision came in response to a request submitted by Abu-Islam's defense lawyer to have the court secretary removed from court proceedings.

Father Lamei said he considered the decision an insult against Christianity and Christian people and stressed the need to submit an appeal against the decision. more >>

A stampede in Ghana on Sunday left four people dead after thousands swarmed a church said to be offering holy water with healing properties.

"All of us were caught by surprise. No one knew the crowd will be so huge," police spokesman Freeman Tetteh said, according to BBC News. "The church was also caught by surprise ... Nobody can apportion blame [at this stage]."

The stampede occurred at the Ghana branch of the Synagogue Church of All Nations, Ghana Business News reported. The head pastor of the church, Prophet T. B. Joshua, has been sending out repackaged holy water to branches of the church across the globe, an initiative he announced earlier in May. A number of church members in Accra, the capital, had lined up since Saturday night in hopes of gaining access to the anointed water, and the church was supposedly at full capacity by 8: 30 p.m. more >>

Rev. Refaat Fikri, head of the Media Center for the Evangelical Church in Egypt, said the problems facing Egyptian Christians have been going on since the 1970s and looks to continue as there is a lack of political will by the ruling regime to solve them.

This came in response to the initiative launched on Wednesday by the Building and Development Party, the political arm of Gamaat Islamiyya under the title "A Unified Nation."

It aims to "strengthen the national fabric and maintain strong relations among all Muslim and Christian communities of the Egyptian society." more >>

Islamist terrorists in Nigeria are thought to have killed a prominent Christian leader in the northern reaches of the country after the country's president recently declared a state of emergency.

"Suspected Islamic militants have killed a Christian leader in north-eastern Nigeria shortly after the president declared a state of emergency in the region to tackle insurgents and terrorists' threatening Africa's most populous nation," BosNewsLife reported.

Two suspected members of the Islamic militant group Boko Haram shot Faye Pama Mysa, a Pentecostal pastor and secretary of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in the state of Borno while he was in his home on Wednesday. more >>

Coptic-owned businesses and pharmacies in Menbal village, Minya in northern Egypt were attacked by a mob, resulting in extensive damage and several injuries.

"The thugs attacked my shop, assaulting it with stones. Some of the contents were damaged … they destroyed a number of Coptic-owned shops and pharmacies," Michael Sobhi, a witness from the village, told Mideast Christian News.

"The Copts of the village couldn't confront the thugs, as their numbers increased. They had firearms and blades, so Copts tried to avoid fighting with them," he added. more >>