In light of the attacks on St. Mark's Cathedral, a fact-finding committee demanded the dismissal of Maj. Gen. Mohamed Ibrahim, Minister of Interior, insisting that charges be brought against him for failing to carry out his role and preserve public security.

The committee also demanded a restructuring of the entire ministry, and for an investigation to be conducted into the actions of other high-ranking police officials involved in the investigation of the attack on St. Mark's Cathedral.

In its report, the committee blamed the Ministry of the Interior for the attacks on the cathedral in Abasseya after the funeral service for the victims of Khosos. more >>

Said Abdel Hafez, head of the Dialogue Forum for Development and Human Rights, recently stated that comments made by Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi indicating there are no sectarian incidents in Egypt is a "lie" because he knows the essence of civil and political rights is the right to freedom of belief and worship.

Abdel Hafez told Mideast Christian News that President Morsi definitely knows the incidents committed against Egyptian Copts- their right to freedom of faith and worship was violated and their churches and houses were demolished and burned- were sectarian in nature.

Hafez noted that other Copts were killed because of their religious identity and some were forcibly displaced from their villages and homes because of the ongoing clashes between Copts and Muslims. more >>

In an opinion piece published on Townhall Online, Bob Morrison and Ken Blackwell claimed that "Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood's governing majority are actively persecuting Coptic Christians."

Morrison and Blackwell described what "typically" happens in matters of sectarian strife and how those targeted by violence are the ones accosted by police.

"Copts protest against Islamist violence directed at them and their churches. When the Copts face police, they get tear gassed. And then they are the ones arrested. The Muslim Brotherhood authorities will pick up Coptic youth- hopefully the ones not yet set on fire- and jail them," Morrison and Blackwell wrote. more >>

Egyptian constitutional expert Mohamed Nour Farahat is certain that the "[Muslim] Brotherhood wants to turn the country into a fascist state dominated by demagoguery with a religious mask."

He added that they wanted to dominate the judiciary and make it loyal to the Brotherhood's Guidance Bureau.

"This judiciary was releasing the members of the Muslim Brotherhood when Mubarak's regime was imprisoning them under the emergency law," Farahat posted on his Facebook page. "It ruled to dissolve the formerly ruling National Democratic Party and local councils. It also ruled the unconstitutionality of many laws contradictory with freedoms." more >>

A prominent non-governmental organization is urging the U.S. government to publicly condemn the newly proposed NGO law in Egypt, categorizing it as a setback for human rights.

Human Rights First (HRF), an American NGO, said the proposed law "would have a chilling effect on the ability of Egyptian NGOs in the first instance, but also international NGOs to support the democratic process in Egypt."

Fears are growing in Egypt that the law will repress civil society in Egypt even further and that the U.S "should go further and be more forceful with their condemnation," HRF said. more >>

Pope Tawadros II of Alexandria exclaimed that the recent attacks on Coptics in the country should not go unnoticed, and those responsible should be brought to justice.

"The aggression against the cathedral should not pass unnoticed and be forgotten ... it is a serious matter of the greatest extent and it will remain a shame that will not be forgotten in Egyptian history." His Holiness told Mideast Christian News.

"I call on the officials to take realistic positions, as there have been no realistic consequences 10 days after the incident, an issue that has increased the frustration and pain among Copts," His Holiness Pope Tawadros II continued. more >>