|
(AINA) -- The systematic abduction and forced Islamization of Coptic
minor girls in Egypt is a frequent, dangerous and a rapidly escalating
phenomenon, The problem was brought to light by the Coptic Pope
Shenouda III as far back as December 17th, 1976, when he protested
during a conference held in Alexandria that "there is pressure being
practiced to convert Coptic girls to embrace Islam and marry them under
terror to Muslim husbands" and demanded that the abducted girls be
brought back to their families.
Dr. Waheed Ala, renowned
Coptic activist and researcher at the Observatory of Religions in
Switzerland, believes that the issue of abducted Coptic girls forms the
most complex problem in the relations between Christians and Muslims of
Egypt -- especially because abductions are done in cooperation between
Saudi-funded associations and the Egyptian State Security.
These
frequent abduction cases are reported by Coptic human rights advocacies
but rarely by the main stream media, and when, they are mostly
portrayed as 'an elopement of a loving teen couple.
Another recent victim of abduction is 15-year old Marian Bishay, who
went out on July 15, 2009 to get dinner for her mother and young
brothers from a local restaurant, 50 meters away from where she lives
in Omrania, Giza, but failed to return home. The local police succumbed
to pressure and issued a missing person report after initially refusing.
The
Bishay family, whose father works in Kuwait, reported the matter to
Free Copts advocacy in Cairo, asking for support. According to activist
Osama Eid "the police just shrugged their shoulders and said there is
nothing we can do, you search -- which we actually did."
When
the abducted girl's father, Amir Bishay, returned from Kuwait due to
the incident, the police refused to issue another report under the
pretext that they investigated the initial report with no results. The
police also released three suspects who worked at that same restaurant.
"We
had to participate with Marian's family in their search" said Osama
Eid. "We found out that the owner of the restaurant and one of his
co-workers, who were under suspicion, disappeared when they knew that
the matter was becoming serious, as the rest of the Bishay family came
to Giza from Upper Egypt."
Being unsuccessful in filing
another report with the police, father Amir Bishay filed a complaint
with the Attorney-General against three of the owners of the "Momen"
restaurant in Omrania. He accused them of abducting his minor daughter.
According
to Free Copts, the Bishay family intend to protest through a sit-in at
the Coptic Dioceses of Giza, objecting to the failure and neglect of
state security with regards to Marian's case. "Especially because at
the same time a Muslim girl was abducted by a registered criminal and
was returned within three days, while the fate of Marian is still
unknown," says Eid.
The family has received conflicting
reports of Marian's whereabouts; some reports said she was raped and
forced to convert to Islam, while others said that she was kept in
Alexandria against her will.
Commenting on this case, renowned
attorney Ramsis El Naggar said that according to Article 271, the
abduction of a minor is punishable by 15 years imprisonment, and the
penalty is increased if it was combined with rape.
'It is
strange that the State agencies abide by silence and protect the
criminals who kidnap the girls, and that they put pressure on us so
that we do not even call for the State to play its role in protecting
its citizens," said Dr. Waheed Ala, "We have noticed that when the
kidnapped girl is a Muslim, the security agencies get active and work
hard and arrest the kidnappers who then face trials and get imprisoned,
but this does not happen when the kidnapped girl is a Coptic Christian.
This is especially true because in the majority of cases, the State
Security is the one who masterminds the kidnapping plans."
In
another case of abduction of a Christian Coptic girl, Mamdouh Nakhlah,
attorney and President of "Al Kalema" human rights organization said
that his Center, had received a plea for help from the brother of minor
Reda Botros Samaan who disappeared on July 22, 2009 on her way to sit
for her exams, in Dayrout, Assuit. Nakhla had to complain to the
Minister of Interior on July 24 as the police refused to issued a
report.
"After state security investigated, it was found out
that although she was a minor, she converted to Islam," said attorney
Nakhlah. He explained that it is not allowed to entice a minor to
change her religion, even of her own free will. "A minor does not have
full power of consent, and his/her will is not considered in matters
such as travel, marriage, banking, so it should not be taken in matter
of changing of one's religion, which is the most significant than the
rest. A child follows his parent's religion until he comes of age, then
he/she has the right to change freely without being under the tutelage
of anyone."
Reports of tens of cases of kidnappings of minor
girls from Christian families takes place every year, with very little,
if any, success in getting them back to their families, and not one
single person accused of abduction of Coptic girls has been brought to
justice.
Reports on the disappearances in July 2009 which were
reported to Coptic advocacies brought no positive news. The whereabouts
of Irene Hanna Labib (AINA 7-18-2009), Amira Morgan and Ingy Basta (AINA 7-30-2009) is still unknown, despite their families efforts in locating them.
After
years of denial, Dr. Mustafa Al-Fiqee, member in the Parliament and the
Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee of the Parliament, raised
the issue of kidnapped Coptic girls in his article in the semi-official
Al-Ahram newspaper "The Era Dialogue….All in One" published on January
7, 2008, in which he confessed that there are dozens of cases of
"kidnapped minor girls from some Christian families."
"The
most important point in Dr. Mustafa Al-Feqee's declaration is that he
emphasized, without any doubt, that what the Copts of Egypt -- both at
home and in the Diaspora -- say about the kidnapping of minor Christian
girls is the truth." commented Dr. Waheed Ala. "It is not lies, and it
is not done to tarnish Egypt's reputation. They simply demand that the
State addresses this dangerous phenomenon. What tarnish the reputation
of Egypt are the agencies of the Interior Ministry, with all their
various specializations; the complicity of Al-Azhar, and the incitement
and financing from Saudi Arabia."
By Mary Abdelmassih
Tags:
Click to add your tags...,
 |
News 
Subscribe to this comment's feed
