Image above: South of Cairo (photo:Wikimedia)
In the run-up to Christmas, Christians in Egypt have experienced an attack on a church. In the village of Kafr al-Waslin, south of Cairo, a building that has been used as a prayer house for Christians and for which permission has been sought to use as a church was attacked by around 5,000 Muslims. They were upset by a rumor started by an Islamist group that Christians were planning to build a bell tower for the church. Egyptian legislation on church buildings has become less restrictive, but it doesn't help that the ordinary Muslim population still takes it as an insult that there are Christians among them who want to practice their faith. Virtually everything in the building was smashed and several Christians were injured, though not life-threatening, and no one was killed.
Lack of security - but perpetrators arrested
The attack happened even though the authorities had been informed about the service to be held on December 22 and there was a police guard before the attack. When the attack came, the police officers had disappeared when the actual attack on the building took place. Only after a long time did police finally show up and some of the perpetrators were arrested, as it was documented through cell phone footage that they had participated in the attack. For once, there were no reports of Christians being arrested. It is quite common for police to arrest both perpetrators and victims when Christian churches or private properties are attacked.
It's official: Large security deployment for Christmas
In addition, 250,000 police officers have been deployed to guard Christian churches in Egypt for the New Year and Coptic Christmas on January 6-7. We therefore call for prayers for Christians in Egypt and in the many other countries where the Christmas season increases the persecution of Christians.
Good news for Christians in Iraq - despite challenges
In the war-torn cities of northern Iraq, however, there is good news. For the first time since 2014, Christians in the Nineveh Plain have been able to celebrate Christmas services in their hometowns. In many places this has happened despite churches being partially destroyed and many homes heavily damaged. It has been estimated that a majority of Christians displaced from their homes have spent Christmas in their hometowns, but many have only been able to stay there temporarily. Many men still have jobs in Erbil and elsewhere in the Kurdistan Region and commute, spending only one or two days a week in their hometowns. It takes time to rebuild an economy that has been in ruins for so long, and in many places the help to rebuild is far from adequate, and what help that does come is from private individuals and churches in Western countries. The Iraqi government is not providing enough support. Security in some places suffers from being in the hands of Shiite militias who sometimes block access for Christians to their homes. In other places, there are Christian militias that cooperate with the Iraqi government and security works reasonably well there.
