A Call to the International Conscience

[ELSHIEKH]

Montreal, Canada, 26 July 2003.

A Call to the International Conscience



In a call to the political leaders in Egypt, the Canadian Coptic Association addressed the phenomena of kidnapping the under age Coptic (Christian) girls in Egypt, forcing them to change their religion to Islam and marrying them to Muslim men. This call did not receive any response in Egypt. On the contrary, there were total denials by some of the Egyptian writers to the happening of such crimes in Egypt.


Today we received news of yet another case of kidnapping of a Coptic girl in Alexandria, Egypt, who is under age.


On June 30, 2003, the girl Nermine, 17 years, born on February 28, 1986, daughter of Samaan Sadek Stephanos , of 11 Sekeinet El-Awayed Hamlet, Raml of Alexandria, was kidnapped in front of Isis Secondary School, El-Awayed, Alexandria.


Her father received a telephone call from an anonymous person that they (the Muslims) have kidnapped his daughter and are forcing her to change her religion to Islam and will marry her to a Muslim man.


The father of this girl reported the case immediately to the police; case number 103, July 1, 2003, with the succor police and case number 38, July 2, 2003, Raml of Alexandria Police. He sent telegrams and faxes to numerous security authorities without any success.


The father is prevented from advertising this case in any Egyptian news paper nor in the TV channel 5 in Alexandria. The police authorities refuse to call it a “Kidnap case”, but rather they call an “Absence case”.


The father of the kidnapped girl reported the case to the Premier of Alexandria, to representatives of the Coptic churches, to His Holiness the Coptic Pope and to the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Mosque.


The Canadian Coptic Association asks the Egyptian and the International Human Rights Organizations to intervene to find solutions to prevent these frequent crimes and to protect the Coptic under age girls in Egypt.


It is worth mentioning that the Egyptian and the Arab news papers used to write against the kidnapping of the Muslim girls in Kosovo, Chechnya and Bosnia Herzegovina. Yet the voices of the same news papers and Media are now silent towards the kidnapping of any Christian Coptic girl. What a contrast and what a shame.


We wish to thank the electronic media “Elaph” for reporting these and other cases about the Coptic Christians in Egypt. We also thank all those who comment on our articles, both Christians and Muslims, either in Elaph or by emails and faxes.


Since we did not get any response from any Egyptian authorities nor any Egyptian Media, concerning Kidnapping and forcing under age Coptic girls, we are reporting these cases in the International media. We are certain that we shall prevail.



Dr. Selim Naguib,

Ph.D. in Law and Political Sciences and a former judge in Canada

President of the Canadian Coptic Association and a

Member of the International Law Society



Email: ssnaguib@sympatico.ca

Or ssnaguib@hotmail.com

Fax: (514)485-1533