Most news out of Egypt is that recent events have been disastrous for Christians there. Certainly, the phenomenon of Muslims kidnapping young Christian girls is nothing new (see here and here), but there are signs that there is much more of it now.
The power vacuum created by Mubarak’s fall has increased the number of abductions of Coptic teenagers and young women. Kidnapped at home or in the street, they are forced to convert and marry Muslim men. The latest case involves two girls, 14-year-old Nacy and 16-year-old Christine, who disappeared on 12 June. Police found them days later, wearing a niqab but with [a] cross tattooed on their wrist.
Fearing repercussions, they said they converted to Islam. However, al-Azhar and the Fatwa (religious edict) Committee denied that the two Coptic teenagers had converted to Islam, because they are still minors and have not yet reached 18 years of age, as is required by law. "The daily abduction and forced Islamisation of Coptic minors, conducted by Muslims funded by Saudi Arabia, has escalated to new levels after the 25 January Revolution," said Coptic activist Mark Ebeid.
The portion concerning the cross tattoos was a little confusing, but the girls' tattoos indicate that they were not actually Muslim--despite the niqab, as most Christians adopt such tattoos to signify their resolve to remain faithful. I cannot find the link now, but I remember a video report of one family who had lost two of their three daughters to kidnappings, leaving one young teenager at home. They were terrified even to let her go to school each day. Imagine...!
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