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W ostatnich kilku dniach dziesiątki chrześcijańskich rodzin koptyjskich uciekło z El Arisz na północnym Synaju wobec trwającej kampanii morderstw i gróźb wobec nich ze strony Państwa Islamskiego (ISIS). Według doniesień, co najmniej siedmiu cywilów koptyjskich zabili w tym mieście agenci ISIS w ostatnich tygodniach, zmuszając rodziny koptyjskie do ucieczki z półwyspu w głąb Egiptu. Kilka źródeł egipskich twierdzi, że z tego miasta uciekło 85 ze 103 rodzin koptyjskich; inne źródła podają tę liczbę na 45. Część rodzin schroniła się w kościele anglikańskim w Ismailia, podczas gdy inni uciekli do Suezu, Minja lub Sohag. Gazeta „Al-Sharq Al-Awsat” pisze, że jest to pierwszy masowy exodus rodzin chrześcijańskich z ich domów z powodu terroru[1].
Należy wspomnieć, że obranie Koptów za cel jest tylko jednym przejawem działalności ISIS w El Arisz i na północnym Synaju, skierowanej ogólnie na zastraszenie populacji lokalnej i niedopuszczenie, by władze egipskie odzyskały kontrolę w regionie. Ta działalność obejmuje między innymi, pokazy siły w El Arisz, napady na siły bezpieczeństwa i ataki na personel służb bezpieczeństwa w ich domach, porywanie i mordowanie cywilów za współpracę z władzami, starania narzucenia prawa szariatu i niszczenie własności.
Jeden z Koptów, który uciekł z miasta, opisuje groźby wobec jego społeczności: “Ostatnio znacząco nasiliło się mordowanie chrześcijan. Ludzie są mordowani codziennie i myślę, że będzie [tylko] gorzej. Terroryści otwarcie deklarują, że będą atakowali chrześcijan. Nie mogę winić policji, bo sytuacja bezpieczeństwa na Synaju jest bardzo zła i terroryzm narasta”. Koptowie z El Arisz powiedzieli, że otrzymywali grożące telefony z żądaniem, by opuścili swoje domy i że aktywiści ISIS rozdawali w mieście ulotki, grożące chrześcijanom[2].
ośmioletnia dziewczynka z El Arisz powiedziała: „Bardzo mi smutno, bo musiałam zostawić moich przyjaciół i szkołę, i nie wiem, czy wrócę, czy nie. Sama widziałam groźby na napisach na ścianach [mojego] domu. Słyszałam co powiedzieli do mojego ojca przez telefon, kiedy powiedzieli, że musimy odejść, bo inaczej nas zabiją”. Kobieta opowiadała, że pewnej nocy było stukanie do drzwi, a kiedy jej syn poszedł otworzyć, wpadli terroryści, zastrzelili go, a potem przeszukali dom, by znaleźć innych mężczyzn z rodziny. Znaleźli jej męża, starego człowieka i także go zastrzelili, a potem ukradli jej biżuterię i podpalili dom[3].
Te wydarzenia są kulminacją trwającej kampanii terroru, jaką od lat prowadzi przeciwko chrześcijanom na Synaju ISIS i jego wcześniejsze wcielenie, Ansar Beit Al-Makdis. Ta kampania obejmuje morderstwa cywilów, włącznie z księżmi, jak również porwania, ciągłe groźby i napaści na przedsiębiorstwa. Kampania stała się systematyczna w 2013 r., kiedy dżihadyści na Synaju rozpoczęli otwartą wojnę przeciwko władzom egipskim.
Niniejszy rapor [nie spolszczony] stanowi przegląd gróźb i działań przeciwko chrześcijanom w Egipcie, reakcji władz egipskich na ten kryzys i reakcji religijnego establishment chrześcijańskiego.
Coptic family that fled to Ismailia (image: elwatannews.com)
ISIS Incitement: Calls To Kill Public Figures, Increase Attacks On Christians
Last week ISIS released a video inciting against the Christians in Egypt, in which it permitted their killing and vowed to increase its attacks on them. The video claimed that the Christians are not entitled to the status of protected non-Muslims (ahl al-dhimma) because they violated the conditions for protection: they took advantage of their status to harm the Muslims in general and the Sinai mujahideen in particular. ISIS spokesmen in the video promised that the organization would stage further attacks on Christians, similar to the deadly church bombing in Cairo in December 2016. The video included excerpts from the last statement of the suicide bomber who perpetrated that attack, in which he addressed ISIS members imprisoned in Egypt, saying: „I swear that we will liberate Cairo very soon and come to release you from your shackles. We will come with car bombs, so take heart, servants of Allah.”[4]
The release of the video was accompanied by many threats by ISIS supporters on social media, threats which have been on the rise since the Cairo church bombing.[5] For example, ISIS supporters on the Wilayat Misr Telegram channel circulated photos of Coptic public figures and Muslim figures who had expressed solidarity with the Copts, threatening to kill them. The photos were posted along with the text: „[Here is] an evil [seed] within the body of the ummah. We urge you, o lions of the [Islamic State’s] security units in mainland Egypt, to eliminate them using your silencer-equipped guns, your explosive charges and your knives.” Among the Copts threatened were former minister of industry, trade and investment Mounir Fakhry 'Abd Al-Nour and social activist Malik 'Adli; two Muslims who were threatened were prominent human rights attorney Negad El-Borai and Ahmad Khairi, a member of the liberal Free Egyptians party.[6]
Call to kill former Egyptian industry, trade and investment minister Mounir Fakhry 'Abd Al-Nour
Call to kill prominent attorney and human rights activist Negad El-Borai
Another message on the Wilayat Misr channel urged lone attackers to target Christians everywhere: „O you who seek martyrdom and [Allah’s] good reward, o you who seeker Paradise and its Black-Eyed Virgins, jihad has come to you. Allah has chosen you for this mission, of all [the men] He created. The Crusaders in Egypt [i.e., Egypt’s Christians] have violated all the agreements and contracts [of protection] and declared war on Islam and the Muslims. More than that, they offended our Prophet on their television channels. None of the so-called Islamic organizations in Egypt deterred them. Hence, the soldiers of the Caliphate stood up, put their faith in Allah and carried out a martyrdom operation in a large [Christian] house of worship that was guarded by soldiers and weapons. Allah allowed the brother [i.e., the bomber] to come among them and detonate his suicide belt, killing and wounding 80 of them. O supporters of the Islamic State! Increase your ambitions and prepare [calamities] for the Crusaders that will make their lives bitter. By Allah, it would be a disgrace for us to avoid targeting those who insulted our Prophet in our [own] country. Lie in wait for them and avenge our Prophet. Do not let them live safely in their homes and their places of work. You brothers in Sinai have already caused the Crusaders to hide like women, and some of them have even fled and left Sinai. Blood for blood, destruction for destruction. That is [the relationship] between you and us, o servants of the Cross. What will come will be graver and more bitter, so watch your backs.”[7]
A message posted on another pro-ISIS Telegram channel, Misr Al-Kinana, said: „There is a great wave of Crusader immigration from Sinai following threats by the soldiers of the Caliphate. By Allah the One and Only, the [Islamic] faith will not triumph except by means of the sword and the hangman’s [noose] and by fighting the enemies of Allah. It will not triumph through demonstrations or through the despicable laws that [the enemies of Allah] obey. You are the jewel in the crown, o soldiers of the Caliphate in Sinai, a thorn in the side of the infidels. We beseech Allah to grant you victory and accept your martyrdom.”[8]
Another post on that channel taunted Egypt’s Christians: „Where will you turn, o servants of the Cross? Allah willing, we will expel you from all of Egypt and drive you out, humiliated. You will pay the jizya [poll tax levied on ahl al-dhimma] whether you like it or not, and the government will be in the hands of the Muslims, Allah willing.”[9]
From the ISIS video threatening Egypt’s Christians
A message on the Wilayat Misr channel explained that Egypt’s Christians are legitimate targets because they have declared war on the Muslims: „My dear brothers, whoever thinks the Christians in Egypt are a peaceful bunch and are not interested in fighting the Muslims is a fool, fool, fool. The struggle between the Sunni Muslims and the Christians in Egypt will [only] grow more and more intense in the future. There are voices in the church calling on young [Christians] to carry arms and defend themselves. There are also voices calling to displace Muslims and drive them out of the Christian areas in Egypt. The [only] thing delaying an open confrontation is the infidels’ reluctance to [start] a war that will end in a victory for the Islamic State and will benefit the Islamic State. The Christians in Egypt are harming the Muslims, enslaving them and humiliating them using the official institutions of the current regime. The judiciary is controlled by the Christians. The economy is controlled by the Christians. The military is controlled by the Christians. Egypt’s three largest establishments are controlled by the Christians… Whoever follows the news in Egypt will notice that the Christians are ready to declare war on the Sunni Muslims and that it is only a matter of time, nothing more…”[10]
Christian family arrives at the Anglican church in Ismailia, where a large group of Christian has taken refuge (elbadil.com)
Egyptian Authorities: We Have Taken Measures To Protect North Sinai Residents
The Egyptian authorities released a number of statements in response to the events in Sinai. A communique issued by the President’s Office said that Al-Sisi had met with the Prime Minister, Defense Minister and other ministers to „discuss the developments involving terrorist organizations targeting innocent civilians in north Sinai.” He „noted the importance of opposing all attempts to undermine stability and security in Egypt and of preempting the plots of these organizations to intimidate the secure people of the homeland or threaten their property.” President Al-Sisi also instructed the government to take every measure to help the Christian civilians in the places where they are sheltering.[11]
A statement issued by the Egyptian interior ministry stressed that the security apparatuses had not instructed the Copts of north Sinai to leave their homes and seek refuge elsewhere. It added that the security and police apparatuses were discharging their national duty of combatting terror and were taking measures to ensure the security of north Sinai residents and their homes. It also noted the recent successes in the war against terror in Sinai.[12]
Home of Christian family in El Arish that was torched (elbadil.com)
Government spokesman Ashraf Sultan said that Prime Minister Sherif Ismail and the Ismailia governor Yassin Taher were looking into the matter of the Copts who had fled from north Sinai; furthermore, Ismail had instructed to form a government situation room to oversee the provision of services to the families, in coordination with the relevant district governors. The spokesman clarified that it was not yet clear when the families would be able to return to their homes, because this depended on the security situation in north Sinai, but added that the situation room would provide them with all the services and aid they required. It was reported that the Prime Minister had called Pope Tawadros to express his sympathies and inform him of the government’s measures to assist the families who had fled.[13]
The minster of family and social solidarity, Ghada Wali, visited the refugee families and said she was sure they would „return to El Arish very soon.” She added that the authorities are seeing to their immediate needs and that those who had suffered material losses would be compensated.[14]
Egyptian Copts: We Demand State Intervention
Coptic officials refrained from criticizing the government or its response to the crisis in media interviews, but other Coptic figures and elements did voice dissatisfaction over what they described as helplessness on the part of the authorities. A statement by the Coptic Church said: „The Church condemns the ongoing acts of terror in north Sinai against the Christian people of Egypt, [terror] that deliberately undermines our national unity and attempts to rupture our solid joint position opposing the criminal terrorism that originates outside Egypt… We believe that the [victims’] blood is precious to God and will cry out to Him in demand of justice. [God] will observe and pass judgement.”[15]
The head of the Coptic Orthodox Church in north Sinai, Gibril Ibrahim, stressed that the Copts demand to reinforce the El Arish police with increased army presence, adding that what is happening in the region is nothing less than a war, with all this entails. He expressed confidence that joint action by the police and the military can restore security to the region.[16]
Former Egyptian industry, trade and investment minister Mounir Fakhry 'Abd Al-Nour tweeted: „Where is the government, parliament, police, army and media? Where is the state while Sinai Copts are being slaughtered and their homes are being burned down?”[17]
[1] Al-Masri Al-Yawm (Egypt), February 24, 2017; Al-Sharq Al-Awsat (London), February 26, 2017.
[2] Al-Masri Al-Yawm (Egypt), February 24, 2017.
[3] Al-Sharq Al-Awsat (London), February 26, 2017.
[4] On the video, see MEMRI JTTM report, In New Video, ISIS Threatens To Increase Attacks On Copts, February 20, 2017; for excerpts from the video, see MEMRI TV clip Clip No. 5903, New ISIS Video Threatens to Increase Attacks on Copts and „Liberate” Cairo, February 19, 2017.
[5] On threats posted after the bombing, see MEMRI JTTM report, Jihadis Express Satisfaction At Coptic Church Attack In Cairo, Threaten Egyptian Christians With Expulsion And Slaughter, December 12, 2017.
[6] Telegram.me/Wilayat Misr, February 24, 2017.
[7] Telegram.me/Wilayat Misr, February 25, 2017.
[8] Telegram.me/Misr Al-Kinana, February 25, 2017.
[9] Telegram/me/Misr Al-Kinana, February 27, 2017. The text alludes to Koran 9:29: „Fight those who do not believe in Allah or in the Last Day and who do not consider unlawful what Allah and His Messenger have made unlawful and who do not adopt the religion of truth from those who were given the Scripture – [fight] until they give the jizya willingly while they are humbled.”
[10] Telegram.me/Wilayat Misr, February 25, 2017.
[11] Al-Sharq Al-Awsat (London), February 25, 2017.
[12] Al-Hayat (London), February 27, 2017.
[13] Masrawy.com; Al-Dustour (Egypt), February 25, 2017.
[14] Al-Sharq Al-Awsat (London), February 26, 2017.
[15] Aswatmasriya.com, February 24, 2017.
[16] Al-Watan (Egypt), February 25, 2017.
[17] Twitter.com/mounirabdelnour, February 23, 2017.
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