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| Africa North |
| Egypt minister pelted with stones as cleric accuses Pope of meddling |
| 2011-01-04 |
| [The Nation (Nairobi)] Angry Christian demonstrators pelted an Egyptian minister with stones yesterday, as fears rose of sectarian unrest after a bombing at a church that killed 21 people. Hundreds of Coptic Christians gathered inside the gates of Cairo's St Mark's Cathedral where the Coptic pope, Shenouda III, has his headquarters and heckled officials who came to pay condolences. Demonstrators chased the state minister for economic development, Osman Mohammed Osman, to his car and pelted him with stones after he met Shenouda, while others clashed with police standing outside the gates. A police official said at least 40 coppers suffered light wounds when the protesters pelted them with stones. More than a thousand protesters broke through the gates and spilled into nearby streets, stopping cars, banging on their hoods and pelting them with stones. Meanwhile, ...back at the ranch... Egypt's top Mohammedan holy man yesterday criticised Pope Benedict XVI's call for world leaders to defend Christians as interference in his country's affairs, the official MENA news agency reported. The call, following the deadly car-bombing targeting a Coptic church in Alexandria northern Egypt, was "unacceptable interference in Egypt's affairs," Ahmed al-Tayeb, the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, the oldest Islamic seat of learning, told news hounds. "I disagree with the pope's view, and I ask why did the pope not call for the protection of Mohammedans when they were subjected to killings in Iraq?" he said at a news conference. The Vatican immediately rejected the accusation, saying the head of the Roman Catholic Church had shown solidarity with the Coptic community as well as concern for the consequences of the violence for the Christian and Mohammedan population. "Therefore we cannot see how the pope's approach to bring everybody to accept non-violence can be considered meddling," ANSA news agency quoted Vatican front man Federico Lombardi as saying. Meanwhile, ...back at the other ranch... Egypt was on high alert today ahead of the Coptic Christmas holiday following the church bombing. Police cancelled leave for senior officers and were tightening surveillance of airports and ports to prevent suspects from leaving the country, as new checkpoints were set up across the nation. Security was also to be beefed up at churches for Christmas which Copts celebrate on January 7, security officials said. Latest reports say an Al-Qaeda website had identified in December the church in Alexandria, Egypt, which was bombed as being among Coptic places designated as targets. Al-Qiddissin (The Saints) church, where 21 people were killed and 79 maimed in Saturday's bombing, was on a list posted by the Al-Qaeda-linked Shumukh al-Islam website of 50 Coptic churches across Egypt. Coptic churches in several European countries, including La Belle France, Germany and Britain, also figured on the list which was posted on December 2. A message announcing "bomb attacks against churches during Christmas... when they will be most crowded" was posted alongside the list of would-be targets. "Get up and give up sleep," said the message. "This is an important notice on bomb attacks against churches during Christmas," it said. It urged "every Mohammedan who cares about the honour of his sisters to bomb these churches during Christmas celebrations, when they will be most crowded." |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #11 "You need to stay after class." If it has to stay after class, You can keep me after class some other day. I do have standards, ya' know. |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2011-01-04 22:50 |
| #10 #7 Well history has always shown that through society behavior will modify over time that is not to say that it will be for the good it may well in fact be a curse let that curse be its own self-destruction of that nation , but for us to introduce this process would be purely stupid and until that day comes where that one nation in one voice screams death to America and actually take measures to make that happen Jeebus. I'm not an English-Instruction Schoolmarm™, nor am I stoned, but that was corporally punishable in english class for general run-on and intelligibility. You need to stay after class... |
| Posted by: Frank G 2011-01-04 21:17 |
| #9 Sorry. That's as you say. PIMF!! |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2011-01-04 21:10 |
| #8 where that one nation in one voice screams death to America and actually take measures to make that happen . The problem is that nowadays it doesn't take the entire nation speaking in one voice. There was the Times Square bomber, the Christmas bomber, the gentlemen from Chicago who helped coordinate the Mumbai massacre, the recent suicide bomber in Copenhagen... If we could wall them off to, ask you say, "let them roll around in their own sh*t", we could even be content to let them continue murdering their own minority religions. But they insist on exporting it to us, and their government just formally sold two of their nuclear bombs to Saudi Arabia. So, much as we would like to, we can't leave them to destroy themselves, since enough of them have been working to destroy us -- with covert help from portions of their government -- before they succeed with themselves. Play4Keeps, you need to present a workable solution that does not involve Old Patriot's suggestion. We've been wrestling with the problem here at Rantburg for years. Now it's your turn. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2011-01-04 21:08 |
| #7 Well history has always shown that through society behavior will modify over time that is not to say that it will be for the good it may well in fact be a curse let that curse be its own self-destruction of that nation , but for us to introduce this process would be purely stupid and until that day comes where that one nation in one voice screams death to America and actually take measures to make that happen . Only then will a swift and fierce response will be excepted and what has helped us, get through out our craziest behavior roles Throughout history the United States its own people of course saved it and that's what we stand for the people. So basically let them roll around in their own sh*t we don't have to be around to smell it and when they step in it. Oh well |
| Posted by: Play4Keeps 2011-01-04 20:47 |
| #6 Play4Keeps, how would you get these people to modify their behavior? Take your pick: either the governments of Muslim countries successfully preventing Muslim radicals from murdering and harassing those of other faiths, or the radicals choosing peaceful (if annoying) proselytizing over their current violent methods to achieve conversion. Old Patriot has proposed a method that would work, however unpleasantly. You don't like his method, but the problem cannot remain unresolved. So how would you solve it? |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2011-01-04 19:31 |
| #5 Dude, this is not texting. Please use correct English (unless you're Joe or Muck4doo). They've been granted exemptions. |
| Posted by: whitecollar redneck 2011-01-04 19:16 |
| #4 I think you are confusing Jesus with God. One of the two didn't mind throwing a hammer around...or are you talking about that moon guy allen who seems to think the world belongs to him? Lot of men upstairs so to speak. Except for one religion quite a few women with names as well. |
| Posted by: swksvolFF 2011-01-04 17:54 |
| #3 #2  Nuking a few Islamist "holy cities" such as Qom would put a lot of this sh$$ to rest for good. Since I don't have a nuke stockpile, all I can do is ask the Man Upstairs for a nice super-hard ice comet - say 300M in diameter - to hit the same target, at about 120,000KM/H. Posted by: Old Patriot  2011-01-04 16:10  WoW If u feel that way go do something about it by yourself Don't wanna hear what u did in the past bs U don't own the planet nor will your god be so willing to fulfill Such hate or is god the devil u believe in ? |
| Posted by: Play4Keeps 2011-01-04 16:57 |
| #2 Nuking a few Islamist "holy cities" such as Qom would put a lot of this sh$$ to rest for good. Since I don't have a nuke stockpile, all I can do is ask the Man Upstairs for a nice super-hard ice comet - say 300M in diameter - to hit the same target, at about 120,000KM/H. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2011-01-04 16:10 |
| #1 I made the suggestion on another forum to a group of Catholics that it is past time for the Vatican to set up a volunteer militia, privately funded, that would go around the world to provide temporary security to Catholic civilians being menaced by a hostile local population. The idea being that, while these were military men, they would teach the oppressed how to *protect* themselves, so that they didn't need to *defend* themselves. Likewise, they would bring a comprehensive package of everything from litigation, national and international lobbying, etc. Even fundamentalist Muslim mullahs hate to be sued and dragged into protracted litigation. Under the diplomatic auspices of the Vatican, the idea would be that local authorities couldn't as easily mess with them, etc., while the expense to the Vatican would be minimal. They seemed to think it was a smashing idea. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2011-01-04 08:32 |