Dr Ahmed Fathy Sorour has been Speaker of the People’s Assembly (PA)—the lower house of Egypt’s parliament—for some two decades today. Throughout this extended period he has succeeded in winning the general respect of Egyptians for what was seen as his objectivity and i...

  A major problem in Egypt is that the average Egyptian has an unfailing sense that official authorities have no better business but to lie in wait for any successful project or effort that the average Egyptian has achieved, ready to pounce and stamp it out at the first viable opportunity. And ...

 This is the sixth year in a row that I write, following the conclusion of the annual parliamentary round, to comment on the failure of the Parliament to pass the unified law for places of worship. The lack of such a law, as any casual observer can tell, has been behind countless incidents of v...

Over a series of four editorials printed last October, I tackled the practices exercised by Minya local authorities against the Copts in the governorate. A file I had received from the bishopric of Maghagha and Adawa in Minya was packed full of details that could be described as collective punishmen...

 Two weeks ago I wrote about the injustice commonly inflicted upon Egyptian women where inheritance is concerned. Even though the law allots a woman half the share her brother inherits, she more often than not ends up getting nothing at all of her due inheritance, especially when it involves la...

 Among the ugliest problems faced by Egyptian women and long placed on the hold is that of inheritance. No matter how modernised or aware our community has become, it still maintains archaic notions which allot females a trifle of the inheritance allotted to males—or none at all. Worse, t...

 Assiut University is among the oldest in Egypt. In a move to align itself with progressive concepts, the university has established a centre for research and studies on human rights. The centre, which is directly under the charge of the university president, aims at promoting academic research...

 يوسف سيدهم في بدايات عام 2006 ظهر الموقع الإلكتروني لجامعة أسيوط علي الإنترنت في خطوة بدت وكأنها مبادرة عصرية لمواكبة معايير التكنولوجيا العالمية وثورة الاتصال، وكان من المعلومات اللافتة للنظر التي تم بثها علي الموقع إحصائية رقمية تضم أعداد الطلبة وكوادر هيئات التدريس، لكن الغريب في الإحصائية...

Whenever an opportunity comes up to shed light on a positive incident, I hasten to seize it to inform the reader. Since our daily lives are more often than not dominated by negative incidents, I fear that I often end up conveying a bleak, despairing picture of matters on the ground. This, I fear, mi...

Some two months ago, MP Mustafa al-Fiqi made a declaration to the effect that the era of President Mubarak had seen no discrimination against Copts, with many of them reaching senior positions in various fields. Dr Fiqi categorically denied that Copts were deprived of holding specific positions. I r...

 Talks about the upcoming elections dominate the major part of local news. As in sports, a ‘warming up’ process is in session, in anticipation of the real game. Next month should see the mid-term elections of the Shura (Consultative) Council, the upper house of Egypt’s Parliam...

 I am not about to tackle court rulings or to criticise them. The judicial authority warrants all due respect and reverence; and there are legal, well established routes to follow if one is to question or contest a ruling. I am just about to comment on a few rulings which appear revolutionary i...

The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights’ recently-issued study on “Sectarian violence throughout two years” has been the subject of a thorough review which I presented to Watani readers in the last two editorials. I reviewed the various patterns of sectarian violence cited in t...

 “Sectarian violence throughout two years” is the title of an eminently significant and serious study published this month by the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR). The EIPR is an Egyptian NGO that monitors the situation of freedoms—especially religious freedoms&m...

نهاية فبراير الماضي عقد بمطرانية شبرا الخيمة مؤتمر للمواطنة برعاية أسقفها نيافة الأنبا مرقص، حضره المستشار عدلي حسين محافظ القليوبية والصديق الدكتور مصطفي الفقي بصفته رئيس لجنة العلاقات الخارجية بمجلس الشعب والصديق الدكتور ثروت باسيلي رجل الأعمال ووكيل المجلس الملي العام، بالإضافة إلي عدد من الشخصيا...

 أخشي‏ ‏ما‏ ‏أخشاه‏ ‏أن‏ ‏يجرفنا‏ ‏تيار‏ ‏الخطابة‏ ‏الرنانة‏ ‏الذي‏ ‏تعلو‏ ‏نبرته‏ ‏يوما‏ ‏بعد‏ ‏يوم‏ ‏بعيدا‏ ‏عن‏ ‏المسار‏ ‏العاقل‏ ‏الواجب‏ ‏...

 My worst fear is that, following the Christmas Eve crime against the Copts in Nag Hammadi, we would get carried away by the tone of chivalrous rhetoric growing shriller by the day. This is bound to throw us off the path we ought to take if we are ever to resolve the sectarian strife brought so...

Some two months ago I met in Cairo a group of Swiss media persons who were preparing a TV programme on Christianity in the Middle East. It was normal that our conversation would run on the theme of freedom of belief in Egypt, especially regarding the freedom to conduct religious rites and build chur...

يوسف سيدهم فكر التطرف والكراهية وعدم قبول الآخر يتسلل إلي مجتمعنا بخطوات حثيثة منظمة، ويصل إلي المواطن البسيط حيثما كان سواء في المواصلات العامة - وخاصة مترو الأنفاق- أو في سيارات الأجرة أو السيارات الخاصة...يجلس المواطن في عربة المترو أو تقف سيارته في إشارة مرور فيفاجأ بمن يقترب منه ويلقي إليه &la...

المتأمل‏ ‏للحلقات‏ ‏الأربع‏ ‏المنشورة‏ ‏في‏ ‏هذا‏ ‏المكان‏ ‏عبر‏ ‏الشهر‏ ‏الماضي‏ ‏تحت‏ ‏عنوان‏ ‏العقاب‏ ‏الجماعي‏ ‏للمواطنين‏=‏الاضطهادلن‏ ‏يجد‏ ‏صعوبة‏ ‏ف...

Among the worst and most painful of the Coptic grievances are those pertaining to the curtailment of their rights to adequate, legal places of worship. The scarcity of permits to build churches drives Copts to pray in places which were not licensed for prayer in the first place. Out of this fact ste...

يوسف سيدهم قنابل التعصب الديني لا تتوقف عن الانفجار في الساحة الوطنية، ووسط الدوي الذي تحدثه وما يتبعه من تصدع في البناء الوطني يقف الكثيرون متسائلين في حيرة وغضب: لماذا الآن؟...وما المصلحة في إثارة البلبلة واللغط بين الحين والآخر؟...وهل ذلك يخدم أهداف الوئام الوطني وتنوير العقول؟ تلك الأسئلة وغيره...

يوسف سيدهم يتواصل لقاؤنا مع قضية الأسبوع الماضي وهي: ما موقف الكنيسة من الهجمات الإعلامية التي تتعرض لها؟ فبعد انفتاحها علي المجتمع وتطورها من مجرد مؤسسة دينية شبه مغلقة إلي مؤسسة وطنية فاعلة علي جميع الأصعدة، أصبحت الكنيسة قبلة الإعلام بمختلف تياراته وتوجهاته،وانفتحت شهية الإعلام لتغطية نشاطها ت...

Last week I wrote the details of Watani’s four-year-long struggle to obtain a permit from the Supreme Press Council (SPC) to issue a monthly version of Watani in Braille for the benefit of the visually impaired. A review of the correspondence between the SPC and Watani Printing and Publishing ...

في‏ ‏احتفالات‏ ‏عيد‏ ‏القيامة‏ ‏المجيد‏ ‏وجه‏ ‏الرئيس‏ ‏حسني‏ ‏مبارك‏ ‏كلمة‏ ‏لأقباط‏ ‏مصر‏ ‏في‏ ‏الخارج‏ ‏أكد‏ ‏فيها‏ ‏أن‏ ‏أحدا‏ ‏لا‏ ‏يستطيع‏...

In an Easter message to expatriate Copts, President Hosny Mubarak stressed that no-one can harm the unity of Egypt’s Muslims and Copts, both of whom constitute the common, tight-knit texture of the Egyptian community. Every member in that community, Mubarak said, enjoys full citizenship rights...

مفارقة‏ ‏مؤسفة‏ ‏حدثت‏ ‏في‏ ‏لجنة‏ ‏المقترحات‏ ‏والشكاوي‏ ‏بمجلس‏ ‏الشعب‏ ‏منذ‏ ‏نحو‏ ‏أسبوعين‏,‏عندما‏ ‏بادرت‏ ‏النائبة‏ ‏الدكتورة‏ ‏ابتسام‏ ‏حبيب‏ ‏بالتقد...

Two weeks ago saw an inauspicious incident within Parliament’s Proposals and Complaints Committee. A bill proposed by MP Ibtisam Habib to legalise unofficial marriage (urfi) contracts in order to protect young women from situations where they are entitled to no legal rights as wives or mothers...

دق‏ ‏جرس‏ ‏التليفون‏ ‏وأتاني‏ ‏صوته‏ ‏منزعجا‏...‏إنه‏ ‏الدكتور‏ ‏بطرس‏ ‏غالي‏ ‏رئيس‏ ‏المجلس‏ ‏القومي‏ ‏لحقوق‏ ‏الإنسان‏,‏اتصل‏ ‏مستنكرا‏ ‏ما‏ ‏نشرتهوطنيفي&...

I answered my phone last Sunday to hear the disconcerted voice of Boutros Boutros-Ghali, head of the National Council for Human Rights (NCHR), complaining that Watani had that morning carried a false news item on page 5. The headline said “Sectarian events in Bemha, Ayaat: Muslim villagers bur...

قبل‏ ‏أن‏ ‏أواصل‏ ‏عرض‏ ‏آراء‏ ‏البرلمانيين‏ ‏حول‏ ‏القانون‏ ‏الموحد‏ ‏لبناء‏ ‏دور‏ ‏العبادة‏,‏أعود‏ ‏إلي‏ ‏مناقشة‏ ‏وجهة‏ ‏نظر‏ ‏الأستاذ‏ ‏ماهر‏ ‏ا...

In the course of Watani’s campaign to rally support for the bill of the unified law of building places of worship the only opinion that went against the bill was that of Maher al-Darbi, head of the parliamentary Local Administration committee. Mr Darbi’s opinion was that the bill, if rai...

Realities governing the erection of buildings which house social services offered by churches, whether these buildings happen to be adjacent to or remote from the mother church, are no different than those governing the building of churches. As such, the security stranglehold imposed on the building...

الواقع‏ ‏الحاكم‏ ‏لتشريعات‏ ‏بناء‏ ‏الكنائس‏ ‏هو‏ ‏ذاته‏ ‏الحاكم‏ ‏لبناء‏ ‏مباني‏ ‏الخدمات‏ ‏التابعة‏ ‏للكنائس‏ ‏أو‏ ‏للإيبارشيات‏,‏سواء‏ ‏كانت‏ ‏تلك‏ ‏المب...

The bill for a unified law for building places of worship is still waiting idly to be placed on Parliament’s agenda once the parliamentary recess is over. At least this is what we hopefully expect.  The bill has been doubly disregarded, by the government and by Parliament. It was first...

بقلم‏-‏يوسف‏ ‏سيدهم‏ القانون‏ ‏الموحد‏ ‏لبناء‏ ‏دور‏ ‏العبادة‏ -‏والذي‏ ‏اشتهر‏ ‏باسم القانون‏ ‏المسكوت‏ ‏عنه‏-‏مازال‏ ‏يرقد‏ ‏في‏ ‏انتظار‏ ‏العرض‏ ‏علي...

بقلم‏-‏يوسف‏ ‏سيدهم‏: ليس‏ ‏غريبا‏ ‏أن‏ ‏تنفجر‏ ‏المشاكل‏ ‏طالما‏ ‏تركت‏ ‏تتراكم‏ ‏وتستفحل‏ ‏لمدة‏ 25‏سنة‏.‏الآن‏ ‏انفجرت‏ ‏مشكلة‏ ‏دير‏ ‏العذراء‏ ‏...

It is not surprising that problems left to intensify and aggravate over some 25 years should finally blow up. Throughout the last ten years I repeatedly wrote about the problem concerning the land East of Deir al-Adra (The Convent of the Holy Virgin) in Gabal Assiut or Assiut Mountain, which was des...

22 June 2008 It is almost a year today since I wrote lamenting Parliament’s apparent indifference towards passing a unified law for building places of worship. Back then, it had been three years since a bill was presented to Parliament but was never placed on its agenda; today it is four y...

بقلم‏ - ‏يوسف‏ ‏سيدهم منذ‏ ‏عام‏ ‏مضي‏ ‏وبتاريخ‏ 2007/6/24 ‏وفي‏ ‏الحلقة‏ ‏رقم‏ (163) ‏من‏ ‏القراءة‏ ‏في‏ ‏ملف‏ ‏الأمور‏ ‏المسكوت‏ ‏عنها‏ ‏تناولت‏ ‏قضية‏ ...

The criminal assault against Abu-Fana monastery in Mallawi, Minya, on 31 May was only the most recent episode in a series of attacks against the monastery. Faced with predominant official indifference, hostile actions against Coptic monasteries have become increasingly frequent. In this respect, off...

الأحداث الإجرامية التى تعرض لها دير أبوفانا بمركز ملوى - محافظة المنيا - تعد حلقة أخرى فى سلسلة الاعتداءات الآثمة التى يتعرض لها الدير بين الحين والآخر والتى باتت متكررة على الأديرة القبطية بلا رادع حقيقى من جانب السلطة للمعتدين الخارجين على القانون... تتضارب تصريحات المسئولين بشكل يدعو للرثاء، فما ...

الآثار‏ ‏المصرية‏ ‏قبطية‏ ‏كانت‏ ‏أو‏ ‏إسلامية‏,‏فرعونية‏ ‏أو‏ ‏إغريقية‏ ‏رومانية‏,‏فاطمية‏ ‏أو‏ ‏مملوكية‏,‏هي‏ ‏بلا‏ ‏جدال‏ ‏جزء‏ ‏من‏ ‏تاريخ‏ ‏مصر...

11 May 2008 Antiquities whether Pharaonic, Greco-Roman, Coptic or Islamic, are all part of Egypt’s heritage; they belong to the entire nation, no portion of them may be especially favoured nor may another be discarded. If any portion is threatened, the nation one and all should rush to the...

قال‏ ‏الرئيس‏ ‏مبارك‏ ‏في‏ ‏حديثه‏ ‏لصحيفة‏ ‏روسية‏ ‏غداة‏ ‏زيارته‏ ‏لجمهورية‏ ‏روسيا‏ ‏الاتحادية‏ ‏الأسبوع‏ ‏الماضي‏:...‏الديموقراطية‏ ‏علي‏ ‏النموذج‏ ‏الغربي‏...

Watani, 3/30/2008 In an interview with a Russian newspaper on the eve of his visit to Russia, President Mubarak said: “Western-style democracy is not de facto universally applicable regardless of time and place; each society has its own brand of democratic experience consistent with its own s...

بقلم‏-‏يوسف‏ ‏سيدهم‏:‏ من‏ ‏المفهوم‏ ‏أن‏ ‏ينشغل‏ ‏المجتمع‏ ‏بقضايا‏ ‏شائكة‏ ‏لم‏ ‏تحسم‏ ‏بعد‏ ‏في‏ ‏مجالات‏ ‏الحريات‏ ‏والحقوق‏ ‏والمساواة‏,‏ومن&rl...

It is understandable that thorny, controversial questions concerning liberties, rights, and equality should dominate public attention and result in heated debate. But that they should spill over into the educational system, however, is nothing short of playing with fire. It exposes our children to d...

منذ‏ ‏نحو‏ ‏أسبوعين‏ ‏أصدرت‏ ‏المحكمة‏ ‏الإدارية‏ ‏العليا‏ ‏حكمها‏ ‏في‏ ‏قضية‏ ‏العائدين‏ ‏إلي‏ ‏المسيحية‏ ‏وهم‏ ‏المواطنون‏ ‏الذين‏ ‏ولدوا‏ ‏مسيحيين‏ ‏وفي&...

Two weeks ago the Supreme Administrative Court issued a ruling allowing Christian-born converts to Islam who revert to their original Christianity to be officially registered as Christian. The ruling gives them the right to be cited as Christians in ID cards, but with explicit mention that the holde...