Persecution of Christians in Egypt.Jerusalem -- A Christian group which helps Christians in countries where they are a minority and subject to persecution, has reported (CNSNEWS.com) on October 29 from Jerusalem that "at least 22 Egyptian Christians have been arrested over the last week, many of them converts to Christianity, in a crackdown on apostates and those who support them, ... in an attempt to force them to return to Islam." A spokesman for Barnabas Fund The Barnabas Fund is a Christian organisation that serves the suffering Church and makes their needs known to Christians around the world, encouraging them to pray. It provides practical help to strengthen and encourage the Church in many different ways. reports that other converts have gone into hiding. Often, converts to Christianity in Egypt Christianity is practiced by about 10-20% of Egypt's population. The vast majority of Christians in Egypt belong to the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria lead a double life. Outwardly they behave like classic Muslims, but secretly practise as Christians, unknown even to other Christians in the community. If these converts are discovered by the police, they are arrested, tortured, and forced to reveal the identities of other converts, and the names of those who assisted in their conversion to Christianity Conversion to Christianity is the religious conversion of a previously non-Christian person to some form of Christianity. The exact understanding of what it means to attain salvation varies somewhat among denominations. . According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Egyptian law Egyptian law Law that prevailed in Egypt from c. 3000 BC to c. 30 BC. No formal Egyptian code of law has been preserved, but legal documents (e.g., deeds and contracts) have survived. The pharaoh was the ultimate authority in the settlement of disputes. , it is illegal for Muslim converts to Christianity (or any Muslims) to change their names from a Muslim name, or marry non-Muslims. Under Islamic shari'a law, Saudia Arabia, Iran, and Sudan require the death penalty for leaving Islam; these same countries and other Gulf states inject millions of dollars into Egypt to strengthen the Islamic culture. |
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