O! Pope Shunoda: Say the Truth.

Pope Shunoda is the Pope of the Coptic Orthodox church.

[This is a translation, with some editing for grammar, of an article that appeared in the September 2006 issue of El Tareek, Egypt's only Christian newspaper. It reveals the plight of Egyptian Christian families whose daughters have disappeared, and are presumed kidnapped by Muslim men.]

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After some of the families - who lost their daughters - had lost their patience, they gathered at the Cathedral of Abassya several weeks ago. They met bishop Youanas, the secretary of the Pope, who told them that Pope Shunoda couldn't meet them because of his unhealthy circumstances but he promised them that their problems would be solved in two days. They left the place on that basis, but the promise hadn't been fulfilled. Therefore, they gathered again during the weekly lecture of the Pope at the Cathedral and after finishing it, they began to shout, repeating many slogans such as:

"O! Pope Shunoda, say the truth: Will our daughters return back or not?" "We're staying here until you say that our daughters will come back, and It isn't a national unity, but it is a denominational sedition."

The latest case: Mona Yacoub Kriakas

She is 23 years old, a teacher from an Upper Egyptian family in Fayoum. She had disappeared a few days before her wedding. She was going to be married during the first week of September 2006. Mr. Mohsen Shukry, Mona's lawyer, declared to El Arabia Net that Anton Azeez, the bishop of the Catholic Church, which she belongs to, wanted to meet with the girl but he couldn't.

Mona's uncle and her cousin sent a complaint to the president of Egypt. It says: Please, help us from to be free of this persecution and injustice, because our niece has been kidnapped on 17/8/2006. I reported this case to the police under report No: 9895, for 2006. "We accused Khaled Taha" said her uncle. The security surprised us by bringing the accused person to the police station and beginning an investigation, as this was unusual. Then, they brought him before the General court, which gave a strange sentence, and granted the accused person the right to go back home from the police station only after signing an agreement that he must report in whenever he is wanted. It was a sentence that isn't in line with either custom, or traditional Egyptian law. The strangest thing was that Khaled got out a copy of a marital contract dated on 29thJune, 2006. We don't trust in that contract, but the carelessness of the security and the General court is clear from the following points is apparent in the following ways:

1) They investigated the accused person inside the police station, and not before the General court, because it is a kidnapping crime. The general court didn't do anything, but instead, recommended to ask Mona to drop this case [something the court is not supposed to do], although she is a victim.

2) The investigator, in the police station, followed a wrong way to prove it isn't a kidnapping crime, because the law says the General court must judge it. [Not the police.]

3) Since Aug. 17, 2006 and up until now, the decree of the General court hasn't been executed. This decree recommended that the victim be brought before the court and asked about the validity of the accused person's claims.

4) All the evidence the General court used to give its ruling -- both the copy of a marital contract, and the claims of innocence by the accused - is wrong, because the General court didn't prove that the contract is legal, and it didn't investigate the credibility of the accused person's testimony. The General Court set free the accused person from the police station, solely on the validity of his claims. This is wrong and illegal in such cases.

5) What is even more strange, and proves the carelessness of the legal authorities and the General court in their investigations, is information circulating that the victim, Mona, is engaged, and had obtained a contract from her church dated April 4, 2006, and her engagement contract hasn't been broken yet. She was going to be married on Sept. 7, 2006. She was kidnapped while she was going shopping in preparation for her wedding. The General court relied upon the copy of the marital contract, which is unlawful and rejected by the Azhar. [Al -Azhar is regarded as a Sunni Muslim authority.] The girl's family also rejects it, so the General court must have considered that this contract is forged, and the accused person must be put under the arrest. The accused person should have been held in custody until the General court gives a final sentence.

6) The accused person suffers from financial trouble, and he committed this crime to get money from Mona's family, and this will lead to much trouble between the two families. All the residents in Fayoum know the financial troubles of the accused person.

7) Since the decree of the General court on August, 17, 2006, up until now, the legal authorities have claimed that the kidnapped girl lives with the accused person, but all these legal authorities refused to arrange a meeting between the girl and her family, or the religious leaders, although they promised the bishop of Fayoum to do that. This proves that the girl has been put under physical and psychological stress, if she is even still alive.

8) The family of the victim sent a lot of telegrams, but they were sent in vain.

9) So, we ask your help to proceed to take the necessary steps to save our country from much trouble, according to what is said by our beloved president Moubark, who says that all citizens are the same before the law and Egypt is for all the Egyptians.

Is the absence of the Christian young girls disappearance, or is it kidnapping?

I know it is a controversial, difficult and sensitive case. I know that we'll not satisfy all parties. Some parties see it as a well arranged process for kidnapping girls done by known assailants and special societies that are supported by foreigners. It is alleged that one of the countries in the Gulf is the supporter for this process. There's a message on the Internet that is the alleged confession of a man who claims he caused a lot of girls to convert to Islam. He declared that some special societies and organizations motivated and supported him. The people who have this opinion claim tens of cases that confirm their viewpoint. Others insist that it isn't kidnapping, but the motivation of the girls is to escape from their families, and there are a lot of romances that occur between Christian girls and Moslem young men. This means that the motivation is for emotional reasons. The people who have this opinion have many famous cases to point to, especially the story of Marian and Kristen, who appeared on a T.V. program wearing the veil, and confessed that they became Moslems willingly.

Those who have the first opinion say this happened after the two girls were subjected to much stress, and that the girls were exposed to brainwashing. What are the facts? Who are the beneficiaries? Why are all these things happening? Let's review these cases and try to comprehend the researchers' opinions, so that we may reach the correct conclusions.

A letter to president Moubark

We send this family's cry to the Majesty of the president Moubark, asking him to help us as a family. The father's name is Raifit Agayby.

He said: "I live at 32,Omar Ibn Elkhatab St. behind Sayed Darweesh's Hall in El Haram. I reported that my daughter, Marian Raifit, who is a student at the High Institution for Secretariat and management in El Malek El Saleh, was kidnapped on Nov. 12, 2005. Since then, I have been looking for her. I followed all legal proceedings, but it was in vain, although the person who kidnapped her is known and his name's Mohammed Nabil Ali Labib. His address is 9 Mohammed Enait St, El Sayeda Zeinab.

"The legal authorities couldn't arrest him, as if he were from another country (though he isn't). So what motivated us to write you was that on Wednesday July 12, 2006, the accused person phoned us, and let us hear our daughter's voice. He told them that she had become a Moslem, and he threatened to kill them if they continued to look for her. He sent us a message through his mobile phone, and we still have it. He didn't change his own mobile, and his number is 0123401715. We mentioned that number in all official reports.

"Is it too difficult for authorities to locate him through his mobile number, which I mentioned? Don't you see in this treatment a kind of carelessness and injustice?"

Sent by: Raifit Agayby.
Mob.No: 010462360

Citizens' Opinion

According to a questionnaire on the Internet, 60 percent of the respondents agreed that the Christian girls are at risk of being kidnapped through a secret organization that aims to Islamize the Christian girls, while 18 percent say that some girls became Moslem willingly, but others were exposed to kidnapping. Seventeen percent say that the Christian girls disappeared because there are some cases of these girls having emotional relationships with Moslem young men. Five percent of the partakers in this questionnaire said they did not know the reasons behind the disappearance of the Christian girls.

There were 1100 people who responded to this questionnaire, which was conducted through the electronic site of WATANI newspaper until the evening of August 21st. The respondents represented different classes of the Egyptian society. This questionnaire helps us to discover important facts that must be highlighted, if we are serious about finding solutions to these problems.

Some specific cases of missing Christian girls

Some resources mentioned that there is no accurate statistics in Egypt for the missing girls, so we list some names of cases that we could verify. Family members of some of these cases sent us e-mails through our web site, others were mentioned by Sut El Uma newspaper, and some have been recorded by the Egyptian Human Rights center

1) Sarah Sobhy Waheeb, disappeared on 9th July 2006. She hasn't come back yet.

2) Nour Gaber Ayad, 18, finished high school, then disappeared on 25th November 2005. Her brother reported that she loved a Moslem young man, who was working in a restaurant. Her brother accused this young man of kidnapping her, because this man was a member of one of the Islamic groups. and he had been previously detained by the authorities for this reason.

3) Marian Ghattas, a student at the faculty of law in Fayoum, disappeared on Nov. 2, 2005. Her brother, Emad Ghattas, accused a police officer, employed with in the security forces in Qena, of kidnapping her. Her brother is sure that the Ministry of Interior is protecting the officer, who took advantage of his position as a police officer, to keep Marian in hiding.

4) Mary Saed Mahfouz Shunoda, finished her bachelor degree in computer science, then disappeared on June 25, 2006. Her family is sure that she went out with a girlfriend for a walk in Shubra, but she didn't come back. Her family went to the police station and reported her disappearance, asking the police for help, but it was in vain.

5) Eva Toma Fahmy, 26 years old. Her family is sure that she left her family's home in Beny Suif to visit her sister, who is married to a priest's son. She did not come back to her home. They looked for her everywhere, including police stations and hospitals, but found nothing. One of their neighbors told them that she phoned him, telling him that she left her family willingly, and declared her conversion to Islam. Her family accused a Moslem young man, who works at the post office, of kidnapping her.

6) Dena Samy Yousif, from Alexandria. She is a 20-year-old student at the Faculty of Arts, English department, and disappeared on June 10, 2005. Her mother reported her absence, and one of Dena's friends told her that there was a relationship between Dena and a Moslem young man, who is her classmate at the faculty. So, the mother accused this young man of kidnapping her daughter.

7) Rania Fayz Botros, whose family is sure that she disappeared on Nov. 18, 2005. They said that they went to the building of Republic Presidency, asking president Moubark to give his orders to the Interior Minister to locate and return their daughter to them, as what happened in the case of Marian and Kristen.

8) Marian Raifit Agayby, a student at the High Institution for Secretariat and Management. She disappeared on Nov. 12, 2005. Her family accused a Moslem young man of kidnapping her, forcing her to marry him and to convert to Islam.

9) Aida Lewies Faheim finished her commercial school in Mattay, El Minia Governorate. The family reported to the Mattay police station that she disappeared in 2005. The number of her report is 2550. They accused a Moslem young man, called Awad Habeeb Ali, from Belkas, Kalyoubia Governorate, of kidnapping her.

10) Wafaa Mazion Abd El Meseeh Hanna, 17 years old. The report number is 2528 for the year 2005, Belkas.

11) Kristen Maher Ghalion, 14 years old. She lives in El Sahel in Shubra.

12) Nadia Samuel Atteya, Shubra El Khema, a student in the second year at Faculty of Pharmacy. Her report number is 305, for the year 2005, second police station, Shubra El Khema.

13) Marian Isaac Yousif, who disappeared on Oct. 16, 2005. Report number 8055, for the year 2005.
All these names are just a sample of the many Christian girls who have disappeared.

Asking for help

I'm a father and have two daughters. The oldest is 23 years old, while the other is 18 years old. Both of them work in the departmental center of Miser Airlines. One day they left work early to buy some things, because we were travelling to a sea resort, but they haven't returned back yet. I went to the priest to tell him, but he prevented us from writing a report in the police station. After feeling disappointment, we filed report number 2995 in the police station on July 27, 2006. The next day, the younger sister phoned us at home, crying in terror "Help us Dad!" After that, we didn't hear any word. We wrote down the telephone number where she called us from, and went to the police station. We wrote a report, after that we went to Vodafone Company. There we knew that this number belongs to a Moslem young man who lives at 9 EL Luxor St. from Sayed Darweesh St, EL Zawia EL Hamra. His name is Abd El Wahaab Mustafa Abd El Hameed.

Then, I remembered that this person works in the same cafeteria where my daughters work, and four years ago he came, and told me that he wanted to marry my daughter. I refused him and told him "you're Moslem and we're Christian." I thought that the matter was over. When I knew that he kidnapped my two daughters, I tried to meet him, but he escaped from me. He hasn't gone to his work yet (because I work there). I went to the police station again, but no one helped us. They haven't arrested the accused person yet. We reported to the state security through the Pope and the bishop Armeia. They sent for me, but they didn't take any steps toward our problem. So, I have sent many telegrams to the president Moubark, Lady Suzan Moubark, the Interior Minister and the Justice Minister, but it has been in vain. We're drowning, and none can help us. My name is Yousif Zaky Soliman, staying at 12, Mohammed Barakat St,Ezzbet El Nakhel. Report No 2995, year 2006, at the El Khosous department.

Sarah Sobhy

She disappeared on Sunday, July 9th, 2006. She is 20 years old and a student in her first year of the Faculty of Engineering in El Sherouk Academy.

Her mother, whose name is Evon Sedky, works in the Health province in Ismalya, says that Sarah told her one day that she was going to attend the mass on Sunday and didn't come back. The mother hurried to the priest, who told her that he didn't See Sarah on that day. The mother tried to call her on her mobile phone, but it was unavailable. On the second day the daughter sent a message to her friend telling her that she changed her mobile number and her name became Sarah Mukhtar. This means that she is in danger and needs help.

The mother accused Ahmed Yousry, Sarah's friend in her faculty, of causing Sarah's disappearance, and she reported it the police. Her report was number 59193, year 2006.

The mother said that Sarah was close to Ahmed, and she used to tell him everything about herself and her life. Also, she used to ask for his advice. She was so taken by this man, that she broke off her engagement, after he persuaded her to leave her fiance. The mother mentioned that Sarah's father immigrated to England in 1998, because his sister had disappeared in the same way. He tried to take Sarah and her mother with him, but they refused, saying that they preferred to stay in Egypt.

A message To the Interior Minister
Sir general: Habeeb Al Adly, Interior Minister:

I wrote you this message asking for your help on behalf of our young daughter Kristena Saed Yousif, 16 years old, whose father and mother are dead. I'm in charge of her. She was kidnapped five days ago. We went to the police station in Mahala, and the State Security, but it was in vain. They promised that they would find and return her to us, but they didn't take any real steps. Instead, they took this step with the intent to delay helping her, and to give her more time to be pressured to convert to Islam. She is still a child, and she doesn't understand things. We gave the police information about the person accused of her kidnapping, but it was in vain. Sir Minister, I hope that the Egyptian police treat me as an Egyptian citizen, and not as a Christian. Do the police forces wait until there will be a denominational sedition? The police and State Security know that Al Mahala is the factory that produces terrorists and terrorism. So I ask for your help to keep the national unity, because there are hidden hands try to corrupt the reputation of Egypt. God help you to protect Egypt, our beloved mother.

Sent by:
Name: Yousif Asad Yousif.
Address: 26 El Zarka St. Ezzbet Khedr, El Mahala El - Kobra, El Gharbeyia governorate.
On; 28/ 8/ 2006.
Tele. No: 040/ 20405358.
Identity Card No. 1617459.

The Case of disappearances

Pastor Refat Fekry Saied Said: "Concerning this case, I can summarize my personal opinion through some points as following:

1) Generalizing contradicts the scientific and logical ways of thinking, so it is wrong for us to fall in the trap of incorrectly generalizing. We can't say that all Christian girls who disappeared fell in love with Moslem young men, and, therefore, declared their Islam willingly. Also, we can't say that all of them were kidnapped and forced to declare to convert to Islam.

2) We can't deny that there are some love stories among Christian girls and Moslem young men. These stories may end with either compulsory marriage, from the girl's side because of pregnancy as a result of an illegal relationship, or in an acceptable marriage from the two parties. But, this leads us to ask a question: Why don't we hear about Moslem girls falling in love with Christian young men? Does the Moslem girl have a different nature from the Christian girl?

3) In order not to bury our heads in the sand, we must say there are some extremists who use different ways using either intimidation or terror to force the Christian girls to become Moslem. The story may end with their disappearance and marriage.

4) I don't reject a genuine embracing of Islam by any Christian girl, but after studying and understanding Islam deeply, and after believing in it myself, I don't accept that any Christian girl's declaration of conversion to Islam occurs just because she is in love with a Moslem. So, I ask that the Moslem girls be given permission to change their religion at any time they like, without being threatened or even killed, if she has undertook a deep study of Christianity.

5) It is forbidden to force anyone to change his religion while he is still a child before attaining an age where he reaches the age of understanding and can give his free consent.

6) Freedom to believe is a human right, so any one has the right to believe in what he sees is right. Anyone must have the right to change his religion without threat to his life, freedom or his security, whether he is a Moslem or a Christian. We shouldn't put ourselves in the place of God, and judge others, because only God judges all mankind.

Between Supporters and rejecters

Author Esam Naseem said that he doesn't know how long this endless series of kidnapping Christian girls will continue. When the girl is kidnapped, her family is left not knowing what has really happened to their daughter. She may later appear, pregnant or married, or she may not appear again, as is what happened to Neveen from Alexandria. The question here is this: How long will this scenario continue? How long will the Coptic be treated in this disgraceful way, either by corrupted persons or security?

The same issue continues today as yesterday, without any justifications. If the girl went willingly, why doesn't she appear and say the truth, without feeling unsafe? Instead, it appears these girls are in danger, because when the girl disappears, we ask the police station and security, but they don't give us any answer. This answer proves that the police and security are involved in this case, because they are in charge of providing protection for all people without differentiating between a Moslem and a Christian. All that we see now is the opposite of that. We see the police and security helping the kidnappers to hide the girls, and assisting them in misleading the families by supplying them with incorrect information that means the cases are not resolved.

The journalist, Hany Danial said: If it is true that the girls embrace Islam willingly, the only legitimate evidence that will confirm this would be the appearance of the girl, herself, to explain what happened to her. The girl's appearance and testimony is crucial in order to really know what happened to the girl and if she was under duress or not. This will alleviate the concerns of the girl's family, so that they can be reassured that she left willingly, and not by force. When law enforcement is slow in producing the girl, although they know where she is, this is considered a cover for the crime. We must judge the person who is in charge, and insist that justice be served and the law upheld. If authorities claim that the security agencies are refusing to find and produce the girl, in order to protect her life because she insists upon embracing Islam, and she became Moslem willingly, this cannot be acceptable, unless we hold a meeting with the girl and confirm this is true. Her family, and clergy from different religions of the two parties, should attend this meeting. She can attend before the two organizations, or at any place far away from the security apparatuses, so that her family and clergy may know the girl's intention. This means that law enforcement authorities must offer evidence that their aim is to quiet down potential religious conflicts in the society, and not the opposite. They should show that they are helping to solve problems such as these in a friendly way, and are taking steps that prove their good intention. Thus, the authorities will prove their innocence. But, continuing in this way makes people very angry, and the problem will just increase. The Coptic will insist on law enforcement fairly upholding the law. The Coptic people will want to know if there are any organized groups executing these kidnapping processes or not.

According to Nahdet Misr newspaper, Hany Labeeb has a special vision for these cases and he mentioned a part of it in his book, ÒCitizenship and Globalization - The People in a Changing Society. He believes that the cases of kidnapping Christian girls is really about the issue of trying to make a balance in Egyptian society: turning Christian girls into Moslems is a response to Moslems who have converted to Christianity. There is no proof that there are any groups supporting the process of Islamizing or Christianizing people, but these cases have been done in individual ways. Additionally, Labeeb said that the greatest motivating factor is the "emotion" which moves anyone to embrace another religion and the second motivating factor is the financial side.

Egyptian researcher Kamal Zakher Mousa sees that issue is larger than it should be and, this issue reappears in certain times, so we need a committee for discussing facts, in order to put this issue in its proper place. He confirms that the issue of religious affiliation in Egypt is still very much connected with family honor, and this is what makes the issue both complex and of a critical nature, in the relationships between Moslems and Christians. So this problem needs not only political treatment, but also a religious one. This requires establishing a kind of religious and doctrinal freedom, including the right to embrace any religion, and also the right to expose underlying cultural and social details. We must put an end to the process of competition between the two religions, because it isn't a war between two teams. We also should stop the religious disturbance, which reveals a lack of piety. Our fathers didn't speak about religion, but they practiced it. Now all people speak about religion without living it.

Mr. Mustafa Bakry says that what is required in these controversial cases is executing the law, which grants citizens freedom of belief and personal freedom. It keeps the values, traditions and customs of our society and thus keeps our national unity. The best example, in my opinion, is the case of Kristen and Marian, who faced a lot of stress to return back to their family, although they embraced Islam willingly and without compulsion.

El Tareek asked Mr. Hosny Danial (a lawyer) who said: "The church and the family are responsible for the girls' disappearance, but the family is the most responsible, because the girl who says that she loves a Moslem young man is essentially saying that she didn't find love in her mother or father, so she looked for it outside her home. The church has also lost its role, and became too busy doing other things, demonstrating that it is far from its people and their circumstances. It is interested in practicing only its rites without searching for people who lost their way. The church's role is to restore the lost, cure the wounded, and meet the needs of the needy. The society also isn't free from sharing in the responsibility. The Egyptian society is full of social problems: lost love among its citizens, ignorance, seeking personal benefits instead of public benefits, persecution of the minority by the majority, and control of the citizens by using force. All these things are used by those have bad intentions in order to declare their special law by force. This law appears in the form of terrorism and kidnapping. This is different from what has agreed to among the children of Egypt, who have one constitution that ordains equal treatment of her citizens.

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