ICC Note:

Egypt’s Christians are preparing to celebrate Christmas this Sunday in a new cathedral, the Nativity of Christ located near Cairo. The church is now the largest in the Middle East, and Christians are worried that it could be targeted by ISIS militants. Last year was a brutal year for Egypt’s Christians, as ISIS indiscriminately killed both Christian adults and children. Memories of the past year, as well as a recent church attack just last week, have left many worried for their safety. Even so, they are determined to proceed with Christmas celebrations and to not live a life dictated by fear.  

01/05/2018 Egypt (USA Today) –   The biggest church in the Middle East opens Saturday, a landmark date in the 2,000-year-old history of Egypt’s Coptic Christians. It also could prove to be a huge target for Islamic State militants.

Egyptians leaders will dedicate the cathedral, called the Nativity of Christ, on Coptic Christmas in the new capital now under construction 28 miles east of Cairo. The cathedral will seat 8,200 worshipers who may be vulnerable to attacks from Muslim extremists.

A spate of attacks last year against Coptic Christians, which comprise around 10% of Egypt’s majority Muslim population, claimed more than 100 lives. Early last year, the Islamic State, or ISIS, said the community was among its “favorite prey.” As recently as Friday, eight Coptic Christians were gunned down in an attack at a Cairo church, and ISIS claimed responsibility.

Many Coptic Christians fear their future, said Ramy Kamil, 32, who runs the Christian Maspero Youth Foundation, which was created after the 2011 massacre of 27 Coptic activists protesting the demolition of a church in northern Egypt.

“From bombing to indiscriminate firing to direct targeting by extremists, there is a state of anxiety in the community,” Kamil said.

Poules Halim, a pastor and spokesman for the leader of the Coptic Orthodox Church, Pope Tawadros II, said the new cathedral shows how Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi is reaffirming the Coptic Christans’ standing in the country.

El-Sissi seized power in 2013 after the military he headed ousted President Mohammed Morsi, the country’s first democratically elected leader, and banned Morsi’s radical Muslim Brotherhood political organization. Morsi was imprisoned.

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