Coptic Activist: U.S. Needs to Stand for Freedom in Egypt

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News reports from Egypt focus on protests against the new Muslim Brotherhood-dominated government and other national political developments. But each week brings a new set of attacks on the country's Christian minority, attacks that often are overlooked by western media

Just this week, Muslims tried to block expansion of a Coptic church. And priests from another church reportedly were threatened with death if they didn't convert to Islam. The previous week, a Coptic church was set on fire after a neighbor complained about noise during prayer services.

The Investigative Project on Terrorism spoke with Ashraf Ramelah about the challenges facing Egypt's Coptic Christian population, which is estimated at about 10 percent of the country's 85 million people.

Ramelah, an Egyptian native, founded Voice of the Copts in 2007 to raise awareness of persecution against Christians and fight for "freedom of religion, cultural identity and women's rights."

Related Topics: , Ashraf Ramelah, Voice of the Copts, Muslim Brotherhood

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