Why do the Copts support Gamal?

Gregg Carlstrom | August 17, 2009 5:10 PM | 0 | recommend (0) |   |      

Earlier this month we puzzled over why Pope Shenouda III, the head of the Coptic church in Egypt, issued a public statement in support of Gamal Mubarak's candidacy for president.

Cameel Haleem, the president of the Coptic Assembly of America, offered some thoughts on this after today's Egyptian coalition press conference. He said Copts are afraid that the Muslim Brotherhood is the only alternative to Gamal.

The Coptic people, as you know, they're going for Gamal Mubarak, and this is because of what the Muslim Brothers have done over the last 20 years.

Mubarak put himself on one side, he put the brothers on the other... the Muslim Brothers have fell into the trick. They went with this radical thinking... this very strict... people in Egypt didn't want that. So they're going for Gamal Mubarak.

Haleem said Copts felt backed "into a corner" and asked, rhetorically, who they were supposed to support.

For updates throughout the day, follow us on Twitter, Facebook or RSS!

Categories: Egypt, Politics, Regional News, Religion

Tags: Cameel Haleem, Coptic Assembly of America, Coptic Christianity, Gamal Mubarak, Pope Shenouda III

No Comments

Post a Comment

Arsons near Nag Hammadi injure six Egyptians

Reuters reports that Muslims and Copts have set fire to each others' stores and homes in the villages surrounding Nag Hammadi. The fires injured six people, and police have questioned more than 40 in connection with the arsons.

An early endorsement for Gamal!

Pope Shenouda III, the head of the Coptic church, has endorsed Gamal Mubarak for Egypt's next president -- even though Gamal is not officially running for office yet.

B'Tselem: Settlements occupy 42 percent of West Bank

Ben-Eliezer makes "secret trip" to Turkey: Israeli TV

CENTCOM talking sense on Hamas and Hizballah

Al-Akhbar: Our weekly brief

Peace Processing

Talking about direct talks: Netanyahu returns to the White House

Gregg Carlstrom | July 6, 2010 4:00 AM | 0 | recommend (0)
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivering a statement in Jerusalem on July 1, 2010. (Photo: AFP)
US president Barack Obama will use a White House meeting with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to push for an extended West Bank settlement freeze. If Netanyahu doesn't offer one - and the domestic politics are quite difficult for him - it's hard to see any possibility of direct talks with the Palestinian Authority later this year.

The Afghan Surge

Obama's southern strategy

Gregg Carlstrom | June 24, 2010 6:09 AM | 1 | recommend (0)
Gen. David Petraeus testifying on Capitol Hill. (Photo: Reuters)
The president's decision to nominate Gen. David Petraeus as the commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan won't mean a major change in strategy. But there are mounting reasons for pessimism about current policy, particularly the relentless focus on southern Afghanistan. The deployment of tens of thousands of additional troops to Kandahar and Helmand serves few NATO objectives.

Freedom Flotilla Killings

Anticlimax: How much did the flotilla raid really change regional politics?

Gregg Carlstrom | June 17, 2010 7:35 AM | 4 | recommend (2)
A demonstration in London against the Israeli attack on the Gaza-bound flotilla. (Photo: AFP)
It has accelerated Israel's isolation from several of its neighbors and allies; it has sharpened divisions within Turkish domestic politics; it has deepened perceptions that the Obama administration as too close to Israel. And it seems to have had a remarkably minor impact on Palestinian domestic politics.

Bloggers

The "MSM"