During a recent conference, Dr. Sherif Doss, an Egyptian activist, confirmed the extent of the widespread attacks on Egypt’s Christians at the hands of the Muslim Brotherhood and their supporters—including “at least 80 churches that were torched and/or destroyed”—and highlighted the often overlooked but ongoing human suffering of the Copts: “But worst of all, about 140 families were evicted from their own homes; and worse still is that, not only were they thrown out of their houses, but their shops and properties were robbed and destroyed… General Sisi has promised to rebuild the churches and this takes time to be done. But we can’t wait all that time for those people destitute and in the streets, with no place to live and nowhere to work…. These people are in a very bad condition. If you go and see these villages, you will be amazed—it is as if a nuclear bomb exploded there. People burned and plundered their homes without mercy.”
The complete translation follows:
Really, we had a very black history over the past two months, after the revolution of June 30 that led some unnamed Egyptians to storm as barbarians, like Hulagu [reference to Mideast’s quintessential barbarian, the 13th century Mongolian warlord]: they entered villages, towns and small ranches; they burnt and stole all that was there. Some organizations started to calculate the damages, and I have the list here if anyone wants to read it.
We are talking about at least 80 churches that were torched and/or destroyed, and 40 institutions that belong to the church [orphanages, libraries, small hospitals] were also plundered and burnt down. But worst of all, about 140 families were evicted from their own homes; and worse still is that, not only were they thrown out of their houses, but their shops and properties were robbed and destroyed.
The purpose of this meeting is to find a way to help those people who have nowhere to live and those whose homes were stolen. General Sisi has promised to rebuild the churches and this takes time to be done. But we can’t wait all that time for those people destitute and in the streets, with no place to live and nowhere to work. This requires the cooperation of all associations, institutions, and organizations, which should all do their part…
We need to help these people before rebuilding churches or restoring buildings. These people are in a very bad way. If you go and see these villages, you will be amazed—it is as if a nuclear bomb exploded there. People [i.e., Muslim Brotherhood supporters] burned and plundered their homes without mercy.
