
In Christmas Message, Egyptian President Vows to Restore All Coptic Churches
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi celebrated Christmas with Coptic Christians, issuing a speech in which he pledged to rebuild churches torn down by Islamists.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi celebrated Christmas with Coptic Christians, issuing a speech in which he pledged to rebuild churches torn down by Islamists.

During a speech marking the anniversary of Muhammad’s birth, Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi again made historic remarks speaking to Islamic scholars about the need for religious freedom and acceptance of all religions.

Growing confidence among Western intelligence agencies that a terrorist bomb brought down the Russian Metrojet airliner over Sinai on Oct. 31 is not being received well by some in Egypt, where tourism is a major part of the economy.

Russia and Egypt are disputing suggestions from American and British intelligence that a bomb, planted by ISIS or an affiliated group, brought down a Russian jetliner over the Sinai Peninsula.

The administration of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has announced a three-month extension to a state of emergency it imposed on parts of the northern Sinai Peninsula as the country’s military launches counterterrorism operations against jihadists in the region.

An anonymous hacking group attacked the website of the Egyptian presidency and took it offline for a short time on Thursday, according to a report at Al-Arabiya News.

The entire Egyptian cabinet suddenly resigned on Saturday, prompting President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi to instruct Petroleum Minister Sherif Ismail to form a new government by next week, with the departing ministers remaining as caretakers until then. No official reason has been given for the mass resignation, although naturally, theories have been floated.

(Reuters) Egypt’s agriculture minister resigned on Monday and was arrested on suspicion of corruption shortly after leaving the cabinet building.

The Egyptian Religious Endowments Ministry suspended Sheikh Mahmoud Maghazi after he allegedly said, “Prayer is better than Facebook,” during a traditional Islamic prayer. The original line says, “Prayer is better than sleep.”

Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi signed a tough new anti-terrorism law on Sunday, a package including special courts for terrorist offenses, stern penalties for those convicted, protections for military and police officers accused of using excessive force to suppress insurgencies, and even financial penalties for journalists who contradict official government accounts of terrorist attacks.

A former Egyptian army officer suspected of masterminding the assassination of a top Egyptian prosecutor has released a propaganda video calling for Islamists to declare holy war on President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, calling him a “new pharoah” who has overrun the mostly-Muslim country with “sorcerers” looking to change “our religion.”

On July 2, the Wall Street Journal carried an article by Shawki Allam, the Grand Mufti of Egypt, who claimed that “violent extremists” are distorting the true purpose of fatwas and thereby, the true meaning of Islam. He goes on to extoll the virtues of Muhammad’s many roles – calling him a divine inspiration, social reformer, military leader, statesman, and also a Mufti.

The July 1st attack in Egypt’s north Sinai has signaled a change in strategy from the previous attacks launched in the region, adopting a strategy used by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria forcused on taking and holding territory. Ansar Bait al-Maqdis, Egypt’s most active militant group in the Sinai, swore allegiance to ISIS in November 2014 becoming Sinai Province. The attempt to fly the ISIS flag in Sheikh Zuweid failed due to the Egyptian Armed Forces repelling the attack, killing over 250 terrorists with operations still continuing.

CAIRO, Egypt– Egypt experienced a wave of terrorist attacks last week with the assassination of prosecutor general Hisham Barakat in Cairo and the simultaneous attacks that killed 17 Egyptian soldiers in north Sinai. Egypt is on the forefront fighting the war against terrorism and the underlining message from the people here is that they are determined to defeat those who take innocent life and want to see justice done against the perpetrators of violence.

CAIRO, Egypt– The Egyptian military has killed over 241 militants since July, said Egyptian military spokesman Mohamed Samir in an official statement on Monday. The Egyptian military continued pounding terrorists in North Sinai, killing 29 on Sunday.

CAIRO, Egypt– Egyptian authorities have arrested 13 members of the Muslim Brotherhood on suspicion of planting bombs around the Suez Canal to disrupt shipping, security sources said on Monday. The security sources said the men formed a 13- member cell that included an employee of the Suez Canal Authority, according to the Jerusalem Post.

CAIRO, Egypt– Dressed in army fatigues with a tag name “President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi,” the Egyptian President visited North Sinai on Saturday, boosting Egyptian troops morale. It was a surprise and discreet visit by President Sisi, two days after Islamic State affiliate Sinai Province killed 17 Egyptian military members in simultaneous attacks at 5 military checkpoints in Northern Sinai.

Contents: Egypt’s military brings the Sinai ‘100 pct under control’ in 2nd day of fighting; Israeli general says that Hamas is supporting terrorist group in Sinai; ISIS attack on Hamas pushes Hamas and Egypt closer together; Possible panic in China’s stock markets

Contents: Egypt in a ‘state of war’ in northern Sinai; Israel approves Egypt’s military buildup in Sinai; Kuwait in ‘state of war’ with ISIS, will require nationwide DNA testing

CAIRO (AP) — The latest news on the nine Muslim Brotherhood leaders killed in a Cairo apartment raid (all times local).

EL-ARISH, Egypt (AP) — Islamic militants on Wednesday unleashed a wave of simultaneous attacks, including suicide car bombings, on Egyptian army checkpoints in the restive northern Sinai Peninsula, killing at least 50 soldiers, security and military officials said.

An explosion has killed Egyptian Prosecutor General Hisham Barakat and injured at least seven more people on Monday morning in Cairo.

Egypt asked the U.S. ambassador in Cairo to account for the Obama administration’s allowing Muslim Brotherhood officials to visit Washington for a private conference this week sponsored by the Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy (CSID).

Protesting is a dicey business in Egypt, which has been through three governing regimes in four years. The current regime passed a strict law to control street protests in 2013, but last January it was violated by a demonstration that was eventually dispersed by police, resulting in the death of protester Shaimaa Sabbagh.

Cairo (AFP) – An Egyptian court Wednesday jailed 69 Islamists for life for torching a church near Cairo in August 2013, as anger flared over a crackdown on supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi.