Egypt: Christian arrested for offending Muslims, witch-hunt for 5 others
Last week, security agents arrested Gad Yusif Yunan, a 22-year-old Coptic Christian man who works as an English teacher in Nasriya village, Upper Egypt, on the charge of “contempt of religions.” He is accused of posting a 30-second video on his personal Facebook page that deals with Muslim prayers and is apparently insulting.
Once local Muslims discovered it, they informed security agents who who proceeded to arrest him in the late night. Security is also looking for five others believed to have been involved in the film.
The young Copt was reportedly held for four days pending investigations in his exact role in this 30-second-film.
Although Egypt’s “contempt of religions” law theoretically applies to all religions—theoretically means if a Muslim insults Christians or Christianity in Egypt, he too should be arrested—it is used almost exclusively to target Egypt’s Christian minorities.
Update: On Friday, April 10 — as usual, after Islam’s weekly communal prayers – Muslims in Nasriya village rose up in violence against Christian homes, hurling stones through their windows and even setting fire to them. This was done in “retaliation” to the offense Muslims received from the Coptic teacher who was arrested two days earlier.
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