Unit 1012 will always honor and
remember those Coptic Christians who died in the Nag Hammadi Massacre on
January 7, 2010. There was some justice served when one of the gunmen, Hamam el-Kamouny was executed by hanging on October 10, 2011.
As
a number of Comrades of Unit 1012, are born again Christians, we will be
commending two prayers from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer for the victims and
their loved ones:
A Prayer for All Conditions of Men:O God, the Creator and Preserver of all mankind, we humbly beseech thee for all sorts and conditions of men; that thou wouldest be pleased to make thy ways known unto them, thy saving health unto all nations. More especially we pray for thy holy Church universal; that it may be so guided and governed by thy good Spirit, that all who profess and call themselves Christians may be led into the way of truth, and hold the faith in unity of spirit, in the bond of peace, and in righteousness of life. Finally, we commend to thy fatherly goodness all those who are in any ways afflicted or distressed, in mind, body, or estate; [especially those for whom our prayers are desired]; that it may please thee to comfort and relieve them according to their several necessities, giving them patience under their sufferings, and a happy issue out of all their afflictions. And this we beg for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen.Burial of the Dead 1662:ALMIGHTY God, with whom do live the spirits of them that depart hence in the Lord, and with whom the souls of the faithful, after they are delivered from the burden of the flesh, are in joy and felicity: We give thee hearty thanks, for that it hath pleased thee to deliver this our brother out of the miseries of this sinful world; beseeching thee that it may please thee, of thy gracious goodness, shortly to accomplish the number of thine elect, and to hasten thy kingdom; that we, with all those that are departed in the true faith of thy holy Name, may have our perfect consummation and bliss, both in body and soul, in thy eternal and everlasting glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
INTERNET SOURCE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nag_Hammadi_massacre
Location
|
|
Date
|
7
January 2010
|
Target
|
|
Attack
type
|
Shooting
|
Deaths
|
9 in
the attack
2 in associated attacks |
Injured
(non-fatal)
|
11
|
Perpetrators
|
Muslim gunmen
|
The Nag Hammadi massacre was a
massacre of Coptic
Christians carried out on the eve of 7 January 2010, in the Egyptian city of
Nag Hammadi. The massacre occurred at the hands of Muslim gunmen in front of
the Nag Hammadi cathedral, as Coptic Christians were leaving the church after
celebrating the midnight Christmas mass according to the Coptic calendar. The
massacre resulted in the murder of eight Copts and one Muslim bystander. Nine
other Copts were confirmed to be wounded, and two Muslims were reportedly
wounded in the attack.
Following the attack, two other Coptic
Christian women were killed in nearby villages when Muslim mobs set their
houses on fire. Numerous Coptic businesses were looted and destroyed in the
accompanying attacks.
The Nag Hammadi massacre gained
widespread international attention, and was condemned by Pope Benedict XVI,
Lebanese MP Nadim Gemayel, Italian foreign minister Franco Frattini, and
Canadian foreign minister Lawrence Cannon. The attacks were one of the most
serious outbreaks of anti-Christian violence in Egypt, and the
worst since the murder of 21 Coptic Christians in Kosheh in January 2000.
Background
Coptic Christians form the largest
religious minority in the Middle East, and represent between 15% and 20% of a
population of over 80 million Egyptians though estimates vary (see Religion
in Egypt). The Coptic community has been targeted by hate crimes including
physical violence, and has been facing varying degrees of discriminatory
government policies like restrictions on building churches and a school
curriculum focused on Islam. Since the 1970s, the rise of Islamist movements in
Egypt was coupled with sectarian violence. Disputes over land and inter-faith
relationships have sometimes split communities along religious lines. Local
authorities' handling of such cases has been criticized by civil rights groups.
Police are accused of delaying their response to reports of fighting and then
simply arresting equal numbers of Muslims and Christians in order to create
some sort of balance. Sometimes criminal investigations are dropped in favor of
informal reconciliation meetings. Other forms of anti-Christian discrimination
in Egypt include discrimination in hiring in the public sector and staff
appointments to public universities, prohibition from studying at Al-Azhar
University (a publicly funded institution with approximately half a million
students), and barring from certain jobs such as Arabic language teachers.
Events
Bishop Kyrillos (Cyril), the Coptic
Orthodox bishop of Nag Hammadi, had warned the Egyptian police that there have
been threats in the days leading up to the Christmas Eve service. For this
reason, he decided to end his mass one hour earlier than normal. He told the
Associated Press that, for days, he had expected something to happen on
Christmas Eve. He said he left the church minutes before the attack, and had to
take the back door when a suspicious driving car swerved near him. Seconds
later he heard the mayhem, lots of machine-gun shots.
As the Christian worshipers were
leaving the Nag Hammadi Cathedral after the Christmas Eve service, a car pulled
up and gunfire was sprayed into the crowd. As a result, eight Copts, all aged
between 15 and 23, were killed. Six died immediately, while two more died the
following day because of severe injuries. In addition one Muslim bystander was
also killed in the attack. Nine other Copts were confirmed wounded, and two
Muslims were reportedly wounded in the attack.
In addition, two Coptic women died
when a Muslim mob set the houses of Christians on fire in nearby villages.
Hamam el-Kamouny
|
Aftermath
On 8 January 2010, three men were
arrested and charged with premeditated murder in association with the Nag
Hammadi massacre. The names of the three accused men were Mohamed Ahmed
Hassanein, more commonly known as Hamam el-Kamouny, Qurshi Abul Haggag and
Hendawi Sayyed. The trial opened on 13 February 2010. Despite initially
confessing to the police, they have pleaded not guilty to the charges of
premeditated murder, putting lives of citizens at risk, and damaging property.
The Supreme State Security Court adjourned the trial until 20 March 2010; since
then, the trial has been delayed repeatedly, twelve times. The accused men
appeared in court for the final verdict on 16 January 2011. The verdict was
carried out sentencing el-Kamouny the death penalty for the "premeditated
murder" of seven people, as well as the "attempted murder" of
the nine others who were wounded. The other two defendants are to appear in
court once more to receive their final verdict on 20 February 2011.
Motives
Egyptian officials suspected that the
shooting may have been "in revenge for the alleged rape of a 12-year-old
Muslim girl by a Christian man" in the nearby town of Farshout in
November, which at the time led to five days of riots and attacks on Christian
businesses and properties in Upper Egypt. A man was arrested and charged with
the alleged rape on 21 November 2009, and is due to stand trial., However, the
man continuously denied the allegations, and Christian sources believed he had
been framed.
Egyptian
reaction
Following the Nag Hammadi massacre and
the associated attacks, the Egyptian police raided the homes of Coptic
Christian families in Nag Hammadi on 10 January 2010, and arrested 22 young
Copts, most of whom were teenagers. These Copts were detained at the Nag
Hammadi police station for a few days, then transferred to jail in the isolated
New Valley Governorate. None of the arrested Copts was ever formally charged
with any crime.
It was not until two weeks after the
massacre that President Hosni Mubarak made his first remarks directly
condemning what happened. He stated that "The criminal act in Nag Hammadi
has made the hearts of Egyptians bleed, whether Copts or Muslims".
The Egyptian Initiative for Personal
Rights (EIPR) condemned the attack, stating that despite warnings by local
church authorities of possible violence during the Coptic holiday, police had
not bolstered security for Christmas.
On 9 January 2010, hundreds of people
in Cairo demonstrated, carrying placards condemning "the shocking silence
of the authorities" and stating "We are All Copts". On the same
day, Egyptian police arrested 20 people who demonstrated in the town of Bahgura
against the Nag Hammadi massacre.
On 15 January, 29 Egyptian human
rights activists, bloggers, and members of political parties visited Nag
Hammadi in order to show solidarity with the Coptic community against the
recent attacks on Coptic civilians. All 29 activists were arrested by Egyptian
police while on their way to pay their condolences to the families of the
Coptic Christians shot and killed one week earlier. The group included
prominent activists such as Wael Abbas, members of 6 April Youth Movement, and
members of the Democratic Front Party. The group included 8 women, one of whom
was a French citizen. The activists were detained and interrogated by the
prosecutor the Qena Governorate. A number of them was charged with
demonstrating illegally, chanting slogans against the state, and causing
disorder. Group members denied these allegations, stating that Egyptian police
arrested them when they arrived at the train station, and that the group had
not had time to engage in any activities.
International
reaction
The Nag Hammadi massacre gained
widespread international attention, and was condemned by Pope Benedict XVI,
Lebanese MP Nadim Gemayel, Italian foreign minister Franco Frattini, and
Canadian foreign minister Lawrence Cannon.
The actions of the Egyptian government
in the aftermath of the crime were also strongly condemned by Sarah Leah
Whitson, the Middle East director of Human Rights Watch. "The Egyptian
authorities should be focusing on the causes of the tragic shooting of six
Coptic Christians," she stated. "Instead, they're arresting activists
whose efforts to express their condolences is an important step toward healing
sectarian fractures."
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