Egyptian Religious Ministry Bans
Interactions
With Evangelical Church
Myles Collier ("The Christian Post," April 15, 2013)
Sabri Ebada, undersecretary of the Ministry of Awqaf in
Gharbiya, said the ministry issued a written order to stop
dealing with the Evangelical Church in Egypt for reasons
that were not immediately revealed.
The Ministry of Awqaf's decision was signed by Sheikh
Mohamed Abdel Razik Abdel Hadi, the undersecretary for
mosques, and Dr. Abdu Ali Meklad, senior undersecretary of
the ministry. The decision prevents all departments across
the country from having dealings with the Evangelical Church
of Egypt.
According to Sada el-Balad's website, Ebada said the
written decision was issued by Dr. Meklad, deputy of the
Minister of Awqaf and head of religious affairs.
"This takes place in the context of what is called
'Brotherhooding' and 'Salafizing' of the ministry," added
Ebada, who pointed out that the Muslim Brotherhood
challenges their opponents with decisions issued by the head
of the religious affairs department of the Ministry of
Awqaf.
"Remarks by the spokesperson of the ministry are made to
media outlets without official review and are intended to
mislead public opinion," Ebada said in a statement.
Ebada noted that Awqaf's department in Gharbiya will
organize a protest in solidarity with the Evangelical Church
and demand disclosure of the reasons for the decision, which
he described as "strange."
For his part, Dr. Ikram Lamie, the spokesperson for the
Evangelical Church in Egypt, said he would immediately
contact the community leader, Dr. Safwat el-Bayadi, and his
deputy, Dr. Andrea Zaki, to discuss the ministry's reasons
for issuing such a resolution to its departments in
Gharbiya.
"The situation is a warning sign of a possible repeat of
what happened under former President Gamal Abdel Nasser when
he seized lands belonging to the Evangelical Church. Part of
these lands were recovered under President Anwar Sadat, and
the remainder were recovered under former President Hosni
Mubarak," Dr. Lamie added.
Dr. Lamie said that anything is a possibility after this
decision, and he did not rule out the possibility that the
decision is a precursor to seize lands that are held by the
Evangelical Church.
"No discord has recently occurred between the church and
the Ministry of Awqaf which would justify such a decision,"
noted Dr. Lamie, who said that the decision was made while
the community leader was in the U.S.
