U.S. Copts Association

On November 28, 2006, the Islamic State of Iraq released a communiqué, via various Islamist websites, in which it claimed responsibility for the November 27 downing of an American F-16 fighter jet approximately 20 miles northwest of Baghdad. According to the message, the operation, a joint effort of the mujahideen of the Islamic State of Iraq and members of Jaysh Al-Mujahideen, followed recent instructions from Abu ‘Omar Al-Baghdadi, the declared leader of the Islamic State in Iraq, to increase attacks on the “Crusaders’ combat forces [in Iraq] and especially… their airplanes and helicopters.”
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TURKEY. 28 Nov -1 Dec 2006. The trip, finally confirmed by the Vatican in Feb 06, was initially set for Nov 2005. No explanation was offered for the postponement, but it is thought to relate to continuing tension between the Vatican and Turkey. Before becoming pope, Benedict XVI publicly opposed Turkey’s membership of the mainly Christian bloc, and the late John Paul II also was vocal in his opposition. Relations between the Greek Orthodox Church and the Vatican are also strained.
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We are writing to ask for your urgent prayers and action for a Muslim background Christian, currently in prison in Egypt for no other reason than his faith.

After being held in detention for one year without charge under Egypt’s emergency laws, CSW has sadly learned that Mr Bahaa Ahmed Hussein Mohamed el-Akkad, aged 57, is still being kept by the State Security Intelligence Service (SSIS) in poor condition in the notorious Wadi el-Natroun Prison, even though a court ordered his release in July this year.
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Christian woman doused with container of burnt oil.

November 21 (Compass Direct News) - Buddhist militants attacked two church services in Sri Lanka on November 12 and hit Christian workers returning from a funeral. In the first church attack, a mob of some 100 people, including four Buddhist monks, pasted anti-Christian posters in the neighborhood of an Assembly of God church in Yakkala, Gampaha district, and blocked the road leading to the church. Four days later, as a young Christian woman arrived at the pastor’s house asking for prayer, a nearby man doused her with a container of burnt oil. In the second church attack, a mob of about 35 people - including 12 Buddhist monks and a local government official - walked into the Sunday service of the Mizpah Prayer Ministry in Nawalapitiya, Kandy district, demanding that the service cease immediately. “We were threatened that if we gathered together for worship again, the building would be flattened,” the local pastor said.

Christian woman doused with container of burnt oil.

November 21 (Compass Direct News) - Buddhist militants attacked two church services in Sri Lanka on November 12 and hit Christian workers returning from a funeral. In the first church attack, a mob of some 100 people, including four Buddhist monks, pasted anti-Christian posters in the neighborhood of an Assembly of God church in Yakkala, Gampaha district, and blocked the road leading to the church. Four days later, as a young Christian woman arrived at the pastor’s house asking for prayer, a nearby man doused her with a container of burnt oil. In the second church attack, a mob of about 35 people - including 12 Buddhist monks and a local government official - walked into the Sunday service of the Mizpah Prayer Ministry in Nawalapitiya, Kandy district, demanding that the service cease immediately. “We were threatened that if we gathered together for worship again, the building would be flattened,” the local pastor said.

Police in Cairo have detained a blogger whose posts have been critical of the Egyptian government. Rami Siyam, who blogs under the name of Ayyoub, was detained along with three friends after leaving the house of a fellow blogger late at night.

No reasons have been given for Mr Siyam’s detention. The other friends were released after being questioned.
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Washington DC Nov.15, 2006

Dear Copts and Friends,

I’m pleased to share with you news of Fox News Channel’s upcoming special report on religious freedom in Egypt, in which I had the pleasure of co-operating with Fox News producers and journalists during this past summer.

U.S. Copts has joined with international cable television giant the Fox News Channel to create a televised special report on human rights abuses against Copts in Egypt. The report, part of a new Fox News series on religious freedom in countries around the world, features exclusive interviews with Coptic victims, priests, and others inside Egypt.
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Christians flee Mosul to escape kidnappings and violence.

November 10 (Compass Direct News) - Unknown assailants bombed the entrance of a Catholic church in Mosul last week, destroying three sets of doors as well as windows in the church, monastery and guest house. The November 1 blast ripped through the windows of the monastery chapel where Dominican priests were holding evening prayer, but no one was harmed. The priests had returned to the church to celebrate mass on Sunday (October 29), after spending a week outside Mosul to avoid the city’s daily violence. “They were afraid of kidnapping but never thought that anything would happen to them if they were inside the church compound,” a source close to the priests commented. The Dominicans believe the attack was more than just a random act of violence.