EGYPT: President Mubarak sued in disappearance of priest's wife

Three lawyers have filed a lawsuit against President Hosni Mubarak, holding him indirectly responsible for the disappearance of a priest's wife following her alleged conversion from Christianity to Islam.

Kamelia Shehata Zakher, wife of priest Thaddeus Samaan Rizk of Mowas Priory church in Minya, 152 miles south of Cairo, disappeared for five days last month before security authorities found and returned her to her husband.

Zakher has been out of sight since then, and the lawyers are claiming that she is being locked up in an unknown monastery by Coptic authorities, who aim to "force her back into Christianity."

According to solicitors Nezar Ghorab, Gamal Tag and Tarek Abubakr, the patriarch of the Coptic Orthodox church, Pope Shenouda III, issued an "illegal and a negative administrative decision to detain Zakher in a Coptic monastery on July 24 because of her conversion to Islam."

Since Mubarak is the only person entitled to appoint or dismiss the Coptic pope, the lawyers argue the president is fully responsible for Shenouda's decisions. The Egyptian constitution obliges President Mubarak to issue a decree canceling the Coptic pope's "negative decision," the lawyers say.

The complicated case underscores continuing tensions between the country's Muslim majority and Christian minority. The lawyers describe Shenouda's supposed act as sectarian and a threat to Egyptian unity. 

Egyptian media reported that Zakher converted to Islam over a year ago, and that she decided to desert her husband and move to Cairo, where the 25-year-old would publicly announce her conversion at the famous Al Azhar mosque with the help of a cleric in July.

Azhar officials said that Zakher did not seek out their help. The Coptic Church has declined to comment publicly on the thorny issue.

On Saturday after evening prayers, hundreds of Muslims held a peaceful protest outside a mosque in downtown Cairo, where they carried banners and shouted slogans demanding that Coptic officials reveal Zakher's whereabouts and calling on Al Azhar's top cleric to weigh in on the topic.

The Arabian Network for Human Rights described Zakher's case as a forced disappearance.

Conversions from Christianity to Islam and vice versa in Egypt create critical situations that often lead to sectarian clashes between Copts, who form at least 10% of Egypt's population of 80 million people, and the country's Muslim majority.

Despite Saturday's demonstration and another sit-in organized by Copts in Minya during Zakher's first disappearance, no violence has erupted as a result of the case so far.

-- Amro Hassan in Cairo

Photo: Pope Shenouda III. Credit: Reuters

Comments

[Heba]

I would just like to reiterate how one sided this post is. Mr. Hassan, next time look at both perspectives before you write a blog post like this.

[Hany G.]

@Mohamed I hope you got a chance to watch Camilia on video last night? she said she is Christian and never ever converted to Islam or even thought of converting to Islam, it is all rumors spread by people like yourself and the editor of this article Mr. Amro Hassan. I hope you focus on fixing the issues with Islam that make people fabricate lies and spread rumors that would lead to more oppression of the Copts in Egypt by Muslims.

[Hany G.]

@Mohammad Why don't you make an official report to the police in Egypt claiming Kamilia was Kidnapped, killed, ... whatever what you are claiming....

Egyptian government doesn't recognize any convert from Islam to Christianity, if there are any case please let me know?
On the other hand there are many cases of Muslims converting to Christianity and living in limbo now (Can't have an ID)... like Mohamed Higazi, Maher and his daughter (the girl sent a letter to Obama begging for religious freedom)and thousands more. Wake up buddy.

[Mohammad]

For those who have commented , in Egypt right now there is no punishment for converting from or to Islam , and Muslims don't enforce a law that is not in the state law , else or there everyone knows what does a martial law does
about the case of Kamelia , the only problems we Muslims have here is :
Kamelia is thought to be a convert Muslim
then , the church has taken her back and declared in a well-known video that she has been brainwashed by the Muslims (as they claim) , and they(The church) are working on washing the brainwashing (go figure)
when they were accused by the Muslims to show us if she is safe and willing to stay with the coptics , no answer
they refused to show us how is she and will not show us how is she even in a video.
If they don't show us if she is alive , then YOU PEOPLE HAVE TO STOP CLAIMING YOU ARE OPPRESSED IN EGYPT because the oppressed ones are the revert sisters.

[Hany G.]

This article is not objective and I think Mr. Amro Hassan is influenced by his Islamic background. The Article is clearly one sided implying foul play by the Coptic pope. The article failed to mention noone made an official complain to the attorney general of Egypt accusing the Coptic pope or Coptic church of foul play. Simply because all what they have are false rumors no evidence. These rumors and people who cheer for it (Like Mr. Amro Hassan) fuel the hate against the Christian minority of Egypt, which leads in turn to massacres like the one happened on Christmas eve in Naga Hamadi - Egypt. Massacres against Christians in Egypt are not rumors, they are facts.

[ORDONY]

@Michael so even when the CHRISTIANS treat a woman as her husband personal property..and imprisons her for converting to Islam
it is the MUSLIMS who get your attention for a negative comment.pure HYPOCRISY

[Michael]

Gotta love Islam - it's considered apostasy to convert from Islam to any other religion. But apparently not the opposite.