Merry Christmas Again and Again :)

I love how we got two Christmases in Egypt :)
Merry Christmas to all Orthodox Christians especially Egyptian Orthodox Christians that saw a lot last year. God knows all Egyptians from North to South , from East to West saw a lot.
Anyhow to celebrate Christmas this year I would like share this amazing mix of classical music , Islamic inshad, Egyptian Coptic hymns and Christian hymns from Mozart in Egypt 2 album. 
It is called "Al Maghfera" - The Pardon. The one who sings the Islamic part is late Sheikh Mohamed El Helbawy who was one of the most famous Monshadeen in Egypt.
This amazing piece of art makes me cry from its beauty.

Again Merry Christmas everybody

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Merry Christmas 2013

Merry Christmas for everybody celebrating it in Egypt and outside Egypt. There is nothing better than Banksy’s Christmas card this year. It says a lot. It says all.

Well we are having one of those sad Charlie Brown Christmases if you know what I mean in Egypt.Somehow I feel this painting represents the revolution that is barred from freedom , democracy and above all life

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Constitution 2013 Edition : Let’s get over this shit quickly ya People !!

The controversies of the draft constitution do not want to end. The latest controversy is what Dr. Mohamed Abu El Ghar , the member of the Constitution committee and leader of the Egyptian Social Democratic Party said on TV last Monday about the last minute change in the constitution preamble without the approval of the committee.
Here is the video in Arabic .

In that interview with Rania Badawy on Al Tahrir TV channel , Abu El Ghar says that the text regarding the civility of the state was changed in the preamble with informing the committee after it finalized its work.
The committee voted on a final draft containing the word "civilian rule" in the preamble, while the version submitted by the committee to the interim president on 3 December replaced the phrase with "civilian government." Yes the original text till last minute was “Egypt’s civilian rule ” but it changed suddenly in the final session to “Egypt’s civilian government”.
In the interview Abu El Ghar accused the deep state of changing the text in order to please the Salafists and to ensure that they would vote in the referendum in the favor of the constitution. He also said only Amr Moussa and very few members in the committee knew about this deal and this last minute change in the preamble.
He also hinted out that the army played a role in this last minute change in the dinner they invited the members of the constitution committee to.
In end the leader of the SDP is telling the people that they wanted just to get over with that shit “regardless of being shit” so the Muslim Brotherhood would not gloat !!
Of course all the members of the Constitution committee are denying that there were pressures from any party or institution aka the army to alter anything. Amr Salah , the youth so-called representative in the committee posted on his Facebook page that Dr. Abu El Ghar was lying.
Poor Dr. Abu El Ghar now is saying that he was misunderstood.
And people like Abu El Ghar are considered liberal elite in Egypt !!!
A follow tweep told me today that the problem of Abu El Ghar and old politicians like him that they gambled with our future and our kids’ future . It is true but still we can do something about this future.
To be honest the Salafists are not the only group in town that are supporting that change in the preamble. The military join the Salafists in being the biggest winner when it comes to the “civilian government” if I understand correctly Ahram Online’s report about the whole matter.

Constitutional expert Rafaat Fouda, head of the public law department at Cairo University, believes there is a major difference between the two formulations.
Civilian rule, he said, would prohibit having a military man or man of religion as president, would prevent any kind of political activities with military or religious tones, and would outlaw applying military provisions to civilians -- including military trials for civilians, a measure permitted in the draft constitution. The term "civilian government" would make all of the above scenarios legally possible, according to Fouda.
"The term 'civilian government' is useless because the cabinet does not rule (alone)," Fouda told Ahram Online. The Arabic word for government is often used to refer to the cabinet.
Ruling power is divided between the president and the parliament... this term allows military men or clerics in the presidency or in parliament."

Still the “Civilian government” contradicts with the fact the minister of defense in the Draft Constitution should be a military.

The "civilian government" expression, Fouda argued, does not allow any military personnel or religious clerics in the cabinet. Paradoxically, another article in the constitution states that the defence minister has to be chosen from among the ranks of the military.

Back to Dr. Abu El Ghar’s revelation , well I hate to tell you that any lawyer can use this interview to nullify the referendum by claiming that there was last time unapproved change in the preamble.
This is just an example of the things I do not approve in the constitution. I am not angry or surprised but I am astonished at how much passive Dr. Abu El Ghar is. Nations’ constitutions are not drafted according to theory “Let’s get over this shit ya people” nor they are approved so the opposition parties and groups won’t gloat.
And here I remember Dr. ElBaradei’s words “This is not how nations are managed”
The Constitution referendum will be held next 14 and 15 January in Egypt. Egyptians abroad will vote in the referendum earlier on 8 January 2014. Up till now the  parliamentary electoral systems have been determined yet.It is left to the presidency to choose it.

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And this is how You mix religion with politics my dear

It was a fact that Constitution 2012 edition was enforcing the engagement of Religion in the state.Another fact the Muslim Brotherhood and their allies from Islamists including Nour party then used religion to promote for that constitution just
Myth says that 30 June uprising/revolution/wave/protests was/were against the Muslim Brotherhood and against the use of religion in politics and here I say it is a myth because I see the current ruling regime and its supporters shamelessly use religion in promoting for the Constitution 2013 edition.
Just yesterday Sheikh Ali Goma’a , our former Mufti said that those who would go to vote in the constitution referendum were supported by God !! He also added that we should all mobilize and say yes in order to astonish the world !!

New Old Nour Party's Constitution ad !!

He also added that the Constitution 2013 edition was against corruption and was against atheism !!!!!!! Yes against atheism so believers who want to fight that wave of atheism should vote for the constitution !!
Tell me what is the difference between Ali Goma’a and all the other MB sheikhs that said similar stuff about Constitution 2012 edition and the Constitution 1971 edition amendments referendum !? Of course this is not the first time Goma’a mix religion with politics , he has not stopped since July 26.
Even Nour Party is repeating the same old ads it used in 2012 claiming that Constitution 2013 in order to keep the Islamic identity and reference of the State. Its founder and famous Salafist preacher Yasser El Borhamy says that Constitution 2013 edition is better than Constitution 2012 edition !! 
Anyhow I hate to break the news to all of you , nobody for real knows what God thinks of this constitution or whether the Almighty is standing with this group or that group. Do not use the Lord in your useless endless disgusting earthly power fights.
And I remember Sheikh Emad Effet May Allah bless his soul and wonder why we are stuck in this world with sheikhs like El Borhmay , Goma’a and of course the MB’s religious band of Sheikhs !! The Lord only knows !! 
We hoped that after June 30 that mix of religion with politics to be stopped but we were naive as it seems. 

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Pharaoh's Dreams and Visions

Four scenes from Ancient Egypt to 21st century Egypt

Ancient Egypt – Middle Age

Arthur Reginald's Jospeh interpeting the pharoah's dream

The Pharaoh “Whom we do not know who he was” bring prisoner Joseph from prison , he was renowned to have a special gift : To interpret dreams. The pharaoh brought him from prison to interpret two dreams : He dreamt of seven lean cows which rose out of the river and devoured seven fat cows; and, of seven withered ears of grain which devoured seven fat ears. Prophet Joseph interpreted them as foretelling that seven years of abundance would be followed by seven years of famine, and advised Pharaoh to store surplus grain during the years of abundance.
The dreams came true and the pharaoh followed Joseph’s advice saving Egypt from hunger. It paid off and Joseph was released after years in an Egyptian jail unfairly.He became the vizier of Egypt and the rest you know in Torah, Bible and Quran very well. 

Middle ages Syria

A young slave in Damascus told famous Sheikh El Ezz Ibn Abdel Salam that he saw prophet Mohamed “PBUH” himself in a vision telling him that he would head to Egypt and would rule it. The Young slave was not an ordinary Slave boy  in the Middle ages as legends and middle age historians also say that he was the unfortunate heir of Shah Muhammed II of Khwarezm captured by the Mongols and sold in Damascus.
The young slave was then sold to Prince Ezz El Din Aybak , the famous Mamluk prince where he became a Prince and his first aide in Egypt. Sooner the dream came true and the slave boy whose name was then Seif El Din Qutuz , the Mamluk Prince became the third Mamluk Sultan of  Egypt.
Qutuz did rule Egypt and conquered the Mongul armies in an epic battle that would inspire generations and generations. He only ruled Egypt for one year before he was killed by other Mamluks above them Baibars who would rule Egypt for 30 years.

Egypt- In the first half of the 20th century

Jehan El Sadat reveals that after marrying Mohamed Anwar El Sadat shortly a fortune teller or rather a palmist told her while walking by the Nile in one of the evening with her husband that she would be the Queen of Egypt. Both Jehan and Anwar laughed then but in 1971 the palmist seemed be telling the truth. Jehan El Sadat was the first lady off Egypt , she was the uncrowned Queen of Egypt.
Still in 1981 President Sadat was assassinated by Islamists with ambitions to rule. Mrs. El Sadat mentioned this in her memories I do not know where she first mentioned though.

Egypt – In the second half of the 20th century

From 35 years ago an officer in the Egyptian army called Abdel Fatah El Sisi had a very interesting series of dreams or rather visions where he was raising a sword, on which was written “No God but God” in red then  in another one he was wearing an OMEGA watch with a Green Star and When he was asked by the people about why he would have this watch,he answered that that watch was named for him “ it’s an Omega, and I’m Abdel Fattah” !!!!

General El Sisi ( Armed forces spox FB)

Of course things get darker in other dreams which he considered visions. In one vision he was told someone “he did not mention” that he  was told I would be given what nobody else had been given !!
In the final vision he revealed that He was with Sadat, and the late President assassinated by Islamists told him he  knew that he would be the president and allegedly El Sisi told him “I also know that I’m going to be the president”….!!!!
That was mentioned in another alleged audio leak from General Abdel Fatah El Sisi’s interview with Yasser Rizk of Al Masry Al Youm. Those leaks do not want to finish and up till now there was no confirmation or denial about its authenticity either.  So far it is regarded to be authentic and it is making rounds now in social media as well foreign media. I saw the last leak about the general’s  featured in none other than Times of Israel.
Of course for those people who still use their minds in the right way in Egypt are extremely alarmed that the commander of the Egyptian army “He used to head military intelligence” believes in dreams and so on not to mention that he rules Egypt now regardless of the ambitions about become Egypt’s president. “He mentioned it in his dreams”
Those who read and studied Sigmund Freud’s work  are saying that the General had long time ambition to rule Egypt. Those who read and believe in the work of Ibn Sirin are trying to interpret the dreams of Egypt’s true ruler now. Of course there were no OMEGA watches in time of Ibn Sirin !!
Some people who do not read Freud or have got the Ibn Sirin’s ultimate guide to interpret dreams believe the visions of the generals are not good , after we got a President assassinated by Islamists and a sword with the words of Tawheed in red just like blood.
We had enough of rulers who God speaks to them not to mention that we were the first nation the world to have a ruler that descends from the Gods themselves. It is more than alarming and scary when it comes to think about the future of both the Egyptian army and the future of Egypt. Many people hope it is fake including revolutionary activists I know.
El Sisi cultists and supporters who are no different than the Muslim Brotherhood supporters and members from their blind faith in their icons that reaches to dangerous cultist devotion say that that was divine sign that that was the man to rule Egypt for eternity.
The Pro-Military supporters including those claiming to be officers online are claiming that that alleged dream is associated with Sufism and its symbolisms..etc. Already I can not forget they were marketing the man as a Sufi last year.
My humble knowledge about Sufism , the true Sufis do not seek any worldly materialistic position for real , they do not want their heart full of the love of God to be full of the greed of the world and politics. This is what I know about Sufism.
Of course for traditional Salafists not Jihadist Salafists  , the man has to be obeyed either way according to their doctrines as the land and men are following his orders by the will of God. For God sake the traditional Salafists and their Sheikhs like Yasser El Borhamy are the best friends for regimes especially police regimes. The Sword with the words that No God but God in red could be sign for them.
Ironically those guys used to mock on how the Pro-MB Islamists used to claim that they saw visions and dreams of Prophet Mohamed,Omar and archangel Gabriel used allegedly support Mohamed Morsi !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It is easy to govern and control people who believe in dreams , visions , omens I am afraid !!
                                                   ----------------------------------------
I have a dream

Martin Luther King JR.

August 28, 1964

Lincoln Memorial , Washington D. C

Well I have my dream too , it is a vision not for me as sort savior queen but rather a vision of my Egypt.  I dream of Egypt that has got a true Constitution that builds a true strong civilian secular nation that does not differentiate between its citizens regardless of their color , race , religion or gender. I dream of a constitution that gives people rights and regard them as humans.
I dream of a ministry of interior that is restructured to serve the people for real , that protects the people for real and respects their rights as well the law for real. I dream of a true parliament that represents the people of Egypt real. I dream of true hearing sessions in the parliament.
I dream that ministers from defense to transportation worry from the hearing sessions in the parliament. I dream of officials that worry from accountability , I dream of official that are truly dedicated to their work and want to be remembered in some positive way.
I dream that no civilian stand a military trial nor there is a difference between civilian or military in the first place when it comes to respect and recognition in the country.
I dream of a proper modern education in public schools and public universities. I dream of true scientific research in Egypt. I dream of true eco-industrial and agriculture booming in Egypt. I dream of clean streets and beaches.
I dream that we expand in solar energy especially in rural areas so villages have electricity. I dream of true urban development. I dream of true decentralization in the governorates. I dream of true local councils where the people themselves govern and monitor the government’s action.
I dream of a foreign ministry that truly got a vision for Egypt as true leading independent developing country in Africa and Arab world.
Dream Dream Dream all what I do is dream !! I have too many dreams as you can see. I  know dreams are free. They are one of the ways to escape bitter realities.
I dream and I know that realistically my dream will not come true any time sooner , may be before I will be in my 60s when I see or may I do not and even die before happens. All what I sure that this land was ruled with generals and priests for thousands of years will see the general’s dream come true as it always has done with men like him regardless of the consequences.

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#EgyConstitution :The draft is not Final yet

Today we found the Egyptian Constitution committee’s official twitter account announcing that the new draft Constitution 2013 is available online. People began to gear up to read and inspect that draft Constitution but then came Mohamed Salmawy , the official spokesperson of the committee to tell us that the draft

It is true , it is not the final draft because they are still last minute talks with everybody to ensure that the majority of certain groups like the Salafists and Workers are going to say Yes. There are still major fights about certain articles other than the military trials and the army articles in general.

Yes the Salafists as well Al Azhar are now fighting with all their powers over the so-called Islamic identity articles and it is not about the infamous 219 but about the fact that they do not want the word “Civilian” in the article related to the identity of the Egyptian state.Oh yes Al Azhar also refuses the word “Civilian” , the open-minded moderate Al Azhar that fought the Muslim Brotherhood also refuses the civility of the State !!

I do not know what the problem of the sheikh is with the civility of the State. “Civilian” is not secular for God’s Sake , Civilian opposes military as far as I know !!

Anyhow this is just the tip of ice berg , you got the other Sharia related articles.

Despite the Salafists as Al Nour Party approved the Military trials in the 2012 Constitution , they declared their refusal to the military trials for civilians now in 2013. I believed that they are playing some sort of game with the military in return to keep the religious related articles as they are.

Al Nour party can mobilize its supporters against this constitution if it does not get it wants.

Now moving to the Workers and farmers’ share in the parliament. As you may know that since the 1960s and the Workers and farmers got 50% of the seats in the parliament according to the Constitution. Now it is removed from the draft Constitution.It is one of the best things ever to be honest because actually all those years the ruling party used this article to control the parliament. 

The workers and farmers unions “Mostly from the Mubarak era” are against this and are vowing to vote against the constitution if it is issued without it.

Moving to the Governance System , last rumor we hear today was that the members of the Constitution committee want to have the presidential elections before the parliamentary elections in Egypt. Also we got the president vs. parliament powers article.

Here is the first published draft in Arabic.

المصري اليوم تنشر المسودة الأولى لدستور «لجنة الـ50» المعدل by Moataz Nadi

Here is also its translation by Mada Misr in English. I still need to read it thoroughly.

In case you do not know the battle for banning the military trials is still now and it definitely needs a separate post to show the hypocrisy of our political elite.

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Happy new Hagri Year from Egyptian Chronicles

Happy new Hagri 1435 from Egyptian Chronicles to all Muslims around the globe.

Hopefully that this new year beginning today will be better than last year hopefully.

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And El Sisi Mania goes on and on

As if we are destined to see new levels of hypocrisy  when it comes to El Sisi Mania in Egypt every week. From cupcakes to chocolate to necklaces bearing the "CC" initials to endless columns and op-eds as well TV shows and interviews hailing the new idol of the Nile valley in the Egyptian mainstream media .
Whenever you think this will stop , you will be shocked on how some will go far.
This week in al Akhbar daily newspaper columnist Akram El Saadani demanding no mercy for those spreading chaos in Egypt taking example from England riots and that Egypt needs a leader like General El Sisi. Of course what said about England riots was from another world including the claim that the army aided the police to take control of London. "Cameron said that he may use the army in future riots only"

 He is free to say and claim what he wanted of course this but he concluded op-ed with the following words :

Do whatever You want El Sisi as the poet told Caliph El Hafiz of Egypt  : 

Rule, you are the One ,the Subduer.*

Rule as if you were like Prophet Mohamed "PBUH" and your supporters are Like Ansar !!

*"The One , the Subduer" are from the names of Almighty God known in the Islamic beliefs as Al Asmaa Al Hosna and usually associated with God and not humans.
This is a new level indeed , comparing Abdel Fatah El Sisi to God Almighty and Prophet Mohamed !!! No one will top El Saadani I believe in the hypocrisy wall of shame !!!

 By the way, there are beliefs spreading especially among middle class and low class ladies that General El Sisi is mentioned in the Holy Quran !! It is no surprise actually because I have seen tweets on twitter by El Sisi fans claiming that Prophet Mohamed “PBUH” prophesized the general’s coming as the new leader of the Muslim world !!!!!!!
This is besides the messages sent through the military Facebook pages and the alleged officers twitter Sisi to God and Prophet Mohamed, Comparing to Omar is nothing .

Some El Sisi Pro-Nationalist Anti-American poster

accounts that Egypt needs another Omar !! Of course after comparing El El
So much for a revolution allegedly took place to stop the abuse of religion in politics by the Muslim brotherhood !!!
We used to criticize and mock how the Muslim brotherhood and Islamists turn Morsi in to a holy figure blessed by Prophet Mohamed “PBUH” and the Holy Spirit but now we are not allowed to criticize those turning El Sisi in to a false God !!
It is just scary , the man has not been elected yet as a president not to mention he did not say that he would run yet. “Reuters is claiming that the general now is leaning to towards the idea , especially that the officers of the army are supporting the idea”
You can imagine how things will be if the general becomes a president !!
By the way I meet people everyday now from the general's admirers who believe that he saved Egypt for real , those people actually believe that it is better to have him as minister of defense than there president. "It will be stupidity from him to run for the presidency , we need him as minister of defense more urgently now" I swear I heard this view from people in the street from different backgrounds. 
Nevertheless the counter view , the growing one says that Egypt needs a strongman to restore order and that there is no other contender against the general nor there is other alternative than the army and the general. This view does not see the fact that the general is just a human not a god that will save Egypt from its deadly problems. This view does not see the fact that the problems of Egypt do not a charismatic 1960s style leader from the military institution as much it needs a true political and social as well economic revolution to save the Egyptian state itself from decay.
Back to El Sisi-mania, I hope that what Sandmony aka Mahmodu Salem said in his column this week in Daily News Egypt will be true and it begins to fade.

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Mosa’ab El Shamy Presents : The funerals of Al Warraq Wedding

Dear friend and talented renowned photographer Mosa’a El Shamy attended the funerals of the sad and misfortunate wedding of Al Warraq. He was not there alone , he accompanied his camera with him and got us some sad pictures from those sad moments. 

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A Wedding and 4 Funerals : #AlWarraq tragedy

Blood on the Church's floor

Last night a wedding in a Church in the popular area of Al Warraq , Imbaba turned in to 4 funerals. Egyptians were attacked while attending a wedding ceremony at a Church in Al Warraq , Imbaba after two assailants opened their fire on the people standing outside the church late Sunday. The two assailants were on a motorcycle and fled away after opening their fire.

A Wedding that turned in to 4 funerals including the funerals of 8 years old and 12 years old girls carrying flowers , a wedding that turned in to 4 funerals including the funeral of the groom's mother. 

As it is a church in a popular area , the Virgin Church in Al Warraq is not secured and according to its bishop it has not been secured since the ousting of Morsi or after the attacks against the churches following 3 July.

Moments after the attack all the fingers were pointing to the Muslim brotherhood and co. as the attackers , they are the primary suspects that have been convicted by the crime that we have not known yet for real who did it or why.

Inside the Church from short time ago

All what we know that the Muslim brotherhood and their pro- radical Islamist allies radical rhetoric against the Christians and the Church played terrible and major role in the continuous attack against Churches. That rhetoric they refuse to give up , those actions they refuse to stop make them the primary suspect in highly polarized society.

The human rights activists are blaming the ministry of interior for its failure to protect the Christians , I can not blame them to be honest because since July 3 , 2013 and the government , the army and police have been warned over and over by human rights organizations that Christians would pay the price and were paying the price.

On the other hand since the attack all the Pro-military supporters as well the Pro-Mubarak supporters have gone in to a crusade against PM Beblawy demanding him to resign from his position along all his ministers. Ironically everybody knows that Beblawy is not real responsible for security in Egypt and that it is beyond his power. Security in Egypt is officially the responsibility of two men  : Abdel Fatah El Sisi and Mohamed Ibrahim. Be brave and speak about the responsibility of the ministry above the accountability responsible for the security of civilians aka the ministry of interior.

Anyhow unfortunately this is the first attack of its kind and sadly it will not be the last "despite I am praying that it would be" as long as there is no justice , no state of the law , no respect of human rights for all Egyptians regardless of their religion or color or race or class.

The 4 funerals will be held after two hours.
The second photo is by photographer Alaa El Kamhawy.
Update : Below after the break a small photo gallery for the sad day in Al Warraq.

 

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Pilgrimage in #Mecca Decades ago

Very happy and blissful Eid Adha for all the readers of the Egyptian Chronicles. Now today I share with you this video clip I found online showing the pilgrimage in Mecca many decades ago.

Rare footage for pilgrimage

It is very beautiful and rare footage in Arabic.
The creator the video says that the material he got in the video was hundred years ago and that its source was pilgrims from South East Asia. Well I believe that the material was from an old Egyptian newsreel film based on the accent of the narrator and his style of reading. It is the same as the one used in the old Egyptian newsreel.
By the way,Saudi News Channel announced that it was found out that the oldest photograph for the Holy Kaaba in Mecca was taken by an Egyptian army officer and geographer Mohamed Sadek  in 1880. The army officer who was fond by geography and photography wrote books about Saudi Arabia and the trip of Pilgrimage during then. He took about 18 photos then.

Photo for the Kaaba in 1880 by Mohamed Sade

A photo for Al Masid Nabawi in Medina in 1880

Amazingly the photos of Mohamed Sadek Beh were not found in Cairo in the forgotten Geographic Society but rather in the archives of King Abdel Aziz Al Soud. It turned out that a German explorer and geographer bought the photos from Sadek in 1883 during a trip in Tunisia. The photos since then disappeared then resurfaced again in 1989 in some auction where some collector bought the 18 photos for $ 2,900,000. I guess the collector was a Saudi Royal figure. I respect their efforts to collect this history and heritage.

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You are not Getting #Morsi back by terrorizing Christians

 Last Friday Pro-Morsi supporters mainly from Islamists had marches all over the country especially in Cairo.  One important thing they allegedly left from trace was the offensive and provoking graffiti on the walls and doors of churches and Cathedrals they passed by.

Islamic in reference to Islamic State on the doors of Church in Heliopolis

This is the tip of the ice berg when it comes to harassments and attacks against Christians in Egypt since July 3, 2013.
The Muslim brotherhood members and their supporters from supporters are inciting hate in Egypt whether online and offline.
Now since July 3, 2013 Christians in Upper Egypt have been a subject of continuous attacks by Islamists in North Sinai, Assuit , Minya and Sohag where people were killed and houses were torched. There is no police protection what so ever for churches or even for Christian populated areas in Upper Egypt.

Boycott the Christians graffiti in Assuit

Islamic , Christian + Thug : 30 June -Another graffiti in Assuit

The human rights organizations like Egyptian Initiative for personal rights warned the authorities, but no one cared to listen on July 10,2013 but no one cared to listen. Instead,there has been a huge systematic attack against human rights organizations in Egypt accusing of them of defending the MB’s supporters and protesters.
EIPR and other human rights organizations issued late last month a joint statement telling the Muslim brotherhood to stop inciting sectarian violence.
What puzzles me is the absence of the police in Upper Egypt and how it does not protect the Christians An evil part of my mind says that like in the time of Mubarak the authorities are leaving the Islamists to harm the Christians in this way in order to use this image abroad. Another part of my mind says that this is the usual Egyptian police action , they do not give a real damn for citizens outside Cairo. “Or even inside Cairo, they only care for buildings”
Still what really annoys me is how the big clans in Upper Egypt completely are totally ignoring what is taking place. You see there is a different social system in Upper Egypt than in Nile Delta or Cairo , clans got the final word there. There is also coordination between the clans and the security forces when they want to. I just do not understand.
Many Egyptians are wondering why the international media does not cover the attacks against the Christians in Egypt in order to show the other face of the Islamists. Of course it is not about international media but rather the media in general. A Christian friend explained to me that as a journalist should found out that Christians in Upper Egypt fear to speak to the media about the attacks more openly because they are afraid of retaliation. In the end journalists in Cairo do not understand that we are speaking about rural areas where everybody knows everybody and unfortunately there is no police protection.
Many Islamists if not most of them believe that the Church played a direct role in ousting Morsi in coordination with the army. The appearance of Pope Tawadros II of Alexandria in the video of El Sisi’s speech on 3 July enforced this belief.

Tawadros the dog , a graffiti seen frequently in Cairo

The appearance of Pope Tawadros in the speech and his meeting with El Sisi along with Sheikh Al Azhar was indeed a clever political move, but it had a price in extreme polarized society that suffers from sectarian tensions from time to time.
Of course the Muslim brotherhood’s leaderships were using the same old sectarian rhetoric against the Christians accusing them of standing with the old Mubarak regime against Morsi in the past year in a disgusting way.
We have enough of sectarianism in Egypt to increase it like this and in this sick way. 
The attacks against Christians should be stopped immediately, and the ministry of interior should do its job for real.The Muslim brotherhood should order its leading figures and speakers to using a sectarian talk to mobilize their supporters in this way.
Mohamed Morsi will not return back by killing Christians or torching their houses.

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#Ramadan Karim From Egyptian Chronicles

And today is Ramadan’s eve. Yes just couple of hours and we will start the holy month of Ramadan for 30 days.

I wish that Ramadan this year would save Egypt and Egyptians from that destructive hate spreading all over the nation. 
I am praying to God this month to bring peace and stability as well mercy to this country.
May Allah bless the souls of our martyrs and all those fallen victims in the past few weeks. May Allah bring patience to their families. May Allah bring back their rights.
It is just strange because it does not feel like Ramadan this year. Of course I am praying that people forget their political differences and pay attention to TV soap operas for the first time so politicians can do their job for real.
It is just strange because since 2011 Ramadan in Egypt was different. In 2011 we were under SCAF rule and we remember what happened when a group of activists tried to have a breakfast in Tahrir square. Then in 2012 we had a new president but Ramadan changed completely when our soldiers were slaughtered in cold blood in North Sinai. Up till now we do not know officially from the Egyptian state who killed them despite the unofficial news about Hamas’ involvement.
FYI the Morsi supporters will complete their sit in in Raba’a Al Adaawaya square in Ramadan.
Anyhow I will stop and I will Ramadan Karim for all the world from the talkative Chronicler.
P.S Ramadan Karim means Ramadan is generous in Arabic ;)

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Mosireen Interviews Hazem Barakat And People Began to React Somehow "Graphic +18"

Mosireen went to Abu Muslam and interviewed citizen journalist Hazem Barakat who witnessed the horrifying massacre of Shiites last yesterday.It has not been translated yet to Arabic.

It is extremely important.Hazem says that the police was there two hours before the people were killed and they did not nothing. This clip including new sad scene like how the women of village were also participating in the mob attacking cheering against the Shiites.
There are more shocking and graphic clips surfacing. The villagers turned in to monsters. It is as if they were demonic creatures attacking human beings. They are even happy and do not think that they did anything wrong.
Now below a video showing Hassan Shehata before his tragic death along his relatives shortly. He did not come with women like the villagers claim. 

Now below the video showing the attack on the same home. It is extremely graphic.

That cartoon made by Andeel summarizes the whole thing.

Do You like it dear God ?

 Here is a quick storify report with reactions in Egypt.

I want to say something Al Nour Party is trying to distance itself as I hinted on Storify. There are posters against Shia all over Egypt with the party´s logo.

Together Against Shia

In Aswan by Kristen Chick

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Declaring #Jihad in #Syria From #Cairo In less than 24 hours From White House’s decision

Yesterday the White House announced that after two years the U.S is going to arm the Syrian rebels after its conclusion that Bashar El Assad used chemical weapons.
Now the White House did not mention which Syrian rebel groups the West was going to arm exactly but I do not think that they were speaking about the Pro Al Qaeda radical groups roaming Syria and giving its people hard time.
Anyhow today as part of an event announced by the Muslim brotherhood we found Saudi Sheikh Mohamed El Arefe announcing that he and other clerics that agreed to open the door of Jihad in front of youth. Muslim youth should go and fight in Syria according to Sheikh El Arefe and other Sheikhs sitting in air conditioned rooms !!! It seems that the Sheikhs waiting the American decision after all !!
Of course the Jihadists from all around the world are not waiting this announcement because they are already there.
El Arefe declared this during the Friday Speech from Egypt’s oldest mosque Amr Ibn El As in front of thousands of Muslim brotherhood supporters who chanting Pro-Syria chants and so on. His Friday speech was aired on the Egyptian National TV’s Ch.1 by the way.
Now I wonder if the Freedom and Justice Party and President Morsi support what Sheikh El Arefe called from in Cairo considering the fact the party is organizing this 3 days event and sponsoring it.
Already tomorrow President Morsi will attend that big protest in Cairo stadium in solidarity with Syria. So we have to ask the President and his president directly : Do they support sending Egyptian youth to fight in Syria for Jihad ??
Does the Freedom and Justice Party support the sectarian talk of Sheikh El Arefe and others clerics from Islamic groups from their political allies and how they attack the Shiites and Iranians ??
Does the Freedom and Justice Party support the talk of Sheikh El Arefe who declared with all the confidence in the world that the Islamic Caliphate system will return back ??
This is so much like Afghanistan.                           

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Happy Easter 2013

Happy Easter to all those celebrating it all over the world today especially in Egypt and Syria.
This amazing cartoon by Doaa El Adl summarizes everything I want to say. It is answer on all those who are saying we should not say Happy Easter to Christians.

 And so Happy Easter ,Happy Easter , Happy Easter 

So Happy Easter and things hopefully insh Allah will be better next year.
 

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Carmen Weinstein's Funeral : A Dying Community remembered

Right now the Jewish community in Egypt is holding the funeral of Carmen Weinstein , the late head of the community. The funeral and memorial service are held in an annex of Cairo's Sha'a Hashamayim Synagogue aka Adly Synagogue.
There is a huge surprising media presence as well security presence where those invited to the funeral have to show their IDs. I am surprised to see such media presence as I knew from a friend who is attending the funeral it was private event.
Anyhow the security presence can be explained by the fact that there are VIPs including the Israeli ambassador attending the funeral. The Israeli ambassador already returned to Cairo yesterday after nearly month working in Israel.
Now Rawah Badrawi is attending the funeral and is sharing with us what is happening , I storify her tweets.
Late today I will speak about Magda Haron the new head of the Jewish community.
@9:51 PM
Magda Shehata Haron is the new head of the Jewish community. She was elected from two days ago. Now Magda Haron is very interesting person because she is the daughter of late Shehata Haron.

Magda Haron "Youm7"

Late Shehata Haron was famous Anti-Zionist Leftist lawyer whose positions against Zionism was well known everybody.
Magda Haron is married to Italian Catholic doctor where as her sister Nadia is married a Muslim. Today Magda told the people in the funeral that the Egyptian Jewish heritage is for the Egyptians and they "The Jews of Egypt" are handing this to us in order to remember that once Jews lived here.
It is sad thing.
I wish to see Mrs. Haron more in the media as well other Egyptian Jews even if they are tens.

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How To Start a Sectarian Crisis : Search For Ignorance And Lack of state !!

Now it turns that those who are responsible for the sectarian clashes in El Khousos that led to the death of not less than 6 another round of sectarian clashes in Abbasiya and death of another 2 are two Muslim kids . Yes Muslim kids !!

Ahmed “12 years old” and Saleh”13 years old” were the one who drew the Swastika on the Religious Islamic Azhar institute ‘This was how it started’. The two kids drew the Swastika and wrote their names besides it. They say that they do not know what it really meant. Indeed their names were beside the Swastika with the same color yet nobody paid attention or may be it was only trigger for the anger in the small poor city to explode.

Journalists including dear friends attempting to find the truth went there and found out that there were some kind of sectarian tensions in the area that could have been resolved if there is a true state of law.

Muslims complain that a Christian man from a big family owns the gas cylinder distribution warehouse and they suspected that he was favoring the Christians over the Muslims when it comes to gas cylinders in time of shortage.

Egypt now suffers extreme gas problem and the working poor class is the one that harmed mostly.

They also found out that there was a Muslim man who was harassing Christian lady from a big family there from several months and that the Christian family has not forgotten that yet.

Moving to the Shocking video that spread last Tuesday. Well it turned to be an old video that goes back to year 2009 indeed specifically in the city of Farshout ,Qena.

The infamous sectarian clashes in Farshout  in November and December 2009 sparked when a Christian man was accused of raping a 12 years Muslim girl. This incident led to clashes and displacements of several Christian families. It turned out that members of the girl’s family “or clan if we are speaking in Upper Egyptian term” wanted revenge and waited for Christian women to come out of Church there to attack them barbarically like in attempt to avenge for the girl in the most disgusting way.

Already I know two journalists from there who witnessed the whole thing including a Christian one. .

Whether it is old or new video I believe that those attackers should presented to justice but unfortunately we are speaking about the lawless Upper Egypt.

Now I must say and hint out that many Egyptian Christians were the ones who exposed that this video was old one and that it was extremely alarming to have it now.

I think it will be a sign of end of days when Upper Egypt gives up its tribal clan laws for the state of law for real !!!

If you search deeper you will not find religion is not the problem here as much the lack of the state of law and justice with the spread of ignorance and poverty that produce hatred towards other.

Now speaking about sectarianism for real I think the Muslim brotherhood should do something about their youth who ask people whether they are in favor of searching churches for arms. I also wonder why few days prior to the clashes in Khousos we find Pro-MB figures and members on twitter launching the hashtag of “#Church_Militias” in Arabic on twitter.

I want a real explanation on why the MB members and not leading figures speaking to foreign media responsible for Ikhwan Web speak like that.

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Will There Be A Civil War Between Muslims and Christians ? Send to us the answer in SMS !!!

What you read in the headline has been actually aired in the news bar in the Hafez TV channel last night.

In the news bar "by Mohamed Ali"

For hours on air the infamous so-called Islamist channel "It is insult to Islam more than anything" published an important question and asked its viewers to send their answers.

"Will there be a civil war between Muslims and Christians !?" Please send your SMS on 94172 

Seriously !? Civil war !?
It is worth to mention the CEO of the channel and its main host Atef Abdel Rashid was invited and seated beside the minister of information last week in that conference about media's freedom and future in Egypt.
Is not this incitement !?? Is not this a direct danger on the so-called social peace and National security !!?

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#Abassiya3 : Playing with Fire again and Again

Just from moments ago it was announced that Mahrous Henna Ibrahim passed away in Damdrush hospital. Ibrahim was injured in his neck. He was shot allegedly by live ammunition. He passed away at the ER.
Wassfey was shot in his neck while covering the funeral of the Khosous Christian victims at Saint Mark Cathedral in Abassiya earlier today. You probably know that there were sectarian violent clashes between Muslims and Christians in Al Khosous town in Qalyubia governorate on Saturday that resulted in 9 fatalities from both sides.
Update : There is another fatality announced in Abassiya clashes according to the ministry of health. The second fatality was not identified !! The injured are over the 80 
The MOI on the other hand announced that its injured have reached to 25 !! The MOI also announced that it arrested 11 during the clashes. 
The ambulance authority stated that there are about 21 injured in the clashes. OF course unofficially there is a field hospital inside the Cathedral.
I will not go in to much details but today was supposed to be the funeral of the Christian victims “6 Victims”. The day started peaceful sad one at the Saint Marks Cathedral , the HQ of the Egyptian Coptic Church papacy itself. According to the activists who attended the funeral there were not too many mourners like in Maspero massacre funeral.
After the funeral procession began to move the people suddenly found the angry people attacking them clashes with rocks and Molotov cocktails from side streets then the security forces entered and hell broke loose for real. The Christians were forced back to the Cathedral and security forces showered the area with tear gases as the same time those so-called unknown attackers who were not stopped by the security forces as we have seen on TV screens for hours.
The newspapers and TV channels showed young men with arms and rocks on the roofs buildings including the cathedral in a nasty street fight.
It is worth to mention that the first Ministry of interior’s statement blamed the mourners in the funeral and claimed that they started the fight.
The so-called Islamists on twitter say that the Christians were chanting inside the church chants against Islam , the president and MB as well chants saying Egypt is originally Coptic on TV and that this is what allegedly provoked the Muslim locals of Abassiya.
The thing for sure is that the angry mourners in the church and the funeral chanted against Morsi and the Muslim brotherhood.
I have not seen the chants or the funeral itself as I have been sick all morning. I followed it through twitter.Of course from what I see from photos and eye witnesses the locals are more like thugs with handmade guns. Already I wonder how many of them watched ONTV Live and CTV as well Christian TV channels
Today the security forces threw tear gases inside the cathedral.Today according eye witnesses, according to live broadcast of TV channels the security forces from police did nothing except watching those so-called unknown assailants
There are hundreds of Egyptian Christians inside the Cathedral , many of them are women and children as today is Sunday. From what I understood many families are staying now in the Cathedral’s theater for safety reasons singing hymns asking for protection. 
It seems that Abassiya will have bad reputation after three major clashes with others starting with Revolutionary protesters then
Ironically in the past Abassiya was a cosmopolitan area full of Egyptians, Arabs and foreigners as well Muslims , Christians and Jews with too sects living peacefully. Again this in the past. There is no doubt after three clashes the locals played a vital role in beating the other if not killing him, we have to wonder about why the locals of Abassiya allow this to happen in their area.
I will not jump in to the wagon of conspiracy theories and start the game blame , I see clearly that police and the ministry of interior are directly responsible for this disaster, for this fire.
Of course I can not ignore how some mainly from the Islamists are playing with fire for days now. Since April 3, 2013 so-called Islamist tweeps like Abdel Rahman Ezz launched a Hashtag about the #Church_Militia.
Now these Islamists like Ezz are accusing the Christians of accusing these tensions to affect the visit of the EU officials today to Cairo. These Islamists are the supporters of Morsi and the members of the Muslim brotherhood.
President Morsi as usual called the Pope from short time ago according to the Presidency where he assured him that he does not accept these attacks and he ordered the fast investigations to arrest those attackers.

Any attack on the cathedral is an attack on me personally !!

Morsi told Pope that !! I wonder what the supporters of Morsi will think about that !!
Mr. President Please check your supporters because they are sectarian seriously speaking and will not hesitate in starting a civil sectarian war in Egypt
Here is the storify report with all the updates and photos. I have to apologize because I have been sick all day.

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