Two missing Coptic women had been abused by priest husbands

[Sofiyya 1,687]

Two missing Coptic women had been abused by priest husbands

By MAGGIE MICHAEL • Associated Press

CAIRO, Egypt • The wives of two Egyptian Coptic priests, forbidden by the church from divorcing their abusive husbands, desperately sought another way out by converting to Islam. When their intentions were discovered, police handed them over to the church, and their whereabouts since have been unknown.

The cases caused a furor at home that spilled over the borders and turned deadly when al-Qaida in Iraq cited the women as the reason behind the worst attack ever on Christians in Iraq — a siege of a church in October that left 68 people dead.

It was a stark example of the schism between Christians and Muslims that runs through the Middle East and periodically erupts into violence.

"Amid the current sectarian discord, the timing is perfect for al-Qaida to show it is defending Islam and to exploit the situation to rally extremists against the churches," said Ammar Ali Hassan, an expert in Islamic movements.

Both Wafaa Constantine, 53, and Camilla Shehata, 25, lived in remote rural towns and enjoyed prestige as devoted and pious wives of conservative Coptic priests. But behind that veneer, a lawyer and a church official said, the women were trapped in abusive relationships.

Both tried to seek a divorce through church channels but hit a dead end because the Coptic Orthodox Church forbids divorce — a rule enforced even more strictly against the wives of priests. And they decided to rebel, not only against their husbands but against the whole religion.

They sought to convert to Islam, something viewed as a disgrace in their community. The Coptic Church considers those who convert to other religions dead, making the marriage contract invalid.

Though Egyptian religious authorities say the women never succeeded in converting, the controversy in both cases escalated with protests by Egyptian Christians, who accused Muslims of abducting the women and forcing them to convert.

That riled Muslim extremists in Egypt who protested and accused the church of holding them against their will and forcing them to convert back to Christianity.

Al-Qaida in Iraq turned it into a cause celebre when it cited the women as the reason behind the Baghdad church siege. The group followed with more threats against Iraq's Christian minority, generating such fear that most Christmas celebrations in the country were canceled.

[^_^ 5,021]

Arabs take their religion way too seriously.

[alienlovechild 75]

Two missing Coptic women had been abused by priest husbands

The wives of two Egyptian Coptic priests, forbidden by the church from divorcing their abusive husbands, desperately sought another way out by converting to Islam. When their intentions were discovered, police handed them over to the church, and their whereabouts since have been unknown.

The cases caused a furor at home that spilled over the borders and turned deadly when al-Qaida in Iraq cited the women as the reason behind the worst attack ever on Christians in Iraq — a siege of a church in October that left 68 people dead.

It was a stark example of the schism between Christians and Muslims that runs through the Middle East and periodically erupts into violence.

The conversion of two priests' wives led to two mass bombings to kill almost 100 people and injure many others. Luckily women are treated so much better under Islam that bloody acts of chivalry are carried out by extremists hoping to capitalize on any slight.

[Sofiyya 1,687]

The conversion of two priests' wives led to two mass bombings to kill almost 100 people and injure many others. Luckily women are treated so much better under Islam that bloody acts of chivalry are carried out by extremists hoping to capitalize on any slight.

Touchy, touchy. Christian women converting to Islam didn't produce tolerance among Christians that's always being bragged about either. But then, who's used to Christians being the bad guys in the press since it's not commonly acknowledged and excuses are made for it anyway.

[웃 910]

Touchy, touchy. Christian women converting to Islam didn't produce tolerance among Christians that's always being bragged about either. But then, who's used to Christians being the bad guys in the press since it's not commonly acknowledged and excuses are made for it anyway.

Feel free to report all the evil and horrible attacks that Christians carry out in the name of Christ that terrorize the masses. I'm sure you have lots of posts from

the 5th century AD!!!!

.

[Sofiyya 1,687]

Feel free to report all the evil and horrible attacks that Christians carry out in the name of Christ that terrorize the masses. I'm sure you have lots of posts from

the 5th century AD!!!!

.

You'd be surprised; not every source is as biased as the western press, but gratuitous Christian bashing for the purposes of ####### for tat is not what I'm into.

[alienlovechild 75]

Touchy, touchy. Christian women converting to Islam didn't produce tolerance among Christians that's always being bragged about either. But then, who's used to Christians being the bad guys in the press since it's not commonly acknowledged and excuses are made for it anyway.

You mean the bombers are touchy. I don't plan on going to the nearest mosque to express by displeasure with violent means. The last church massacre and the mass exodus of Christians from Iraq was explained away as Iraq being a war zone. Egypt is a warzone now as well?

I wouldn't say the Copts recognize freedom of religion but Egypt doesn't either with Islam as the state religion with mere tolerance for Copts.

You mean you never heard about Catholic pedophile priests in the western press? Didn't hear too many excuses for them.

Edited January 5, 2011 by alienlovechild

[Sofiyya 1,687]

You mean the bombers are touchy. I don't plan on going to the nearest mosque to express by displeasure with violent means. The last church massacre and the mass exodus of Christians from Iraq was explained away as Iraq being a war zone. Egypt is a warzone now as well?

I wouldn't say the Copts recognize freedom of religion but Egypt doesn't either with Islam as the state religion with mere tolerance for Copts.

You mean you never heard about Catholic pedophile priests in the western press? Didn't hear too many excuses for them.

Despite years of complicity from the Vatican on down, Catholicism was never blamed for priestly pedophilia by the mainstream western press the way they blame Islam for violent Muslims.

[alienlovechild 75]

Despite years of complicity from the Vatican on down, Catholicism was never blamed for priestly pedophilia by the mainstream western press the way they blame Islam for violent Muslims.

Hardly. The Catholic Church caught hell for not ordaining women and making the priests celibate as per their doctrine which seems out of date by mainstream society. In addition, the church got nailed by several lawsuits so they took a beating in the press from several angles.

[Sofiyya 1,687]

Hardly. The Catholic Church caught hell for not ordaining women and making the priests celibate as per their doctrine which seems out of date by mainstream society. In addition, the church got nailed by several lawsuits so they took a beating in the press from several angles.

I'm not saying that there was no public outcry; there certainly was. But, there is no comparison to the vitriol against Islam and Muslims as there has been in the media. There has been no call from politicians to relieve Catholics of their rights as American citizens, no cries to bomb the Vatican into the Stone Age, no demand to halt immigration from predominantly Catholic countries.

Comparable overkill? No way.

[ready4ONE 5,400]

Perhaps the issues of individual Priests, acting on their own perversions, without referring to Biblical rights to molest does not quite compare with killing thousands referencing the Quaran?

[웃 910]

I'm not saying that there was no public outcry; there certainly was. But, there is no comparison to the vitriol against Islam and Muslims as there has been in the media. There has been no call from politicians to relieve Catholics of their rights as American citizens, no cries to bomb the Vatican into the Stone Age, no demand to halt immigration from predominantly Catholic countries.

Comparable overkill? No way.

You can't really compare priests molesting children to people strapping explosives to their chests and massacring 30 people (a day)....One is a little worse than the other, don't you think?

[Sofiyya 1,687]

It also doesn't make sense to blame a religion and all of its adherents for a few. Yet, people do it every day when its someone else's faith, but not for their own.

[Sofiyya 1,687]

Perhaps the issues of individual Priests, acting on their own perversions, without referring to Biblical rights to molest does not quite compare with killing thousands referencing the Quaran?

It's been proven that the Catholic hierarchy aided, abetted and sheltered these priests for decades, allowing them to molest unabated and destroy hundreds of lives. If they were Muslims, you would be blaming the faith and the authorities. But, they're not Muslim, so that doesn't happen. It's good that it doesn't happen to Catholicism, but it's not good that there's a double standard that allows it for Islam.

[웃 910]

It also doesn't make sense to blame a religion and all of its adherents for a few. Yet, people do it every day when its someone else's faith, but not for their own.

**That's life. If you are running a business and employee 30 workers. And all of a sudden you notice money is missing. You will keep a close watch on everyone.

**If a man cheats on his wife and the wife finds out. It's not just the one man who gets blamed. Now 'all men' are lying cheating bastards.

**You work as a waiter and get a 12% tip from an Indian family. Conclusion: All Indians are cheap and tip like sh!t.