Muslim protesters accuse Egypt's Coptic Church of abducting woman who converted to Islam

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Muslim protesters accuse Egypt's Coptic Church of abducting woman who converted to Islam
(AP, September 3, 2010)

Cairo, Egypt - Around 200 Muslim protesters accused Egypt's Coptic Church on Friday of abducting the wife of a Coptic priest who they say voluntarily converted to Islam.

The Coptic Church denies the accusation, saying only that the woman disappeared during a dispute with her husband and later returned. The husband said she was forced to convert to Islam.

Accusations of forced conversion surface regularly between Egypt's Christians and Muslims. Coptic Christians make up about 10 per cent of Egypt's population of 70 million. Copts and Muslims generally live in peace, though tension and violence occasionally flares.

After Friday prayers at a mosque in downtown Cairo, Muslim worshippers accused to church of hiding Camellia Zakhir.

Protesters shouted, "Allahu akbar," or "God is Great," and waved Qurans. "Camellia was kidnapped during Ramadan," they said.

One protester, Mohammed Manei, said he believes there are many women who converted from Christianity to Islam and who are kept in undisclosed locations in Egyptian monasteries.

"We demand the ousting of (Pope) Shenouda (III) and the release of all the Muslim captives," he said, referring to the head of the Coptic Church.

Zakhir's story goes back to July when she disappeared from her house in the southern Minya province. Her husband, a Coptic priest, rallied church followers and accused Muslims of abduction and forced conversion.

Zakhir reportedly returned home but has not appeared in public.

Then, a picture of her clad in the black veil worn by conservative Muslim women appeared in local newspapers, renewing protests by Muslims who say she converted voluntarily to Islam but has been kept in virtual detention by the church.

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	All Articles Muslim protesters accuse Egypt's Coptic Church of abducting woman who converted to Islam (AP, September 3, 2010) Cairo, Egypt - Around 200 Muslim protesters accused Egypt's Coptic Church on Friday of abducting the wife of a Coptic priest who they say voluntarily converted to Islam. The Coptic Church denies the accusation, saying only that the woman disappeared during a dispute with her husband and later returned. The husband said she was forced to convert to Islam. Accusations of forced conversion surface regularly between Egypt's Christians and Muslims. Coptic Christians make up about 10 per cent of Egypt's population of 70 million. Copts and Muslims generally live in peace, though tension and violence occasionally flares. After Friday prayers at a mosque in downtown Cairo, Muslim worshippers accused to church of hiding Camellia Zakhir. Protesters shouted, "Allahu akbar," or "God is Great," and waved Qurans. "Camellia was kidnapped during Ramadan," they said. One protester, Mohammed Manei, said he believes there are many women who converted from Christianity to Islam and who are kept in undisclosed locations in Egyptian monasteries. "We demand the ousting of (Pope) Shenouda (III) and the release of all the Muslim captives," he said, referring to the head of the Coptic Church. Zakhir's story goes back to July when she disappeared from her house in the southern Minya province. Her husband, a Coptic priest, rallied church followers and accused Muslims of abduction and forced conversion. Zakhir reportedly returned home but has not appeared in public. Then, a picture of her clad in the black veil worn by conservative Muslim women appeared in local newspapers, renewing protests by Muslims who say she converted voluntarily to Islam but has been kept in virtual detention by the church. Related Sections \| Islam \| Orthodox	Search 10 Commandments 12 Tribes Aum/Aleph Bahai Branch Davidians Buddhism Christianity Church/State Colonia Dignidad FLDS Falun Gong Gatekeepers Gov. Reports Hari Krishna Hinduism Home Schooling Honohana House of Prayer Internet Related Islam Judaism Legislation Legislative Docs. Miscellaneous Mungiki Native Religions Nuwaubian Nation Occult Other NRMs PBMA Raelians Rastafarians Scholarly Papers Scientology Sectarian Violence Sikhism Solar Temple The Body The Family Int'l Unification Church Yahweh Zong Gong
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