Day 12
Egypt
An electrical short-circuit caused a deadly fire leaving at least 41 dead and 14 injured in Egypt’s Coptic Church. It was a deadly day as a fire ripped through a densely populated neighborhood Church in Egypt’s capital of Cairo. The fire broke out while the service was underway Sunday morning. President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi spoke with the Coptic Christian Pope Tawadros II to offer his condolences. Egypt’s Christians account for some 10% of the nation’s 90 million people and have long complained of discrimination by the nation’s Muslim majority. Pray that the state agencies take all necessary measures to deal with this accident and its effects. Pray for the bereaved families to be consoled and comforted and the injured saved (The Bible, Jude 1:23).
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Egypt is listed in 20th position in the World Watch report 2021 by Open Doors for Christian persecution with a slight increase in overall opposition to Christians. The current president of Egypt is Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. Although Egypt’s government speaks positively about Egypt’s Christian community, the lack of serious law enforcement and the unwillingness of local authorities to protect Christians leave them vulnerable to all kinds of attacks. Due to the dictatorial nature of the regime, neither church leaders nor other Christians are in a position to speak out against these practices. Christians of all backgrounds face difficulties in finding new places for communal worship.
