Muslim Leader Foils Deadly Terrorist Attack Against Christian Church in Egypt

Pravmir.com team | 12 January 2019
Sheikh Saad Askar shouted warnings to Christians after two Al-Azhar students noticed the possible attacker. The Muslim leader calls on Christians and Muslims to “stand by each other’s side and take care of each other. Those who target places of worship have no religion and are neither Muslim nor Christian”.

A bomb attack against a church in east Cairo was averted thanks to the prompt action of a Muslim cleric, Imam Saad Askar (pictured) who called the police.

When the bomb squad tried to dismantle the devices, one exploded killing a bomb disposal expert.

Visiting the church afterwards, Imam Askar said: “We have to stand by each other’s side and take care of each other. Those who target places of worship have no religion and are neither Muslim nor Christian”.

According to AsiaNews, the incident took place at the end of the celebrations for Coptic Christmas at the Church of the Virgin Mary and Abu Seifin in Ezbat al-Haganah, Nasr City, an eastern suburb of the Egyptian capital.

Local sources told the outlet that Coptic Christians were celebrating their Christmas when a stranger with a suitcase approached the church. Sheikh Saad Askar, the imam of the mosque opposite the church, was conducting services when two of his students noticed the man and alerted him of the potential threat.

Together with mosque worker Gouda Shaaban Khalifa, 63, Askar ran after the man, but he fled the scene, leaving behind a trolley case. A video posted on social media shows the sheikh warning people in the church to quickly get away.

Since you are here…

…we do have a small request. More and more people visit Orthodoxy and the World website. However, resources for editorial are scarce. In comparison to some mass media, we do not make paid subscription. It is our deepest belief that preaching Christ for money is wrong.

Having said that, Pravmir provides daily articles from an autonomous news service, weekly wall newspaper for churches, lectorium, photos, videos, hosting and servers. Editors and translators work together towards one goal: to make our four websites possible - Pravmir.ru, Neinvalid.ru, Matrony.ru and Pravmir.com. Therefore our request for help is understandable.

For example, 5 euros a month is it a lot or little? A cup of coffee? It is not that much for a family budget, but it is a significant amount for Pravmir.

If everyone reading Pravmir could donate 5 euros a month, they would contribute greatly to our ability to spread the word of Christ, Orthodoxy, life's purpose, family and society.