NCC and partners condemn New Year's bombing of church in Egypt

["Philip Jenks" <pjenks@ncccusa.org>]

New Year's Eve attack on Christian worshippers in Egypt
condemned by U.S. Christians, Jews and Muslims

New York, January 3, 2011 -- The National Council of Churches has 
been joined by a wide range of faith leaders, including Jews and 
Muslims, in condemning the murderous New Year's Eve bombing of 
worshippers in All Saints Church in Alexandria, Egypt.

"The perpetrators of this outrage are apparently so blinded by hatred 
that they have lost touch with the tenets of any known faith," said 
the Rev. Dr. Michael Kinnamon, NCC general secretary. "It is simply 
agonizing to think that many around the world will mistake this 
horror as the attack of one religious community on another. 
Christians, Jews and Muslims around the world are united by their 
outrage and condemnation of this soul-less act.

"This is not a struggle between religions but between those who value 
the life of every neighbor and those who clearly do not," Kinnamon 
said.

At least 21 people were killed at the conclusion of a New year's 
midnight mass, and scores were seriously injured.

In a message to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, 
Kinnamon said "attacks on Christians anywhere in the world are 
attacks on Christians everywhere. We know you share the pain we feel 
at this evil attack on our sisters and brothers in Alexandria. We 
hope you will express to President Mubarak and other government 
officials in Egypt that Christians and persons of faith in the 
United States look to them to protect Christians and other 
minorities in Egypt. We look to them to find the persons responsible 
for planning this attack, and bring them to justice."

The full text of Kinnamon's letter to Clinton is linked at 
http://www.ncccusa.org/pdfs/MKHRCalexandria.pdf

Kinnamon sent a message of support and solidarity to Bishop Serapion 
of the Coptic Orthodox Diocese of Los Angeles, Southern California 
and Hawaii, a member of the National Council of Churches governing 
board. "I am sick at heart for the loss of life outside the church 
in Alexandria," Kinnamon said. "Please know that my prayers are with 
the whole Coptic Orthodox community."

The Coptic Orthodox Church traces its origins to Saint Mark the 
apostle and evangelist in the middle of the first century.

Kinnamon expressed the appreciation of the NCC's 37 member communions 
to the Muslim and Jewish communities for their unqualified 
condemnation of the violence, as well as for their support of the 
Christian community.

President Imam Mohamed Magid of the Islamic Society of North America 
issued a statement today declaring, "It is a sad day for all people 
when a simple act of worship or community celebration is marked by 
violence and innocent deaths. ISNA asks Muslim community members 
and organizations in Egypt a nd Nigeria to lend support to the 
families who lost loved ones during these attacks and urges Muslim 
Americans to join them in prayer for God to ease the suffering of 
all those affected by this terrible tragedy."

At least 38 people died in Christmas Eve attacks across Nigeria, 
including the six killed at churches in the country's north by 
suspected members of a radical Muslim sect. In central Nigeria, 32 
died in a series of bomb blasts in the worst violence to hit the 
region in months.

Magid added: "These bombings are absolutely reprehensible. ISNA 
condemns any and all acts of violence against innocent civilians. 
The attacks in Egypt and Nigeria are unacceptable and ISNA urges 
the Egyptian and Nigerian governments to take all measures to 
prosecute the individuals responsible for these heinous crimes 
swiftly and to the fullest measure. We applaud President 
Obama's commitment to lend support from the United States to 
prosecute these individuals and bring peace to innocent civilians."

ISNA Secretary General Safaa Zarzour said ISNA and the American 
Muslim comm unity recognize that these acts of violence requires us 
to double our effor ts in promoting religious harmony and the right 
of people to worship free from fear and violence everywhere in the 
world. "The small faction of fanatics that wish to ignite religious 
violence and strife across the world must not be allowed to 
succeed," he said.

ISNA is an association of Muslim organizations and individuals that 
provides a common platform for presenting Islam, supporting Muslim 
communities, developing educational, social and outreach programs 
and fostering good relations with other religious communities, and 
civic and service organizations.

The Jewish Council for Public Affairs today also expressed solidarity 
with the Coptic Orthodox Church.

"We are pained to see the New Year begin with such blind hatred, 
bigotry, and wanton disregard for human life," said JCPA President 
Rabbi Steve Gutow. "Every human being is created in the divine 
image. The targeting of any people because of their faith is an 
attack on all people of faith and indeed all humanity. Coptic 
Christians have had a peaceful home in Egypt for centuries. Their 
pain is our pain."

"We mourn this senseless loss of life. We know from our own 
experience the vulnerability of religious minorities," said JCPA 
Chair Dr. Conrad Giles." Violence against minorities strikes fear 
across entire communities and regions. The barbarism of this and 
similar attacks must be a wake-up call. Threats of violence must be 
taken seriously and the protection of these communities given the 
highest priority. The perpetrators must be brought to justice."

JCPA, the public affairs arm of the organized Jewish community, 
serves as the national coordinating and advisory body for the 14 
national and 125 local agencies comprising the field of Jewish 
community relations.

Elsewhere, World Council of Churches general secretary, the Rev. Dr 
Olav Fykse Tveit, expressed "profound sorrow as well as condolences 
and prayers for the families of the victims, for the wounded and for 
all the people of Egypt." Tveit encouraged Egyptians "to stand firm 
and united through the many trials and tribulations that continue to 
threaten."

The events of January 1, 2011 are a reminder of other tragedies in 
the region, including an attack on Coptic worshippers in Nag 
Hammadi, Egypt on January 7, 2010 and the lethal assault on the 
Church of Our Lady of Salvation (Sayidat al-Nejat) in Baghdad, Iraq 
on October 31, 2010.

Since its founding in 1950, the National Council of the Churches of 
Christ in the USA has been the leading force for ecumenical 
cooperation among Christians in the United States. The NCC's 37 
member faith groups -- from a wide spectrum of Protestant, Anglican, 
Orthodox, Evangelical, historic African American and Living Peace 
churches -- include 45 million persons in more than 100,000 local 
congregations in communities across the nation.

NCC News contact: Philip E. Jenks, 212-870-2228 (office), 
646-853-4212 (cell), pjenks@ncccusa.org