Staff

Staff

Mosques warn Emmanuel Macron against “deleterious escalation” targeting Muslims

A collective of mosques and Muslim associations in Île-de-France has warned Emmanuel Macron against “the deleterious escalation of the treatment of Islam and Muslims” in France, calling it “vague”. concept of “separatism”.

“For several months, Muslims in France have increasingly been the target of the worst stigmatizations and invective from political figures and certain media who have made Islamophobia a goodwill, thus promoting amalgamation and suspicion from a whole section of French society. ” In an open letter unveiled this Thursday, October 8, a collective of mosques and Muslim associations warned Emmanuel Macron against “the deleterious escalation in the treatment of Islam and Muslims”.

This collective claims to represent around fifty mosques or associations in eastern Paris or the Ile-de-France region (Rosny-sous-Bois, Aulnay-sous-Bois, Chelles, La Courneuve, Sevran, Neuilly-sur-Marne, Bussy-Saint-Georges, Sarcelles …), As well as the Les Musulmans platform (close to the Collectif contre l’islamophobie en France).

For a “constructive dialogue, far from any suspicion”

“What we need is a constructive dialogue, far from any suspicion, and not a continuous blacklisting through the use of vague general concepts like ‘radical Islam’, ‘political Islam’, or more recently still separatism “, adds the collective, six days after Emmanuel Macron’s speech at Les Mureaux aimed at attacking” Islamist separatism “.

He denounces in particular a “desire to put Muslim organizations under control with systematically unannounced checks in our mosques, prayer rooms, Muslim schools. […] with police means worthy of an era that we thought was over. […] Muslims, in their overwhelming majority, live in peace and harmony in French society and respect the secular framework and the laws of the Republic, “he assures us.

Against the “harassment” of Muslim women with a headscarf

For this group too, “the stigmatization and harassment suffered by Muslim women who have decided to wear a headscarf to live their faith freely has become unbearable”. “This pressure is no longer acceptable and must end immediately,” he said.

According to the collective, his initiative is supported by federations such as the RMF (close to Morocco) of Anouar Kbibech, former president of the French Council of Muslim Worship, the Turkish Milli Görüs, or the association Foi et Pratique (ultra- rigorists of the Tabligh).

•             A Canadian garden center had its Facebook ad for onion seeds taken down by the platform on Monday.

•             Facebook said the ad was removed for breaking its rules on "products with overtly sexual positioning."

•             Facebook's head of comms in Canada said the post had been restored on Wednesday, and that it had been initially removed by the platform's automated moderation systems.

•             "We use automated technology to keep nudity off our apps. But sometimes it doesn't know a walla walla onion from a, well, you know.".

Facebook's AI struggles to tell the difference between sexual pictures of the human body and globular vegetables.

A garden center in Newfoundland, Canada on Monday received a notice from Facebook about an ad it had uploaded for Walla Walla onion seeds that contained a photo of some onions.

Facebook's notice said the ad broke its rules on "products with overtly sexual positioning," clarifying: "listings may not position products or services in a sexually suggestive manner."

Facebook on Wednesday told Canada's CBC News the ad had been reinstated after review. The mistake had been made by its AI moderation tech, which automatically takes down content it thinks contains nudity, it said.

"We use automated technology to keep nudity off our apps. But sometimes it doesn't know a walla walla onion from a, well, you know. We restored the ad and are sorry for the business' trouble," Meg Sinclair, Facebook Canada's head of communications told CBC.

She did not clarify what she meant by a "you know."

This is not the first time Facebook's automated systems have over-zealously removed content later reinstated by human moderators. In 2018 its systems took down a post containing excerpts from the Declaration of Independence after it flagged the post as containing hate speech.

Business Insider

IDLIB, Syria 

A girl, 2, was killed when Assad regime forces and foreign terrorist groups supported by Iran, attacked several villages with rockets and mortar bombs in this northwestern province, White Helmets civil defense sources said Friday.  

The attacks violated a March 5 cease-fire agreement between Turkey and Russia to de-escalate disputes.

The area, lying along Turkey's southern border, has been the subject of multiple cease-fire violations by the regime and its allies.

An influx of displaced civilians has increased the area’s population to about 4 million in recent years.

Syria has been locked in a vicious civil war since early 2011 when the regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests with unexpected ferocity./aa  

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Argentina has approved HB4 drought-resistant GMO wheat by biotechnology firm Bioceres SA, the company and the government said on Wednesday, making it the first country in the world to approve a strain of GMO wheat.

No countries have yet given the green light to imports of GMO products and Bioceres said it will only begin marketing HB4 once it is approved for importation by Brazil, the biggest destination for Argentine wheat.

“Today Argentina is leading technological transformation at an international level,” the CEO of Bioceres, Federico Trucco, said in a statement issued in conjunction with the country’s science and technology ministry.

“HB4 technology provides seeds that are more tolerant to drought, minimizing production losses, and giving greater predictability to yields,” the ministry said in the statement.

While other crops such as corn and soybeans have been widely genetically modified to improve yield or withstand threats, GMO wheat has not been approved anywhere for commercial production because of consumers’ concerns. Wheat is primarily used for human consumption.

“I will not plant HB4 wheat, and I would not recommend that anyone else does, until it has been approved by importing countries. It seems risky in the sense that we could end up with crops that no one wants to buy,” said Francisco Santillan, who manages farms in Cordoba, Santa Fe and Buenos Aires province.

Last year, 45% of the 11.3 million tonnes of wheat harvested in Argentina was shipped to Brazil. The head of the Brazilian Wheat Industry Associations, Rubens Barbosa, told Reuters the group was following the situation with interest.

“We have requested information from the government because no countries allow the importation of GMO wheat,” said Gustavo Idigoras, head of Argentina’s CIARA CEC grains export industry chamber.

Dave Green, executive vice president of the Wheat Quality Council, a U.S. trade group, said: “I don’t hear anything about GMO wheat efforts here. None of our export customers want any.”

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan 

Islamabad on Thursday accused New Delhi of supporting terrorist groups in Afghanistan who are alleged to carry out cross-border attacks in Pakistan.  

Speaking at a UN committee meeting, Jahanzeb Khan, an official at Pakistan's UN mission, said India is pushing the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, and its splinter group Jamaatul Ahrar in "cross-border terrorist attacks against Pakistani military and civilian targets." 

Pakistan has for long claimed that the terrorist networks, following a series of security operations in its northwestern region, have set up bases across the border to attack security forces and civilians. 

Khan accused India of "financing and organizing secret mercenary terrorist organizations based outside our borders to conduct attacks in Pakistan to impede the implementation" of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a multimillion dollar infrastructure network aimed at connecting China's strategically important northwestern Xinjiang province to the port of Gwadar in Baluchistan. 

These include attacks on the Chinese consulate and Pakistan Stock Exchange buildings in the port city of Karachi, he said. 

Thousands of Pakistanis have been killed or injured as a result of these Indian-sponsored terrorist attacks over the last decade, Khan claimed.
 

He said the Indian government is using state terrorism to suppress the people of Jammu and Kashmir, a disputed territory held by India and Pakistan in parts but claimed by both in full. 

On Aug. 5, 2019 the Indian government revoked Article 370 and other related provisions from its Constitution, scrapping the country’s only Muslim-majority state with its autonomy. 

The official went on to say that Hindu nationalist organizations were suppressing Muslims in the South Asian country./aa

ANKARA

Turkey's bilateral trade and business relations with the US have improved despite the novel coronavirus pandemic, a senior official said Thursday.

"The trade volume rose 3.5% on an annual basis during these extraordinary times when countries are struggling to trade with their partners," said Deputy Trade Minister Riza Tuna Turagay during a webinar on the future of Turkey-US trade relations, organized by the Turkish Heritage Organization.

The $100 billion target in bilateral trade set by the two countries is not politically motivated, he added.

In June 2019, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his US counterpart Donald Trump raised the bilateral trade goal from $75 billion to $100 billion.

"Despite that we've seen some ups and downs in our bilateral relations, at the and of the day, it is all about trade and commercial relations," he said.

"I believe we must achieve swift progress towards the target. In this sense, boosting networking between our business communities is very valuable."

Turagay noted that a free trade agreement between Turkey and the US to mutually liberalize trade in certain sectors would give a healthy push to bilateral ties.

Yet, according to him, before reaching such a deal, certain issues needed to be resolved.

"We established the customs union with the EU, so we need to follow the EU's steps. That's one of the constraints," he explained.

Tariffs on Turkish steel products and Turkey's removal from the generalized preferential system program for trade were also considered restrictions by Ankara, he noted.

"So, we have to solve these problems and the next step would be a free trade agreement," he concluded.

In March 2018, Trump decided to slap an additional 25% tariff on steel imports in a bid to protect national security.

That August, Trump also raised tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Turkey to 50%.

Ankara retaliated by implementing equal tariffs on some imported products from the US.

In May 2019, the US cut tariffs on steel imports from Turkey to 25%.

Though Ankara tried to discuss the move with Washington, this proved fruitless and it applied to the World Trade Organization.

In July, the US Court of International Trade found Trump's decision on Turkish steel to be unlawful, ruling that the president did not have the authority to make the related legal modifications./aa

ISTANBUL/ANKARA

Turkey will be among the fastest-recovering countries from the novel coronavirus pandemic, its top trade official said Thursday.

According to the latest OECD report, Turkey -- after China and South Korea -- will be among the least affected countries by the global economic downturn caused by the pandemic, Trade Minister Ruhsar Pekcan said during the Turkey-Africa Business Forum, organized by Turkey's Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEIK).

At the event, participants are discussing post-pandemic economic relations between Turkey and Africa, as well as several other topics such as e-commerce, agriculture and free trade agreements, she noted.

Pekcan underlined that the forum was hosting business people from 81 countries, of which over 60 of were African nations, adding that more than 50 international speakers would speak at the event.

"Turkey prioritizes the concept of win-win with Africa relations," she underlined.

Pekcan said that while Turkey defends its rights and benefits, it attaches importance to the rights of the least developed countries as well.

She recalled that Turkey's bilateral trade was up by 7%, reaching $26.2 billion last year and stranding at $18.2 billion in the first nine months of 2020 despite the virus outbreak.

Trade and investment between the two sides will expand further in the coming period, Pekcan added.


2063 Africa vision

Nail Olpak, chairman of the DEIK, said: "We can develop more investment and cooperation projects, including PPP [public-private partnerships], especially in areas such as health, transportation, engineering and architecture, banking, manufacturing and industry where information technologies are used.

During his speech, Olpak noted Pekcan's ongoing efforts to establish logistics centers in Africa, saying these centers are very important in terms of supply chains.

He said the 2063 vision of the African Union and its goals in manufacturing, industrialization and value-added production, which are set to transform Africa into a global power center, also shaped Turkey's economic relations with the continent.

The biggest problem, on the other hand, of the Turkish private sector in Africa is the financing of its activities, he said, adding that though Turk Eximbank provided intensive support for these operations, more support was needed.


Pandemic-hit Africa

Victor Harison, the Economic Affairs Commissioner of African Union Commission, said the COVID-19 pandemic had damaged the Africa continent deeply, with 1.5 million people infected and 36,000 dead.

Before the pandemic, Africa's GDP growth forecast for 2020 had been 3.4%. The current predictions are between minus 4.9% and minus 2.1%, Harison stated.

The inflation rate is currently over 5% in several African countries, he added.

The continent needs to raise its manufacturing exports and reduce the use of processed goods to close its fiscal gap, said Harison./aa

WASHINGTON

The US sanctioned 18 Iranian banks and Iran's wider financial sector Thursday in a move European governments warned could have dire humanitarian consequences for the country.

The designation of Iran's financial system comes under an executive order US President Donald Trump issued in January that allows Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuching to impose sanctions on key sectors of the Iranian economy.

“Today’s action to identify the financial sector and sanction eighteen major Iranian banks reflects our commitment to stop illicit access to U.S. dollars,” Mnuchin said in a statement.

“Our sanctions programs will continue until Iran stops its support of terrorist activities and ends its nuclear programs. Today’s actions will continue to allow for humanitarian transactions to support the Iranian people,” he added.

The Treasury Department identified blacklisted banks as Amin Investment Bank, Bank Keshavarzi Iran, Bank Maskan, Bank Refah Kargaran, Bank-e Shahr, Eghtesad Novin Bank, Gharzolhasaneh Resalat Bank, Hekmat Iranian Bank, Iran Zamin Bank, Karafarin Bank, Khavarmianeh Bank, Mehr Iran Credit Union Bank, Pasargad Bank, Saman Bank, Sarmayeh Bank, Tosee Taavon Bank, and Tourism Bank.

Hekmat Iranian Bank was also sanctioned under a 2005 executive order.

Multiple reports cited anonymous European officials who warned prior to the announcement that the action would make it virtually impossible for Iran to pay for the import of humanitarian goods, and would expose European financial institutions to potential secondary sanctions.

Individuals and entities that conduct business with the banks are being given a "45-day wind-down period" before they face the possibility of being hit with follow-on US sanctions.

Trump and his administration have been seeking to kill a 2015 nuclear deal the US and other world power struck with Iran, and has been ramping up pressure on Tehran in what he calls a "maximum pressure" campaign aimed at bringing Tehran back to the negotiating table.

Javad Zarif, Iran's foreign minister, struck a defiant tone amid the latest batch of penalties, vowing his country will not cede to US demands.

"Amid Covid19 pandemic, U.S. regime wants to blow up our remaining channels to pay for food & medicine," he said on Twitter. "Iranians WILL survive this latest of cruelties. But conspiring to starve a population is a crime against humanity. Culprits & enablers—who block our money—WILL face justice."/aa

During his visit to Kuwait, the president was welcomed by a Kuwaiti delegation headed by Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah and Turkey's Ambassador to Kuwait Ayşe Hilal Sayan Koytak.

Erdoğan conveyed his condolences to the recently sworn-in Kuwaiti Emir Al Sabah on the passing of his predecessor Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah, who recently died at the age of 91 after ruling the country since 2006. In the meeting, officials also discussed bilateral relations and regional issues.

Erdoğan arrived in Qatar later in the day after holding meetings in Kuwait. He was welcomed by a Qatari delegation headed by Defense Minister Khalid bin Mohammad Al Attiyah and Turkey's Ambassador to Qatar Mehmet Mustafa Göksu.

Erdoğan later met Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani as part of his visit. In a closed-door meeting that lasted more than an hour, the duo discussed opportunities to strengthen bilateral cooperation and also exchanged views on regional and international issues.

Accompanying the president are several top Turkish officials, including Treasury and Finance Minister Berat Albayrak, National Defense Minister Hulusi Akar, Youth and Sports Minister Mehmet Kasapoğlu, National Intelligence Organization (MIT) head Hakan Fidan, Communications Director Fahrettin Altun and Presidential Spokesperson Ibrahim Kalın.

Turkey enjoys deep-rooted friendship and fraternity with Qatar, and relations between the two countries have been rapidly improving in all fields. While bilateral visits add major momentum to relations between Turkey and Qatar, both countries also closely coordinate and cooperate on regional issues.

Annual meetings of the Supreme Strategic Committee, established in 2014 as a bilateral mechanism to form the institutional basis of high-level dialogue and cooperation between Turkey and Qatar, are co-chaired by Erdoğan and the Emir of Qatar Al Thani. In this regard, the first meeting of the committee was held in Doha on Dec. 2, 2015, and the second and third meetings were convened in Trabzon on Dec. 18, 2016, and in Doha on Nov. 14-15, 2017. The most recent, fourth meeting was held in Istanbul on Nov. 26, 2018. On the occasion of those meetings, numerous agreements, protocols and memorandums of understanding (MoU) were signed, which further strengthen the cooperation between Turkey and Qatar in various fields.

By the end of 2018, trade volume between the two countries increased by 57%, compared with 2017, and reached a level of $1.4 billion (TL 7.4 billion at the time). Currently, more than 180 Turkish companies are operating in Qatar, and the total value of projects undertaken by Turkish companies in Qatar has reached a level of $17.4 billion.

In addition, Qatar ranks first among the Gulf countries in terms of the number of projects undertaken by Turkish contractors. The volume of Qatari capital investments in Turkey has also been increasing steadily. In line with Turkey’s deepening relations with Qatar, Turkey has become an important destination for Qatari tourists.

The two countries are also the main backers of Libya’s United Nations-recognized legitimate Government of National Accord (GNA) against putschist Gen. Khalifa Haftar’s forces in the Libyan conflict.

Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu traveled to Kuwait last week to offer condolences on the death of the Gulf state's emir.

"In #Kuwait to convey our condolences on behalf of (Turkish) President @RTErdogan and the Turkish nation," Çavuşoğlu wrote on Twitter.

Çavuşoğlu also visited the new emir and offered condolences to the Sabah family.

"We offered the condolences of (Turkish) President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and our nation to the new Emir Sheikh Nawaf. We extend our condolences to the people of Kuwait; our friends, brothers, and sisters," Çavuşoğlu said in a tweet.

In a statement, Erdoğan had said he received the news of the emir's demise with "great sadness."

"On behalf of the Turkish nation, I convey my sincere condolences to the friendly and brotherly people of Kuwait."

Turkey and Kuwait, which gained its independence in 1961, celebrated the 50th anniversary of the establishment of their diplomatic relations in 2014. Turkey enjoys multifaceted relations with Kuwait based on common cultural and historical ties.

Turkey’s bilateral relations with Kuwait have gained momentum in recent years through high-level visits and numerous agreements. Five state visits took place between the two countries in 2017, while in 2018, the late Emir Al-Sabah attended the OIC Extraordinary Summit on Al-Quds in Istanbul. In the same year, Speaker of the Kuwaiti National Assembly, Marzouq Ali Al Ghanim visited Turkey in order to attend the presidential inauguration of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the Third Meeting of Speakers of Eurasian Countries’ Parliaments held in Antalya on Oct. 8-11, 2018.

The two nations' bilateral trade volume, which fell between 2015 and 2017, reached a level of $678 million by the end of 2018 and exceeded the trade volume recorded in 2015. Currently, more than 300 Kuwaiti companies are operating in Turkey, and the total value of investments by these companies is worth $1.7 billion. Kuwaiti investments in Turkey focus on the areas of finance, real estate, trade and industry. On the other hand, the total amount of tenders won by Turkish companies in Kuwait currently comes to $6.5 billion-$7 billion./ Daily Sabah

For 17 years, Sally Zakhari said she told priests and leaders in the Coptic Orthodox Church her childhood nightmare — how a Coptic priest visiting from Egypt sexually abused her at her Florida home during what was supposed to be her first confession.

“I’ve already gone to countless bishops. I’ve already gone to two different popes,” she told The Associated Press. She went to police as well.

She said she watched the priest — Reweis Aziz Khalil — continue serving at Coptic churches. Then, Zakhari aired her allegations on social media in July and Khalil was stripped of his priesthood and ordered to return to his pre-ordination name days later.

In announcing the move, Khalil’s Minya and Abu Qurqas diocese in Egypt mentioned undated complaints by congregants in Egypt as well as from the United States and Canada. A papal decree said disciplinary action had been taken against Khalil in the past for “his repeated infringements.” Neither statement specified the nature of the complaints or “infringements.”

The papal decree said prior action against Khalil included “defrocking him from all ministry” in 2014. It wasn’t clear what that entailed and there were times when Khalil served as priest after 2014.

In response to questions and a request to interview Khalil, his attorney, Michelle Suskauer, said by e-mail: “Mr. Khalil will not be responding to your questions and denies all allegations against him.”

For Egypt’s ancient Coptic Church, which is usually closed about its inner workings, the allegations and the laicization after sexual abuse claims were unusually public and shocked many. In the aftermath, some anti-abuse efforts were announced and questions were raised about oversight and the handling of Zakhari’s allegations.

After Khalil’s ouster, several Coptic dioceses in America and other Western countries issued statements supporting survivors of clerical sexual abuse, encouraging members to report sexual misconduct or announcing protocols to handle claims and protect the vulnerable.

Some, like Zakhari, are using social media to keep the spotlight on how accusations are handled, setting off intense debates among some Coptic Christians. Others argue such issues are too sensitive for public airing and vetting or fear the scrutiny could be exploited to unfairly taint the church or its clergy — a concern amplified among some by Christians’ status as a religious minority in Egypt.

Despite Khalil’s removal, Zakhari, now 33, said she cannot celebrate.

“This has been too many years,” she said. “I’m not scandalizing anything. I’m just saying the truth.”

___

Over the years, as other faith communities publicly grappled with clerical abuse, the Coptic Church in Egypt was more likely to make headlines when targeted with violence by militant groups and other extremists. The church is the main community among Egypt’s Christian minority and has many followers who have emigrated to the United States and elsewhere.

“As Copts, we’re not used to discussing such things in public,” said Samuel Tadros, senior fellow at Hudson Institute’s Center for Religious Freedom. “While I’m sure that such cases have existed throughout time and are probably not limited to just one individual ... when they were handled, they were handled behind closed doors.”

Emotions run the gamut. Online, some criticized openly naming the priest and said “sins” shouldn’t be publicly exposed. Others praised the church for removing Khalil from the priesthood. Still others said leaders acted too slowly and demanded education about sexual misconduct and transparent and swift handling of accusations.

Zakhari said she is not trying to hurt the church she loves.

“We wanted this to just be handled,” she said.

___

It happened in the late 1990s when Zakhari was 11 or 12, she recounted in a statement she made to the Altamonte Springs Police Department in Florida in February 2013. (As a rule, the AP does not name survivors or alleged survivors of sexual abuse unless they have identified themselves publicly, as Zakhari has done.)

A first-generation American, she was born in Florida to parents who are “faithful servants” in the Coptic Church. The church was the center of her strict upbringing, she said.

According to the police report, Zakhari told authorities that Khalil, then a visiting priest from Egypt, was staying with her family in Florida. While alone with her, ostensibly to take her confession, Khalil touched her under her bra, squeezed and fondled her breasts and started kissing her face, neck, ears and lips and forced his tongue inside her mouth, she said in the report, which was viewed by the AP.

As he left, her statement to police said, Khalil told her whatever happens in confession is a secret.

The Altamonte Springs Police Department said an investigator discussed Zakhari’s report with the state attorney’s office and it was determined then that the statute of limitations had expired.

At 16, Zakhari said, she started telling her story to people involved with the church, and around 17 — in 2003 or 2004, she said — she told Bishop Youssef of the Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States.

She said she told her mother later. “With our culture, it’s really hard to talk about sexual abuse to begin with,” Zakhari explained. “It’s difficult to even have this conversation with my parents.”

Father Pishoy Salama of St. Maurice & St. Verena Coptic Orthodox Church in Canada said Zakhari, whom he met at a youth conference, began sharing her abuse allegations with him years ago. “Her pain was real, and her story was always consistent,” he said.

Around 2010, Zakhari said, her mother saw in a church publication that Khalil had been promoted in clerical rank by his diocese in Egypt.

“I really started fighting hard,” Zakhari said.

___

Tracking exactly how Zakhari’s complaint was handled is difficult, especially since Khalil, then a priest of a diocese in Egypt, has served in different areas in the U.S.

According to Zakhari, Bishop Youssef told her he was aware of other abuse allegations against Khalil and said the then-priest had been sent to Egypt and banned from the Southern Diocese.

An AP request to interview Bishop Youssef was answered by a public relations representative who provided statements by the Southern Diocese.

According to the statements, Khalil left the Southern Diocese long before Zakhari spoke to Bishop Youssef, the diocese “did everything in its power” to prevent Khalil from serving in ministry and the bishop barred Khalil from returning to his diocese.

One statement said Bishop Youssef “believed Ms. Zakhari’s complaint against the former priest and informed her of the immediate action taken against him.” This included him bringing the accusation to the attention of then-Pope Shenouda III and his successor, Pope Tawadros II, as well as the then-bishop of Khalil’s diocese in Egypt, Metropolitan Arsanious, it said.

“Bishop Youssef did not and does not have any influence, control or ecclesiastical authority over a Diocese in Egypt,” the statement said. “Nor did he have any authority over the former priest after he had left the Southern Diocese.”

The statement said it was “disappointing” that Zakhari has expressed dissatisfaction “with how the Southern Diocese and specifically Bishop Youssef handled this troubling issue when she came forward.” It added that Bishop Youssef and the Southern Diocese “remain steadfast in their commitment to protecting children and vulnerable adults and creating a safe environment for all congregants.”

The statement didn’t address some of the AP’s questions, including whether Bishop Youssef was aware of other reports of abuse against Khalil.

Coptic Orthodox Church spokesman in Egypt, Father Boules Halim, didn’t respond to specific questions but said that the Church doesn’t cover up crimes against its followers. Bishop Makarios of the Minya and Abu Qurqas diocese, reached via WhatsApp, declined to comment beyond publicly issued statements.

___

Khalil moved on. Over the years, Zakhari said, she learned that he led services in different states, sometimes as a visiting priest. She said she contacted Coptic leaders to alert them.

At least one of Khalil's stints, at the St. Mary and ArchAngel Gabriel Coptic Orthodox Church of West Virginia in Charleston, came after the Church banned him from serving in 2014.

Between October 2015 and February 2016, three postings captured by the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine from the website of the West Virginia church appear to mention Khalil. Multiple photos of a priest who appears to be Khalil were also posted on the church’s Facebook page in late 2015 and early 2016. In some, he’s surrounded by congregation members or poses with children, some wearing costumes, and adults.

Bassam Makar, treasurer at the West Virginia church, said Khalil served as priest there for about five months. He said the church’s board wasn’t aware Khalil had been ordered to stop serving and when it found out, Khalil’s service was ended.

He said there were no complaints from members about Khalil during his time there.

Makar said that while he respects the laicization decision, he dislikes that the issue had become public.

“It’s OK to prevent him from serving but we don’t need to announce it and then it becomes a scandal. That’s not good for the church,” he argued. “I am not saying to cover up for anyone … I want everyone to be held accountable but not in a public way. ... We are all sinners.”

That there would be some in the community resistant to airing that story comes as no surprise to Salama, the priest in Canada.

Clergy members are held in high esteem and some help perpetuate a culture of silence, using their authority and religious arguments to urge victims to “forgive and forget” and call for “unrestricted obedience” to religious authorities, he said.

“We know that there was a problem in the system,” Salama said of Zakhari’s case. “But, you know, so long as everyone’s saying, ‘It’s not my fault, it’s someone else’s,’ then maybe we are all to blame.”

___

Halim, the church spokesman in Egypt, was asked about the divergent reactions to Khalil’s case in an interview with Copts United website.

“The church doesn’t punish a priest the moment he makes a mistake. ... When there is a deviant position regarding the teachings or the behavior, the church provides a chance, two, 10 and possibly up to 20 as long as he has the desire to change,” he said. “The church takes a position and makes a judgment — and that happens in very limited and very rare situations — when it sees that there’s nothing that works.”

At that point, the church must announce its decision so that people are warned, and the person doesn’t exploit his clerical garb to continue his violations, he said.

Asked by the AP about his comments, which angered some of those advocating for accountability, Halim said via WhatsApp that his remarks referred to general church policies for defrocking and were not related to a particular incident.

“I stress that there’s a difference between a sin and a crime,” he said. “For a sin, we give a chance for repentance and a crime is handled by investigation authorities. We do not cover up any crime against our children.”

___

There have been announced changes. Among them, the Coptic Orthodox Archdiocese of North America and the Diocese of New York and New England said in a joint statement in September that they updated policies and procedures related to claims of sexual misconduct. They also said they engaged a third-party victim reporting center and established behavioral guidelines on interaction with minors, as part of efforts to prevent sexual abuse and promptly investigate claims.

The Coptic Orthodox Diocese of Pennsylvania and Affiliated Regions, which includes West Virginia, issued statements on sexual misconduct after the papal decree. It pledged to revamp policies, establish clear protocols for investigating allegations, provide mandatory sexual misconduct training to clergy and servants and conduct thorough background checks on clergy. “As a young Diocese, we recognize that the current infrastructure in place to deal with allegations of sexual misconduct is insufficient,” it said. It has since issued a “progress report.”

Ishak Ibrahim, a religious freedoms researcher with the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, lauded the public steps to tackle sexual misconduct by some dioceses but said the momentum hasn't been matched in Egypt. Fear among some Coptic Christians that criticism of clergy could hurt the church or spark “social bullying” against them leads to “scandals being kept under wraps,” he said.

With Egypt's largely conservative culture, sexual issues are not typically publicly discussed and many, Christians and Muslims alike, worry that coming forward with stories of sexual abuse could hurt victims’ reputations. Recently, young Egyptian activists have increasingly campaigned online to chip away at the stigma.

But in the West — where the church has expanded — Coptic leaders must deal with the different ways of thinking of younger members, said the Hudson Institute’s Tadros.

Zakhari sees the benefit and righteousness of more openness. She said her faith has fueled her years-long fight.

“I just know Jesus Christ would not be OK with this,” she said, her voice cracking. “I know that this is a responsibility that Jesus Christ gave me.”

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Associated Press

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