Egyptian Christians launch Human Rights TV Channel in N. America

Middle East Journalist, Mary Abdelmassih, has told the ASSIST News Service that Egyptian Christians have launched a human rights TV channel in North America, reports Dan Wooding, founder of ASSIST Ministries.

She told ANS, that “in an effort to make spread awareness of the suffering of their besieged brethren in Egypt, Christian Copts in USA have launched from California since mid-May 2010, the first Coptic human rights TV channel.”

Abdelmassih said that it is called “Hope Sat TV” and has a slogan of “Giving Hope to Those Without Hope” meaning giving hope to the Copts, “who,” she says, “have been treated as second-class citizens in Islamic Egypt for over 14 centuries.”

The respected journalist went on to say, “Its programs focuses mainly on the conditions of the 18,000,000 Copts living in Egypt, dealing with the political, economic, social and religious discrimination practiced against them in all aspects of life.”

Dr. Ihab Yacoub, who moderates the “Appeals” Program, said, “In just three months since its inauguration, Hope Sat TV has achieve a great deal through its awareness campaigns, exposing the human rights abuses practiced against Copts by the Egyptian government. We campaigned until the innocent Coptic blogger, Hani Nazeer, who was imprisoned without charge since 2008, was freed.”

Yacoub added that they were also successful in campaigning until the Egyptian State Security brought back the missing priest’s wife in Deir Mawass and the two Coptic teenage girls, Mariam and Sameria, after 41 days of disappearance.

“We portrayed to the outside world the problems facing the Copts in the Upper Egyptian town of Maghagha, of getting a licence to build a church, after the governor tricked them into pulling down their old church first before going back on his promises, leaving them to pray in a tent,” he said.

Through volunteer Coptic correspondents and cameramen, live incidents from inside Egypt are aired and followed-up, giving the security authorities no chance to fabricate stories about the incidents, or “at least we give our side of the story backed by videos and interviews,” said Muslim-born Christian convert Ahmed Bolos, one of the moderators

The TV Channel airs its programs in Arabic, except for one English weekly program called “Q mark.”

Moderator Bolos el-Americani says, “‘Q Mark’ shows the truth about Islam and Stealth Jihad, and how it sneaks to introduce Sharia to take over the American constitution. We will not keep quiet; we don't want what happened to us in Egypt to happen to our new home, USA. We have to make Americans wise,” he added.

Abdelmassih stated that presently Hope Sat TV is campaigning against the abduction, forced Islamization and marriage of Christian minor girls to Muslims, "which has been going on for over three decades during which very few girls were returned back to their families."

She added, "It portrays the helplessness of the victims' families in front of the 'mighty State Security, which colludes with Islamist organizations in this process.”

Cases of abducted girls are aired, exposing the names of State Security officials involved in the abduction and the number plates of the cars used.

“We will get each one of the abducted girls back to their families, whatever it takes,” said moderator, Dr. Ihab Yacoub.

“Copts are greatly persecuted, everyday a church is pulled down or burnt, and we can never get a new one. Our girls are being abducted, raped and coerced to convert to Islam. We have no equal rights to the Muslims who invaded our country,” believes Coptic activist Magdi Bishay.

“We hope to get enough donations to also bring Hope Sat to the Middle East and Europe on Hotbird Satellite. This way the Copts in Egypt can know the reality, as they get their news from the government media, which is all lies.”

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TAGS: USA Egypt Mary Abdelmassih human rights TV channel Hope Sat TV persecution

[08/10/2010]

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