Egypt
From Missiopedia
- Return to Countries
- Back to North Africa
|
Official name: Arab Republic of Egypt |
DEMOGRAPHY
ECONOMY |
LIFE & LIBERTY |
Contents |
[edit] Geography
[edit] Location
- Egypt is a country in North Africa that includes the Sinai Peninsula, a land bridge to Asia. Egypt borders Libya to the west, Sudan to the south and the Gaza Strip and Israel to the east. The northern coast borders the Mediterranean Sea and the eastern coast borders the Red Sea. Egypt is one of the most populous countries in Africa. The vast majority of its estimated 80 million people live near the banks of the Nile River in an area of about 15,000 square miles, where the only arable agricultural land is found. Egypt is well known for its pyramids, Pharaohs and the Nile.
[edit] Region
[edit] Climate
[edit] Natural Resources
[edit] Demographics
[edit] Peoples
[edit] Provinces
- The Cities of Egypt
- Cairo
[edit] Life
- "City of the Dead": There are reports of upwards of millions of homeless people living here amongst the tombs.
[edit] Refugees
- About a million Sudanese refugees live in Agypt. They live in some of the most difficult situation imagimable with hardly any rights to protect them, without proper medical care, and education. The hospitals are forbidden from giving them emergency help, so many people dia and nobody takes care for them.
[edit] Economy
[edit] Government
[edit] Religion
- Muslims make up 86.5% of Egypt’s population, while indigenous Coptic Christians comprise only about 13%. The number of Muslim converts to Christianity remains unknown. Harsh treatment of converts from Islam to Christianity topped the the list of religious violations.
[edit] Islam
[edit] Buddhism
[edit] Christianity
[edit] History
- For over 1,000 years Egypt was a majority-Christian country even after the Arab Muslim conquest in 640AD. Egypt gave to the Christian world some of its greatest theologians and the monastic movement. Coptic Christians are more authentic Egyptians than those who follow the religion of their Arab conquerors. Every effort has been made to expunge Egypt’s great Christian heritage from the historic records, downplay the size of the Church and marginalize its contribution to society. Pray that in a rediscovery of this heritage many might turn to Christ.
[edit] Churches
- Thank God that the Christian Church in in this country has survived for nearly 2,000 years, despite times of discrimination and severe persecution, and it is by far one of the biggest groups of Christians anywhere in the Middle East. Pray that Coptic Christians today would be filled with the Holy Spirit and have a strong relationship with God. Praise God for His faithfulness in Egypt.
[edit] Church and State Relations
[edit] Challenges for Christians:
- “The government of Egypt has denied conversion to Christianity even by people who were born into a Christian family, later converted to Islam and then want to go back,” U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for Religious Freedom John Hanford said regarding the latest U.S. State Department’s annual International Religious Freedom Report. In April 2007, a Cairo court rejected the right of converts to Islam to return to Christianity, the report said. The decision overturned three years of rulings that had allowed at least 32 “re-conversions” to Christianity. Egypt’s Supreme Administrative Court is due to rule on the appeal of 12 of these former Christians on November 17, 2007. At least 200 cases of Christian converts to Islam who now wish to return to their original faith are pending in Egyptian courts, the report stated. Much is at stake for would-be converts. The report noted that marriage, divorce, alimony, child custody and burial are based on one’s religion under Egyptian law. Additionally, kidnapping and forced religious conversion of Christian women to Islam remained a contentious issue, the religious freedom document stated.
[edit] Persecution
- By far the largest body of Christians in the Middle East. The Church has come through nearly 2,000 years of discrimination and times of severe persecution, yet has retained its strong spiritual character. Persecution of Christians steadily increased in intensity during the 1980s and 1990s. They can face intimidation and police brutality and some of died at the hands of Islamic extremists. In the last few years over 1,300 Christians have died at the hands of Islamists.
[edit] Mission and Evangelization
- Cairo International Book fair from January 24 to February 2008. A number of Christian book publisher and distributors participate in the fair, considered to be one of the major book events worldwide, second only to Germany. God is opening extraordinary opportunities to tell people the Gospel during this time. The churches are allowed to circulate literature, to present the “Jesus Film”, and to display books. Many unbelievers attend the book fair because they know that God's word will be available for them, not only in printed form, but also in video, cassette and CD/DVD. sSeveral hundred Bibles were sold. Pray for Egyptian Christians to play a unique role in reaching other Muslim lands in the Middle East.
- The missionary vision of the Egyptian church is growing, but it is limited by lack of vision, training opportunities, experience and funds. Missionaries from Egypt would be more acceptable than Western missionaries in many Muslim lands. Pray that the many Egyptian Christians in the West and Middle Eastern oil states may catch the vision to support such a thrust. Pray for:
- A group drawn from several Arab nations which is seeking to initiate indigenous church planting movements across the region.
- A new partnership focused on new and effective ways of reaching the majority population.
- The further development of training courses focusing on mission within Egypt and beyond.
[edit] Broadcasting
[edit] Councils and Networks
[edit] Future Trends
[edit] For More Reading
