King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz International Center for Dialogue between Religions and Cultures succeeded to convey its strong message to the world and to reveal its goals before the international community. Its hard working and distinguished team led by His Excellency Mr. Faisal bin Muammar, who is a great Arab intellectual and visionary contributed to its success. The KAICIID international conference this week brought together 190 prominent religious leaders to discuss the challenges of combating hate speech. The issue is very vital and comes at a critical moment as the international community in many parts of the country is going through conflicts of a religious nature, divisions and even religious wars. The two-day discussions, which I had the honor to participate in, revealed to me personally the magnitude of the humanitarian and enlightening role played by the Center, which requires extensive international support, the first of which is the Government of Austria that should support the Center against some racist parties that try to shut it down for its successful role and mediation, which it carried out in a number of conflicts, especially in Africa. The choice of the subject of hate speech is a very successful one because this issue is the starting point for many conflicts and wars that are based on ethnic and religious foundations. The ability to bring so many religious leaders to one table is undoubtedly an achievement. A very lofty message about coexistence, acceptance of the other and diversity, which has been a role model to follow in the region and the world. I had a first hand experience of the sincerity of those in charge of the conference under the chairmanship of the Secretary-General who have a desire for the success of the Center that is located in Austria, which is a symbol of freedom and religious tolerance. The announcement that the center will allocate 1.5 million euros next year to fight hate speech is a courageous step in which money is being used for high humanitarian and social purposes. I am confident that this huge funding will succeed in achieving the noble goals and objectives, among which is the graduation of many Peace advocates from dozens of countries to prepare young clergy, intellectuals and civil society activists involved in the dialogue. I hope it will withstand and triumph over the wars of hatred and enemies of success.

Sin of doubt is one of the sins that may face all people, as a result of the work of the devil. Such doubt may be accepted by some people who live in anxiety and turmoil, and may be refused by others, who overcome it. The late Pope Shenouda III in his article ‘doubt’ talked about the sin of doubt, its kinds, reasons, and how to face it. People may doubt faith related to God, doubt the truth, principles, others and even doubt related to oneself. There are many reasons of doubt including fear like St. Peter who saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, ‘Lord, save me!’ And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, ‘O you of little faith, why did you doubt?’ Man may lack faith and forget about God’s grease that saved him in the past. Second, having friends who doubt may affect one’s faith. Third, the rumors that may affect one’s faith. Fourth, the narrow mind that considers one reason and can’t think of others. Fifth: The person may be skeptical of nature like Thomas. Sixth, the work of Satan since the beginning when it said to Eve Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’? He also said to Christ: If You are theSon of God, command that these stones become bread. Later it said: If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross. Seventh: There is doubt concerning God, His protection, love and support. Uncertainty and doubt are very damaging and causes anxiety and turmoil. It is easy to embrace and very hard to get rid of. Faith and trust in the almighty Lord are the solution. Don’t believe everything since the devil is multi-talented and can lead people easily to doubt, grumbling and despair.

There is no doubt that what is happening in Lebanon and Egypt from demonstration and strikes express the frustrations that the ruler of these countries put their people at this position. It s impossible and not logic that all Egyptian just got paid to strike or to express their opinion. Its very shameful that people live and suffer and can t express their suffering because the dictatorship can t let them express their opinion.

The agreed title of a production of a biography TV series about the life of the late Pope Shenouda III is Pope of the Arabs. I want to say that the title ‘Pope of the Arabs’ is not worthy of the prestige and majesty of the great Holy See. The Arabs have never had a Pope! I wonder if the name came from inside the church or from outside just to prove some proposal by political party or another organization. I am sure that such TV series would stress the importance of the national role of the Pope as head of the Coptic Orthodox Church. The title may have come from inside the church as a pure flirtation and appeasement and to give better situation for the suffering Copts facing extremism of the Salafist current. Do they think that such title will find acceptance for example in Morocco or just in the Gulf countries! The title also points out to how the script will process the ideas in a political context away from Pope’s pastoral care and spiritual part. Pope’s life has been full of incidents, but I hope they will be honest in telling the story. I still see that the title of Pope of the Arabs doesn’t represent St. Mark’s See as it doesn’t bring pride or joy for the Arabs.

I was very happy to know about the production of a biography TV series about the life of the late Pope Shenouda III to be a lasting memory not only for the present generation but for the new generations to come like all other biographies. His life indeed is full of unique experiences not only in Egypt but around the world. His Holiness Pope Shenouda is one of the universal spiritual stature witnessed by kings, princes, and presidents, in addition to all ecclesiastical leaders in all denominations. He obtained a Bachelor of Arts of History from King Fouad University with excellent grades. He studied at the theological seminary and was one of its teachers. He was a writer and poet and an officer in the Egyptian Army. He was a monk, a bishop for education, Pope and Patriarch of the Coptic Church. Caring for the poor, he founded the Committee to take care of the needy and the poor. Everyone knows what his Holiness Pope Shenouda presented to his sons and his country, especially with the disagreement with President Sadat. He always resorted to God by prayers to solve many including hundreds of sectarian strife, which claimed many wounded and martyrs, the most recent of which was the massacre of the Maspero massacre. Many countries, universities, human rights organizations and parliaments have honored His Holiness Pope Shenouda and he was awarded medals, awards, certificates, honorary doctorates, etc. His name was called on a street in the United States of America and the Coptic Center for Youth in Sydney, Australia. However, the name of the biography made many people feel uncomfortable with many other titles that could be used. He was an international figure with a Coptic roots, so why just limit his effect with the Arabs? I googled the title, and was surprised to know that he was first called this title during his visit to Lebanon in 1995. Thank God they didn’t choose the title Pope of the Resistance! I think it is still possible to choose an alternative to the name of this TV series, which will remain stuck in the minds of this generation and could be called on a church one day!

On May 2nd, 2011, Western and international media reported that Osama bin Laden, the founder of al-Qaeda, was killed by US forces. President Barack Obama restored his popularity after he was close to losing the elections in his second round and the killing of the founder of Al-Qaeda was a kiss of life to him. In 2019, Democrats rallied against US President Donald Trump and despite his unprecedented economic reforms to the United States, the Democrats succeeded in confusing him by threatening to remove him after his calls wtih the Ukrainian President and his request to investigate the son of Joe Biden, a possible presidential candidate for 2020 against Trump. Soon, Western newspapers announced in August 2019 that Osama bin Laden s son Hamza had been killed in an air strike, which is similar to what Obama did before his second round election by announcing the killing of bin Laden.

Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered. Love is the base of Christianity and we believe that God is love. Thus, the believers have to witness to this love. Dr. Rasmi Abdel Malek, Head of the Department of Humanities in the seminary in his article Education for the Testimony of Christian Love assured us that true love is the love of the Lord with all the heart, and this is what we really need today. He cited a saying by the late Father Bishoy Kamel saying: The church today needs martyrs of love more than of blood. To love your enemies is better than to offer your blood. We need today those who love the Lord from all their hearts. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind ; and, Love your neighbor as yourself. Our fathers loved God above all, and therefore, they were powerful in facing tribulations and persecution. St. Paul the Apostle stood before kings and testified about Christ. St. Anthony left all his riches and chose the path of spiritual suffering. Thus, he despised lusts of the world and became as martyr of love. Give your heart to the Lord and make it immersed in His love to find comfort and joy.

Recently Egypt was facing a lot of rain and that causes the country to be flooded with water and that cause a mess as the country doesn t have the proper sewer system that could contain all this water. Unfortunately, there is misadministration in Egypt most probably cause this problem to happen and repeated every year. Egypt now suffers from lack of water because of “Renaissance Dam” that Ethiopia is building, however, we can t see an y strategic plan to use this free water coming from heaven.

The Ethiopian PM Abi Ahmed, man of peace, is now waving the bloody shirt before his country s parliament. This comes after he prevented the Ethiopian-Eritrean border war, which is no different from the common border in the waters between the Nile Basin countries. He should realizes that sovereignty over the waters of the Nile is restricted by the non-emergence of armed conflict. Certainly, he should have learned this when he got the Nobel Peace Prize the other day. There is no need for antisemitism and arrogance in front of your people, especially when it comes to war. Even if you have a legal right to build the dam, the nature of water issues is both legal and political. Negotiations to avoid damage and armed conflict are the best solution. It was better for you to try to lower the tension than to increase it by threatening war. "Some say things about the use of force (by Egypt). It must be emphasized that there is no force that can prevent Ethiopia from building this dam," Ethiopia s prime minister told parliament. "If there is a need to go to war, we can mobilize millions, and if some can fire a missile, others can use bombs, which is not in our interests." Abi Ahmed said: Some say things about the use of force by Egypt, I must emphasize that no force can prevent Ethiopia from building the dam, and if there is a need to go to war, we can mobilize millions of soldiers. If a party can fire a missile, the other can use bombs.

The Egyptians praise the honorable and dedicated role played by the police for protecting the country against all dangers, and they express their sincere appreciation for the security vigilance being made to prevent crime, as well as their gratitude for all the sacrifices of the security men and the price they pay and the martyrs and injured people they offer. This kind of appreciation is kind of offering a shield of heroism, dignity, and pride to every individual and rank in the security apparatus. The good relationship between citizens and police derived not only from their vital role in keeping the streets safe, but also for showing mutual respect and reverence for the law. Any violations to the rights of the people by policemen may affect that relationship and image. Thus, it is the duty of security chiefs to investigate the violations and take all necessary measures to assure the public about their freedom and dignity. During the last few weeks, there have been repeated complaints of incidents of police violations after many people have been stopped to be asked to check their IDs, and surprisingly, their smart phones, which was denounced later by the National Council of Human Rights. The law says that any search of personal belongings or property, apart from identity documents, can only be conducted upon a warrant issued by the public prosecution or the legal investigation authorities. Such warrants are never general in nature; they do not apply collectively but individually, to serve specific legal purposes. On the other side, the Ministry of Interior said on its official page that the information included in the statement by the National Council of Human Rights was based on unreliable sources that attempt to sow confusion and tension on the Egyptian street, and that all the cases searched or caught had been according to full legal proceedings, but this was not the information I got from several eye witnesses. The confusion and tension on the Egyptian street was caused by the police’s unwarranted search of individuals’ mobile phones, which was not carried out according to the law. These incidents have raised fears of renewed police tyranny and may destroy the good relationship between police and citizens.

President Sadat, had an old saying during the Middle East crisis and peace negotiations with Israel that ninety-nine percent of the cards were in the hands of the Americans. Sadat was right and, but the collapse of the Soviet Union led to confirm his saying and prove his wisdom. I wonder if he would remain in his vision today or would he change his mind? In the last five years, the Kremlin has been less interested in Russia s economic growth than in strengthening Russia s geopolitical influence. Back in 2014, following Russia s annexation of Crimea and its military intervention in eastern Ukraine, Moscow - imposed by economic sanctions - seemed isolated. Western leaders criticized President Putin believing that their criticism and the pressure of sanctions on the Kremlin would change the behavior of the Russian government, and even US President Barack Obama disregarded Russia as a regional power.

Another Arab country which Lebanon is going to turmoil again after economic and political difficulties the people face without any hope for near solution. The Lebanon government found the solution for these economic difficulties is to impose more taxes but this time on what? This time on whatsapp program that people use to talk to their lovely one.

President Sisi affirmed in a meeting with a group of Egyptian scientists that the system of values and ethics in the society is the first ruler of the behavior of citizens and plays an important role in development. Dr. Mohamed Ghoneim, a member of the Council of Egyptian Scholars, stated that the members of the Council offered President Abdel Fattah El Sisi the establishment of a committee for development of ethics and conscience, and to promote the values of work and belonging. They suggested that the commitee works under the auspices of the Presidency and supported by Al-Azhar, education and the media, and assuring the economic and social situation should be improved so that the moral content of individuals may improve.

I understand the anger of the people at the government during last few days, and I believe it is OK for two main reasons: the first is cumulative and the second is inadequate in the management of the crisis. We have not been accustomed to painful surgical treatment after we stayed for decades extending until the royal era dealing with painkillers, and perhaps re-read the speeches of the governments after July 52, and the promise of prosperity to come which were just a mirage. Even military adventures were justified tickling Nationalist sentiments and only drained our resources. Loans became a sustainable solution instead of exceptional. The use of ‘subsidies’ with indiscriminate economic policies was a rope to hang all development efforts. We destroyed manufacturing and agriculture as we moved towards revenue and speculative economy and lost our ability to export. The mechanisms of education and culture have retreated and the population bomb explodes in our face to devour the remaining resources. Corruption spreads to strike all walks of life. It is noteworthy that the population explosion and corruption were protected by religious cover that justifies and deepens the problem. Therefore, the correct remedies were painful and the feeling of pain increased. The biggest shock was the parliament, which did not approach its oversight functions and has been an executive office for the government. Therefore, cyberspace and the virtual world have become an alternative censor and an open opposition arena without objective rules or controls. The proper language of dialogue was absent and was replaced by security solutions. There are indications looming to revive the substantive dialogue and to build the wall of trust and raise the ceiling of the media freedom in order to build a healthy political life, which was one of the goals of July 1952 revolution. To come late is better than not to come.

During the football match between Algeria and Pyrmaids, Algerian fans called Egyptian president enemy of God, “and Tunisians did the same after the wining of Qais Said the presidential elections. In the Sudan, the demonstrators said they have either victory or being like Egypt. In Gaza, they insult the Egyptian army during their celebrations. Most of them have a strong hatred and even envy against Egypt, so we reaffirm that Egypt belongs to the Egyptians. The Egyptian people are of the sons of Ham, while the Arabs are of Semitic origin (Jewish cousins). Thus, we have to reconsider our relations based on personal benefits and national security. We need to differentiate between those who target our country or make ally with its enemies, and those who represent source of threat. We need to get rid of the illusions of the inherited ties after they proved to be catastrophic since 1948, and built our foreign policies on the basis of Egypt s interests and national security. The overwhelming majority of Egyptians (about 98%) are from the sons of Ham, and they are unrelated to Arabism. I say we must base our policies on our national interests and the requirements of our national security. It is not a matter of hostility, but a call for realism and objectivity and building our policies based on our national interests and respect for my country and its institutions and symbols.

Abi Ahmed Ali, Prime Minister of Ethiopia, who won the Nobel Prize is a brilliant politician who has done a lot for his country. I like what he did even though he caused harm to Egypt by developing his country on our expenses. He resolved peace in the region, released political prisoners in Ethiopia, made a comprehensive reconciliation, and received in his office the opponents who were exiled and sentenced to death. He respected rights and freedoms and democracy and ended the state of emergency in the country as prat of the political reform policy. Abi Ahmed also won awards from religious leaders, as well as high international awards for his historic role in national unity and the establishment of internal peace in his country He excreted efforts to release Ethiopian detainees abroad and signed agreements with other countries to find several seaports for his Landlocked country. He reconciled with Eritrea and ended the border conflict with it and also agreed with them to use their ports, which means the neutralization of the most important ally of Egypt. He also signed an agreement with France to build a naval fleet for Ethiopia and train its staff and protect the country which means neutralizing Egypt s allies as well after conducting joint exercises with the US military in July. His government renewed the joint defense agreements with India, brought in the highest foreign direct investment in the entire East Africa region, convinced Chinese factories to move its textile industries in Ethiopia instead of Bangladesh after a crises, and persuaded Turkey to invest $ 2.5 billion in Ethiopia. He also gave China and other countries the opportunity to buy and lease agricultural land in the areas that will benefit from the Renaissance Dam Lake, which means they will be interested in completing the project for their own interests, not to mention the loans of the Chinese banks to complete the project. Furthermore, he allowed Chinese companies to invest in electricity and electronics projects which means their benefits are linked to the Renaissance dam. Ethiopian Airlines under his era became the first in Africa and made a net profit equivalent to 6 billion Egyptian pounds. He had a great role in spreading peace in southern Sudan and in northern Sudan, he had a very strong vital role in the Sudanese revolution and helped the military council and the rebels to reach the current agreement. This man made the greatest achievement for his country including freedom, national reconciliation, democracy, peaceful transfer of power, and many political reforms. He is only 42 years old and we can t compete with him.

Trump announced a fast withdrawal of the American troops from north of Syria were the majority of Kurdish live there, a day after Turkey announced its strike against Kurdish describing them as militant and terrorists. Kurdish people were just fighting beside US against Isis and US was so happy to find someone can help them in such situation but unfortunately US betrayed Kurdish. Although all European countries, Russia, most of Arab countries condemned the military action that Turkey did, however, It seems Turkey doesn t care about any of them and only cares about killing Kurdish people.

Education is one of the key factors to develop a country. However Egypt doesn t appear that much in the world university rakings, but the American University in Cairo (AUC) changed that fact after it had been ranked among the world s top 200 Universities in the annual QSGraduate Employability Rankings, with an 86 percent rate within a single year post graduation. Thus, it came in the 191th place out of 200. The rankings consider five key factors to select the universities, such as the reputation of the institutions among employers, alumni outcomes, university partnerships with employers, employer-student connections and graduate employment rate.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever. (Psalm 32) He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. (Psalm 91). Living in the house of the Lord is not difficult since God wants everyone to come to Him. He blesses them and offers them rest, help and shelter. Dr. Rasmy Abdul Malik, head of the Department of Humanities at the Seminary, said in his article for those seeking safety talked about the conditions and qualities of dwelling in the house of the Lord. The conditions are summarized in the purity of the heart and doing good, purity of the senses and keeping distance from what defiles man. They also include speaking right and seeking justice and following the commandments of God and the teachings of the Bible.

I do not know why some clergy or civilians are trying to escape the sense of guilt concerning this massacre, especially since it does not concern too many people today. We do stand with our homeland, and the Egyptian armed forces, and the regime. Yet, Maspero massacre is still awaiting justice and neutral investigation. We demand an apology from those responsible for the massacre that was aired online and, therefore, we can not blame it for the Muslim Brotherhood terrorist group. They are individuals who belong to the Armed Froces, and revealing them won’t offend the great national institution of the Army. 27 martyrs were killed in the incident between being run over by armored vehicles, shooting and deliberate killing. There were four jeeps and three Armored vehicles behind them. The armored vehicles began to move a few minutes after the military police began using force to disperse the demonstrators and prevent them from advancing to the area around Maspero building, the same method used to break up a demonstration on Tuesday evening, October 4. Three armored vehicles, one after the other, moved swiftly in the Nile Corniche Road towards the October Bridge and suddenly changed their direction to run over the demonstrators killing 12 and injuring 5 according to documentary testimonies and live recordings. One of the injured people said that he was carried and thrown into an entrance of a building after those who moved him thought he was dead. The bodies were in terrible condition that Dr. Majid Lewis, Director General of the Forensic Medicine Department, said in a telephone interview that he has never seen bodies in such a bad state before, even the victims of the Luxor massacre in 1997 with bodies mashed and bones crushed. Here, I want to write their names to be remembered forever: Osama Fathi, Amin Fouad Amin, Ayman Saber Beshay, Amin Nassif Wahby, Gamal Fayek Wanis, Girgis Rawy Raji, Sameh Girgis Fekri, Romani Makari Girgis, Shenouda Noshy Attia, Hady Fouad Attia, Wael Mikhail Khalil, Mikhail Tawfik Gendy, Shahat Thabet Moawad, Sobhy Gamal Nazim, Issa Ibrahim Rizk, Fares Rizk Ayoub, Michael Mosaad Gerges, Magdy Abdo Rizk, Mounir Mouni Megally, Mossad Mehanna Mossad, Mina Ibrahim Daniel, and Nassif Raji Nassif. Remeber them and know that their souls are still awaiting justice.