Religion
Biblical Plagues really happened, but not by God, say scientists
The ten plagues that the Bible mentions affected ancient Egypt may have occurred after all, but due to natural causes and not by the direct intervention of a god helping the flight of an enslaved people, according to researchers. A shift in climate patterns may have caused a dry period that would have turned the... »
New top Cleric appointed in Egypt
Image via Wikipedia Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak has named Sheikh Ahmed Mohammed Ahmed al-Tayeb as head of Al-Azhar, the country’s most prestigious seat of Islamic learning. Mubarak, who is recovering from gall bladder surgery in Germany, appointed Tayeb on Friday, nine days after the death of Sheikh Mohamed Sayed Tantawi, the previous head of the institution. Al-Azhar... »
Mount Sinai Ka’bah shrine suggested by Egyptian writer
Image via Wikipedia Progressive thinker, controversial figure and award-winning Egyptian writer Sayyed al-Qimni suggested in an interview with an Egyptian television listings magazine that a religious shrine on Mount Sinai would provide an affordable alternative destination for poor pilgrims as well as generating an income of more than £3bn for his country. He also said it... »
Egypt restores world’s oldest Christian Monastery
Egypt’s antiquities chief Zahi Hawass on Thursday unveiled the completion of an 8-year, $14.5 million restoration of St. Anthony’s Monastery, situated in the rugged desert mountains near Egypt’s Red Sea coast. In the government-sponsored project, workers renovated the fortress-like ancient wall surrounding the monastery, several outbuildings, and its two main churches — the 15th century... »
Quran verses ringtones in Egypt
Image via Wikipedia While more and more people in Egypt use verses from the Quran as cell phone ringtones, the country’s highest religious legal authority says the practice is inappropriate. Web sites and television channels in Egypt advertise the verses for download, according to wire reports. But Mufti Ali Gomaa said using the verses as ringtones... »
Seven Coptic churchgoers slain at midnight mass in Egypt
Image via Wikipedia Drive-by shooters sprayed automatic gunfire into a crowd of churchgoers in southern Egypt, killing at least seven people as they streamed out of church after midnight Mass, officials said Thursday. Three other people were seriously wounded. The attack took place overnight in Nag Hamadi, about 40 miles from popular tourist sites at the... »
Female polygamy article generates controversy
A member of the Egyptian parliament has filed a lawsuit over an article questioning why polygamy is allowed for men in Islam but not for women. Published in the independent newspaper Al Masry Al Youm, the article “My four husbands and I” by Nadine al-Bedair suggests that polygamy should either be allowed for both men... »
Swiss voters approve ban on minarets in referendum
Image via Wikipedia Switzerland voted to ban the construction of new minarets on Sunday, a surprise result certain to embarrass the neutral government and which the justice minister said could affect Swiss exports and tourism. The Swiss news agency ATS and other media said about 57.5 percent of voters and all but four of the 26... »
Egypt cleric: ‘Niqab merely a tradition’
Image via Wikipedia Sheikh Mohamed Tantawi, dean of al-Azhar university, said full-face veiling (niqab) is merely a tradition that has nothing to do with the Islamic faith. Although most Muslim women in Egypt wear the Islamic headscarf, increasing numbers are adopting the niqab as well. The niqab question reportedly arose when Sheikh Tantawi was visiting a girls’... »
Virginity faking in Egypt
A leading Egyptian scholar has demanded that people caught importing a female virginity-faking device into the country should face the death penalty. The device is said to release liquid imitating blood, allowing a female to feign virginity on her wedding night. The contraption is seen as a cheap and simple alternative to hymen repair surgery,... »
