Contact: The Forum in Cairo, 22905931 - 22905932 - 01206534950; Mr. Magdy Samaan, Conference Media Coordinator, 01-00-398-7418; Mr. Magdi Khalil in Washington, 202-725-3091
CAIRO, Egypt, March 28, 2013 /Christian Newswire/ -- A significant conference on Citizenship and Minorities under the Rule of the Muslim Brotherhood will be held in Cairo on March 30-31, 2013.
Mr. Magdi Khalil, Director of the Middle East Freedom Forum which organizes the conference, announced that it is the largest of its kind in Egypt's modern history on this topic, with approximately 70 politicians, academicians and expert researchers either attending or presenting research papers. These researches, which explore the current and future status of minorities under Muslim rule, will be published in two volumes in Arabic and English languages.
The conference will cover eight key topics through eight sessions, namely: "The Political Participation of Minorities under the Rule of the Muslim Brotherhood," "The Status of Minorities in the New Egyptian Constitution," "The Status of Religious Freedoms under the Rule of the Muslim Brotherhood," "The Status of non-Muslims in Muslim Brotherhood's Ideology," "Religious Discrimination under the rule of the Muslim Brotherhood," "The Economic Situation of Minorities under the rule of the Muslim Brotherhood," "The Status of Women under the Rule of the Muslim Brotherhood," and "The Problems of Minorities under the rule of the Muslim Brotherhood."
Representatives of Copts, Baha'is, Nubians, Sinai Bedouins, Jewish Egyptians, and women's rights activists will participate in the conference, which is chaired by Dr. Osama al-Ghazali Harb and Dr. Kamal Hamed Mogheeth.
The Conference will begin with opening remarks by Prof. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, former Secretary-General of the United Nations, and Prof. Cherif Bassiouni, professor of international criminal law in Chicago.
The conference comes at a critical time as, ever since the Muslim Brotherhood came to power, minorities have been subject to escalating attacks, which led to heightened fears and a wave of migration out of Egypt. Likewise, attacks against minorities and resultant fears have intensified in the Middle East as a whole, where Islamists are seemingly planning to tighten their grip on the region, taking advantage of the so-called Arab Spring uprising.
At the closing of the Conference, Dr. Abdel Moneim Said will present the first Middle East Freedom Forum Award for Outstanding civil society leadership, to the name of the late Ola Ghabbour for her role in founding the Children's Cancer Hospital (CCHE 57357); Mrs. Heba Al-Sewidi for her role in treating the victims of Egyptian Revolution; and to Dr. Mohamed Mounir Megahed for his role in founding the "Egyptians Against Religious Discrimination" organization.
The conference will conclude with a patriotic concert by the national youth band "Bahia."
The Middle East Freedom Forum, which organizes the conference, is a non-profit organization registered in Egypt and the United States of America, with headquarters in Cairo and Washington.
Media representatives, reporters, academicians, civil society activists and interested individuals are invited to attend the conference.
If you wish to attend, please contact the Forum to register.
The conference will be held at the Forum's headquarters at the following address:
45 Cleopatra Street, Heliopolis, Cairo.
For inquiries, please contact:
- The Forum in Cairo at the following telephone numbers:
22905931 - 22905932 - 01206534950; or
- Mr. Magdy Samaan, Conference Media Coordinator, at: 01003987418; or
- Mr. Magdi Khalil in Washington at: 202-7253091
For Agenda click: www.copticsolidarity.org/images/pdf/MEFF.pdf
