Egyptian Security Arrests Christian for Praying At Home

ASSIST News Service reports that Egyptian State Security recently arrested a Coptic Christian for praying "without a license." On Oct. 24, Maurice Salama Sharkawy, 37, had invited Pastor Elia Shafik to conduct the sacrament of the "Anointing of the Sick" for his sick father, who had suffered a stroke. State Security broke into his house while the prayers were said, handcuffed Sharkawy and took him to a police station for interrogation. He was held for two days before being released on "compassionate grounds." Mohammed Khalaf Allah, mayor of Deir Samalout village where Sharkawy lives, told news sources that Sharkawy "refuses" to go to the church in the next town over and insists on "pray[ing] in his own home."