Egypt’s Orthodox Coptic Church yesterday disowned a former priest for making derogatory statements about Islam and Prophet Muhammad. In an official assertion, the church stated that its relationship with Zakaria Botros was lower “greater than 18 years in the past.”
On Saturday, a video of Botros insulting Islam and the Prophet went viral on social media, inflicting an outrage amongst Muslims around the globe. The video confirmed Botros saying that the Prophet was “drunk when he wrote the Quran.”
In accordance with the church authorities, “Botros was a priest in Egypt and was moved between a number of church buildings. He launched teachings that don’t conform to the Orthodox doctrine… and so was suspended for a time period.”
The church went on to say that he had apologised for “propagating these teachings”, explaining that he had then moved to “Australia then the UK, the place his teachings had been once more unorthodox.” Throughout all that point, it added, the Church had tried to right his thought.
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“Abuse and defamation are usually not appropriate with the true Christian spirit,” stated the official assertion, “which has love and full respect for all our Muslim brothers.”
A number of activists and public figures went on social media to affirm that the controversial priest was not “representing the Christians of Egypt”. They launched a hashtag — #PunishZakariaBotros — which trended on Twitter.
Botros’s feedback got here simply days after Egyptian TV presenter Ibrahim Eissa criticised a pharmacist for studying the Qur’an throughout working hours. “Why do I’ve to step right into a pharmacy retailer and discover a younger pharmacist sitting and studying the Qur’an? At the least learn a medical reference that might assist you to in your job,” he stated, whereas additionally criticising the Egyptian schooling system.
