Egypt BANS Christian Holidays

Egyptian Court Refuses to Recognise Easter as National Holiday Forcing Christians to Choose Between Job and Risen Christ

An Egyptian court has refused to grant Christians the legal right to observe Easter, the holiest day in the Christian calendar, leaving the country's roughly 10 million Christians vulnerable to pay docking, workplace discrimination, and academic penalties if they take time off to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The court dismissed the petition on procedural grounds, claiming the question was a matter for the prime minister, not the judges. The court did not even bother to address the merits.

Egyptian Christians Punished for Worshipping the Risen Christ

"This is about far more than the recognition of a holiday," said Kelsey Zorzi, ADF International's director of advocacy. "It is about the denial of a legal right to worship for Christians who already face ongoing and severe religious persecution."

Egypt recognises Coptic Christmas on 7 January as a national holiday, but a December Ministry of Manpower decision created an unequal patchwork giving more paid leave to Coptic Christians than to Evangelicals or Catholics. Meanwhile Coptic YouTuber Augustinos Samaan sits in prison serving a five year sentence for the crime of defending the Christian faith online.

The Crusader's Opinion

The cradle of Christianity is being squeezed dry by the Islamic state that built itself on top of it. Egypt boasts to Western tourists about Saint Mark and the Coptic heritage while quietly fining, firing, and jailing the descendants of those very saints. Easter is the centre of the Christian faith. To deny Christians the right to observe it is to deny them the right to be Christian. The West must stop pretending Egypt is a moderate ally and start treating it like the persecutor it is.

Take Action

• Support: ADF International, fighting Egypt's denial of Christian holy days
• Contact: Egyptian Embassy in Washington at +1 202 895 5400 demanding Easter recognition
• Email: Your senator demanding the State Department keep Egypt on the Special Watch List
• Pray: For Augustinos Samaan in prison and for every Egyptian Christian forced to choose between paycheque and resurrection
• Share: Post this story and ask "Why is the world silent on persecution in the cradle of the Church?"