Egypt’s turmoil over the past few years since the so-called Arab Spring has made conditions extremely difficult for Christians and other religious minorities.

We’ve found that many Christians have almost come to accept that their fundamental freedoms are violated – that they can be regularly arrested and detained, for example – in the case of fighting terrorism.

A Christian convert from Islam, Bishoy Armia Boulous (formerly known as Mohammed Hegazy), was arrested in July 2014 on charges of ‘inciting sectarian strife’, after filming a demonstration for a Christian TV channel. But his solicitor claims the charges are really a result of Bishoy’s attempts in 2007 to change his religion on his ID card to ‘Christian’ – an attempt which has so far been unsuccessful. He’s been held in solitary confinement, abused verbally because of his faith, and made to walk barefoot to hearings.

• Praise God for the strong history of Christianity in Egypt;
• Ask God to change the hearts of the prison officials so that they stop mistreating Bishoy;
• Pray that his case would be reviewed, and he would be acquitted and released;
• Ask God to bless and encourage Christians who have grown to accept as normal the regular intimidation and kidnappings;
• Pray for CSW’s human rights training sessions in Egypt, raising awareness of human rights and how to fight for them;
• Pray that a long term, effective solution would be found to the political issues in Egypt, that affect so much of everyday life;
• Pray that Egypt would become a place of tolerance and respect for different religions.