After two explosions struck the Boston Marathon as runners crossed the finish line on Monday, several Egyptian politicians expressed their condolences, condemnation or, in Muslim Brotherhood leader Essam al-Erian's case, implied conspiracy.
"Our sympathy with the families of the victims and the American people do not stop us from reading into the grave incident," Erian wrote on his Facebook page.
"This series of events began with the sending of French battalions to Mali in a war against organisations that are said to belong to Al-Qaeda," the Freedom and Justice Party vice president continued, as translated by MBinEnglish.
Erian then recounted various incidents in Syria, Iraq and Somalia before asking, "Who planted Islamophobia through research, the press, and the media? Who funded the violence?"
Despite no evidence thus far linking Arabs to the Boston bombings, Erian concluded that "the march of the Arab people will continue, and the will of right, justice, and dignity will triumph."
Former presidential candidate Ahmed Shafiq also expressed sympathy in a Facebook post. "We are all shocked by the terrible events in Boston," he posted on his official Facebook page. "My thoughts are with the families of the victims. Hope that everyone from the Egyptian students in Boston universities are safe. May our humanity prevail."
A Youtube video surfaced the intenet this morning showing 2 Coptic women assaulted and undressed by men shouting "Copts.. Copts.." and "Allah is great". The location of shooting this video is unknown but the footage shows a crowded street market in a rural area next to what seems to be a bridge and a train track.
The video which was frequently shared among social media users was originally uploaded by a "Mina Mouris" whose Youtube account name switched to James Knowing, then was completely removed. Mirror versions of the video were uploaded to multiple different channels.
Egypt Independent could not verify the time or place this video was taken.
Even if they were not Christian, even if it's a voice over, this is sexual assault in a crowded market. No one is stopping the, people are joining in!
A funeral for four Coptic Christians killed in the Qalyubiya Governorate town of Khosous Friday was held at St. Mark’s Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in Abbasseya quickly turned into armed clashes after unknown assailants alongside CSF soldiers reportedly attacked attendees.
The clashes spilled onto surrounding streets as the funeral procession marched from the cathedral. A number of cars were smashed, and gunfire was also heard. Traffic heading both ways on Ramses Street ground to a halt.
Activists participating in the funeral unsuccessfully tried to calm the situation, while reporting tear gas being fired at the Cathedral. Some reported one mourner dead after being shot in the neck, no official sources confirmed the incident yet.
First martyr of the Cathedral clashes: Bishoy Wasfi Yonan, 23, shot with live ammo in the neck, arrived dead at the Coptic hospital.
UPDATE: US Embassy twitter page has been reactivated, after disappearing earlier and stirring a lot of talk on social media. After posting an episode of The Daily Show mocking President Mohamed Morsy, the US Embassy in Cairo's twitter account has been the subject of criticism. The 'Daily Show' tweet has now been deleted.
Foreign Policy reported that it was US Ambassador to Egypt Anne Patterson who made the decision to take down the US Embassy in Cairo's Twitter page, without the consultation of the State Department in Washington
"This not a permanent shutdown. Embassy Cairo considers this to be temporary. They want to put new procedures in place," a State Department official told Foreign Policy's, The Cable.
After facing criticism from the Egyptian Presidency for posting the episode of The Daily Show mocking President Mohamed Morsy, the official twitter account of the US Embassy in Cairo had mysteriously disappeared off Twitter.
"It's inappropriate for a diplomatic mission to engage in such negative political propaganda," the president's office had tweeted in response to the US Embassy's promotion of the video featuring American comedian Jon Stewart lambasting authorities for cracking down on opposition leaders and media.
The video is an excerpt from Stewart's program where he mocks President Mohamed Morsy for targeting satirist Youssef instead of tacking the sexual harassment and assault, rising inflation and 13 percent unemployment.
There has been no official statement from the US Embassy, so it remains unclear why the twitter account has disappeared, but the twittersphere is buzzing with different theories.
The Public Prosecution decided to release Ali Qandil, a stand-up comedian, on LE5,000 bail after hearing his testimony. Qandil was accused of defaming the Islamic Religion on a show presented by satirist Bassem Youssef.
Several activists, representatives of rights organisations and lawyers were present during the interrogation.
Qandil presented a stand-up comedy segement in which he criticised, among other things, the harsh, threatening tone some preachers put on when addressing people, which he said tend to repel them.
Qandil told Al-Masry Al-Youm that he respects all religions and that what he said on the show represented criticism to the religious discourse not to Islam.
Bassem Youssef tweeted that Aly Qandil is being interrogated for his appearance on Youssef's show "Al Bernameg"
Ali Qandil's segment on 'Al Bernameg' that led to him being accused of insulting Islam.
Egypt's Presidency accused the US Embassy in Cairo of engaging in "negative political propaganda" after the embassy posted an episode of the Daily Show in which the show's host, well-known American comedian Jon Stewart, slammed President Mohamed Morsy and expressed solidarity with Egyptian satirist Bassem Youssef, who presents an Egyptian show modeled on Stewart's.
"It's inappropriate for a diplomatic mission to engage in such negative political propaganda," stated the official Twitter account of Egypt's presidency in reply to the US Embassy in Cairo.
“Making fun of the president’s hats and less than fluent English? That was my entire career for eight years,” Stewart said in the episode, in a nod to former US President George W. Bush, frequently a target of Stewart's ridicule.
Stewart followed with a stream of clips of him making jokes about current US President Barack Obama, "whom we supposedly like."
He added, "Without Bassem and all those journalists, and bloggers, and brave protesters who took to Tahrir square to voice dissent, you, President Morsy, would not be in a position to repress them. For someone who spent time in jail yourself under Mubarak, you seem awfully eager to send other people there for the same non-crimes, and just like you, they will only emerge from prison stronger and more determined."
Youssef was recently interrogated on charges of insulting the president and Islam and released on LE15,000 bail.
The Daily Show host Jon Stewart dedicated 10 minutes of his show to defend his "friend and brother" Bassem Youssef, host of Egypt's Al Bernameg show after he was arrested on charges of insulting President Mohamed Morsy, inciting public anger against the president, contempt for Islam and publishing lies.
Sometimes known as the Egyptian version of popular American comedian Jon Stewart, Youssef was released on LE15,000 bail after reporting to the Public Prosecution’s office.
After poking fun and critcizing Morsy, Jon Stewart had the following message to Egypt's president:
“Without Bassem and all those journalists, bloggers, and brave protesters who took to Tahrir square to voice dissent, you, President Morsy, would not be in a position to repress them. For someone who spent jail yourself under Mubarak, you seem awfully eager to spend other people there for the same non-crimes, and just like you, they will only emerge from prison stronger and more determined.”
Egypt's twittersphere was treated to a laugh when Prime Minister Hesham Qandil's twitter account stated that "Doctor Smurf prescribes cakes, pies and smurfberries as part of a healthy diet."
The tweet is assumed to be an automated message from a SmurfApp that was authorized to post using his Twitter account. It was quickly deleted, but not before stirring up a multitude of jokes, in typical Egyptian fashion.
Shaimaa Aboul Kir, Committee to Protect Journalists Consultant who attended the investigations with Youssef reported through twitter that he was released on 15000 LE bail, 5000 for each of the three cases he faces with insulting religion and the president charges.
Political satirist and TV host Bassem Youssef had arrived Sunday for interrogations at the Public Prosecution’s office in downtown Cairo Sunday after being hit with an arrest warrant.
Youssef, host of the popular “al-Bernameg” show, is accused of insulting the president and contempt for Islam, among other charges.
Huge crowds of Youssef’s supporters have gathered around the office since the morning, and they chanted slogans in his support after he arrived, while social media users ridiculed the accusations, calling the investigation an "utter joke".
Youssef was seen wearing a large that he recently started wearing during his show, in jest of the hat that President Mohamed Morsy wore while being awarded the honorary doctorate degree in philosophy from Pakistan earlier this month. The hat was the subject of widespread ridicule among social media users.
The news about Youssef's case landed on the front pages of different online news portals including the BBC.
Bassem Youssef arrives at court.
Dozens protest at the High Court in solidarity with activist Alaa Abdelfattah and other activists after the prosecutor general issued official summons, arrest warrants and travel bans pursuant to investigations into charges that they were responsible for last week's violent clashes in Moqattam.
Activist Alaa Abdelfattah arrives at the High Court with his wife, Manal, and his son.
