Egypt Authorities in Egypt Aid Kidnappers of Christian Woman

3/14/2024  (Christian Daily International)

Authorities in Egypt have aided the kidnapping and forcible conversion to Islam of a Coptic Christian woman, Irene Shehata, a 21-year-old medical student.

She disappeared on January 22 and managed to make a desperate, tearful phone call to her brother before a man seized the phone. During the call, Irene begged her brother either to rescue her or consider her dead and told him her location. Her family went to the city she called from and reported the incident to the police. The police threatened to arrest the family, however. They said that Irene had run off with a Muslim man and changed her religion to Islam. Her family believes the state security officials and police know where she is but refuse to do anything about it. It is suspected that the kidnappers are members of the Muslim Brotherhood Sharia Association, which has been accused of kidnapping six other Coptic girls in the area recently. According to a former member of one of these kidnapping rings, the abduction of such girls is now at an all-time high.

Please pray…

• Pray that the Lord will comfort Irene in the midst of her terrible ordeal and help her not to lose hope.

• Pray that her family will be able to locate her and get her back.

• Pray that someone in authority will have a change of heart and work sincerely to get Irene and other kidnapped girls released from their captors.