Jayson Casper

Jayson Casper is a journalist resident in Cairo. Every week he offers Friday Prayers for Egypt, invites all to pray along, and hopes it makes a difference.

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Copts Ring Church Bells for Egyptian Muslims, in Christian Sympathy
Copts Ring Church Bells for Egyptian Muslims, in Christian Sympathy

In what is being called the largest terrorist attack in modern Egyptian history, over 300 people were killed at a village mosque. Coptic Christians, who have seen over 100 people killed under an ISIS vow, responded with condemnation and sympathy.

Islamism: Contextualist or Essentialist? Or Both?
Islamism: Contextualist or Essentialist? Or Both?

In an excellent review of Shadi Hamid and Will McCants’ Rethinking Political Islam, Olivier Roy says there are generally two ways to think about Islamism: contextualist or essentialist.

How Do Copts Endure Their Martyrdoms?
How Do Copts Endure Their Martyrdoms?

The Coptic Orthodox Church’s liturgy featuring daily readings from the Synaxarium about celebrated saints and martyrs encourage the faithful to suffer even unto death.

Will the Ambush of a Church Retreat Ambush Also Coptic Faith? Egypt Bus Attack
Will the Ambush of a Church Retreat Ambush Also Coptic Faith?

As word spread that 28 Coptic Christians were killed by terrorists, ambushed on their way to a church retreat in Upper Egypt, it was a little while before the realization hit: I was on a church retreat in the Delta.

An Eye on Egypt after the Palm Sunday Bombings
An Eye on Egypt after the Palm Sunday Bombings

In Egypt, Muslims and Christians tend to be friends, neighbors, and quite similar in common culture. At the same time, there is a latent but tangible reservoir of mistrust.

Egypt Cathedral Bombing Copt Christian Terrorism
A Rough Stretch in a Season of Waiting: Egypt’s Christians & the Cathedral Bombing

It took me a moment to comprehend. I opened my cell phone to check the news and saw the bold headline: 25 dead and 49 injured in an attack on the Coptic Orthodox cathedral. The spiritual center of Egyptian Christianity had been mercilessly violated.

EgyptAir
Egypt and the Agony of Ongoing Tragedy

After EgyptAir flight 804 fell out of the sky, I exhaled deeply with many Egyptians, sighing in familiar resignation, “Oh no, not again.”

Sisi
Supporting Sisi: Coptic Advice on US Aid

In the evolving determination of American interests, is Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi a repackaged pharaoh, or a miracle of God’s favor?

Redraw the Map Middle East
Redraw the Map: A Christian Call for Middle East Peace

Terry Ascott’s solution for the Middle East tramples over one of the region’s most sacred cows: Redraw the map.