Local Copts fear Al Qaeda threats
By Michael Swan, The Catholic Register
TORONTO
Toronto’s Catholic Copts are just as worried as their Orthodox brethren about Internet threats of an Al Qaeda operation in North America.
The much larger Coptic Orthodox community has initiated meetings with police to discuss security in the wake of a New Year’s Eve bombing in Alexandria, Egypt, that killed 21 and wounded about 100. Fr. Bishoy Y Anis of Toronto’s Holy Family Coptic Catholic Church, however, is just as worried about the safety of the 250 to 300 families in his Catholic parish.
Toronto’s Catholic Copts are just as worried as their Orthodox brethren about Internet threats of an Al Qaeda operation in North America.
The much larger Coptic Orthodox community has initiated meetings with police to discuss security in the wake of a New Year’s Eve bombing in Alexandria, Egypt, that killed 21 and wounded about 100. Fr. Bishoy Y Anis of Toronto’s Holy Family Coptic Catholic Church, however, is just as worried about the safety of the 250 to 300 families in his Catholic parish.
“Now I don’t think there is empty talk,” Bishoy told The Catholic Register. “They talked before in Alexandria and they did it. They talked in Iraq and they did it. They talked in Nigeria and they did it.”
Though the archdiocese of Toronto has yet to receive a request for additional security from the Coptic parish (without a bishop of its own, Toronto’s Catholic Copts fall under the authority of the Roman rite archbishop), it plans to provide Holy Family with whatever security may be necessary.
“We will be in touch with them this week to discuss the matter in more detail,” said archdiocese of Toronto spokesman Neil MacCarthy. “In the past, where there has been a need for increased security, the archdiocese has provided resources as appropriate.”
The Greater Toronto Area has one of the largest concentrations of Coptic Christians in North America. The vast majority are Orthodox Copts, with about 10 per cent of an estimated 50,000 Egyptian Christians in the GTA belonging to the Catholic Coptic rite.
Even though his parish celebrated Christmas Dec. 25 and followed the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops in moving Epiphany from Jan. 6 to Jan. 2, Bishoy believes his community could be targeted by terrorists just as much as the Orthodox. Orthodox Copts had extra security at the Canadian Coptic Centre in Mississauga Jan. 6 for Epiphany, sometimes referred to as Orthodox Christmas.
“Many, many Arab web sites say Al Qaeda is going to do something in Canada, or in Europe,” said Bishoy. “It doesn’t make any difference (Catholic or Orthodox). It’s because we are Egyptian and they threaten Egyptians.”
Bishoy is not aware of any specific threats against him or members of his parish. But he believes it’s time Canadians become more aware of the threat posed by extreme Islamist violence.
“I hope Canadians will be aware of what is going on now, even here,” he said.
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