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Christian surgeon’s heart op centre under threat from Muslims in Egypt

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Christian surgeon’s heart op centre under threat from Muslims in Egypt

Country/Region: Middle East and North Africa, Egypt

A charitable medical centre that performs free heart operations on children in Egypt is under threat from radical Muslims, who want it closed down because it was founded by a Christian surgeon. 

Sir_Magdi_Yacoub_FRS_4X3.jpg
Sir Magdi Yacoub is a world renowned cardiothoracic surgeon
Raafat / CC BY-SA 3.0

The centre in Aswan city was established by the world-renowned cardiothoracic surgeon, Sir Magdi Habib Yacoub, an Egyptian Christian who emigrated to Britain in 1962. His charitable organisation covers all the centre’s costs, and operations are performed on Christian and Muslim children alike free of charge.

The centre’s Muslim director was interviewed on Egyptian television about the protests by radical elements in Aswan. She said that closing down the centre, which is licensed and has a government permit to practise, would be a big loss for Egypt.

Sir Magdi, who specialises in surgery on children with congenital heart defects, goes to the centre in Aswan himself to perform operations on needy youngsters. His charity sends teams of medics to various parts of the developing world to treat for free children suffering from heart disease.   

The protests against his medical centre follow the election last month of an Islamist president, Mohammed Morsi, in Egypt, which heightened concerns for the future of Christians in the country. Although Mr Morsi has made encouraging noises about being a “president for all Egyptians”, and even vowed to appoint a Christian vice-president, it seems that Islamists have been further emboldened by his election to push for their agenda.   

Sir Magdi, who was knighted in 1992, qualified as a doctor in Cairo in 1957 with excellent marks but soon experienced discrimination, which prompted him to emigrate. He became a consultant cardiothoracic surgeon at Harefield Hospital in 1973, and under his leadership it became the country’s leading transplant centre. Sir Magdi was involved in the first UK heart transplant, and his pioneering research has led to great advancements in heart and lung surgery. He is Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Imperial College London, having retired from the NHS in 2001.

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christian, persecution, charity, church, persecuted, sookhdeo, Islam

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  • Christian girls in Egypt are extremely vulnerable to being kidnapped by Salafists who forcibly convert them to Islam and marry them to Muslim men against their will; over 500 have been victims of this heartless campaign since the revolution of January 2011. The Association of Victims of Abduction and Enforced Disappearance (AVAED), an Egyptian Christian organisation, says that the authorities collude with the Salafists. Give thanks for the safe return of Agape Essam Girgis (13), who was abducted from el-Ameriya on 23 December 2012. Sadly, most cases do not have a happy ending. Pray that the Lord will comfort those families whose daughters are still missing and intervene mightily to deliver the Christian girls from the hands of their captors. Subscribe to the prayer points rss feed 23 hours ago

  • Pray for our brothers and sisters in North Africa living in the shadow of militant Islamism. Following the French intervention against Islamist groups who had taken over large parts of Mali, militants attacked a gas facility in Algeria in January and killed 37 people. An Algerian employee who managed to escape said, “We were told that because we were Muslim we would not be killed, and it was only the Christians they were after.” The Islamists associate Christianity with the West, so Christian targets and individuals as well as Western ones are especially vulnerable to attack. Ask that the Lord will protect Christians in the region against violence and the oppressive grip of sharia law. Subscribe to the prayer points rss feed Mon, Jun 2013 00:00

  • “I had just cooked my last meal, and there was no food in the house, nor money, nor any other way of obtaining grain. Thank the Lord for this aid, which has saved me and my children.” Bâh Kamaté, a Christian widow with six children in Mali, was “completely overwhelmed” when her pastor told her that she was going to receive corn and rice funded by Barnabas. Thousands of Christians fled the north of the country after the Islamist takeover in 2012, and their plight was worsened by food shortages resulting from drought. But praise God that Barnabas has helped to supply food for more than 5,100 Christians, as well as meeting other needs. Pray for His continuing provision for His people as Mali continues to face an uncertain future. Subscribe to the prayer points rss feed Sun, Jun 2013 00:00

  • Those who become Christians in Laos risk losing everything. A couple from Chumpoy in the Sanamsai district of Attappeu province were thrown out of their village on 23 January for converting to Christianity. Pray for Sakien and his wife Dong, who came to Christ after hearing the testimony of their son and daughter-in-law, Sanien and Pitsamai; they had become Christians after Pitsamai was healed after prayer. Sakien and Dong are currently sheltering in a partially constructed church building in another village; pray that they will either be able to return to their home or find adequate housing elsewhere, and that the Lord will sustain them in their new faith throughout this trial. Subscribe to the prayer points rss feed Sat, Jun 2013 00:00

  • Pray for church leaders in Laos, who are extremely vulnerable to harassment. Their faith is seen as an American import and a threat to national identity, and so they often come under suspicion from the authorities. Three pastors from Savannakhet province were detained by police on 5 February after going to a shop to make copies of a Christian DVD. Pray for Bounma, Somkaew and Bounmee, who stand accused of spreading Christianity, although they said they were making only one copy of the DVD for each of their households. Ask that they will be returned to their communities, and pray that the joy of the Lord will be their strength (Nehemiah 8:10). Subscribe to the prayer points rss feed Fri, Jun 2013 00:00

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