Six Young Christians Held in Egypt Over TikTok Clip Copied From Comedy Film
State security prosecutors accuse the Minya villagers, ages 17 to 23, of blasphemy, even though their church apologized and the film they imitated still airs on Egyptian television.
MINYA, Egypt —
Six young Christian men from a village in Egypt's Minya province have been held for more than two weeks over a short TikTok video that authorities say mocked Muslim prayer, The Christian Post reported Oct. 24, citing the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) and ADF International.
The men, ages 17 to 23, live in Ezbet Tanious, a hamlet of Taha al-Aamida village in Samalout district. On Oct. 4 they posted a clip acting out a scene from the 2018 Egyptian comedy “Khalawis,” in which prison inmates try to pray without knowing the Quranic verses. State censors approved the film before it was made, and it still airs on satellite television. The men told prosecutors they made the video on impulse and deleted it within hours, but a villager had already reposted it with angry comments.
Online comments then turned on the six, their relatives and the village's Christians. Some called for arrests and others for violence. On Oct. 6, relatives and church representatives took five of the men to the Samalout police station to head off sectarian trouble, and police promised to release them once things calmed down. The sixth man surrendered after officers detained his mother in his place, according to EIPR.
On Oct. 9, village elders, clerics from the Ministry of Religious Endowments and priests from the Diocese of Samalout held a traditional reconciliation meeting, and the diocese formally apologized to the village's Muslim residents. The next day, state security prosecutors began questioning the six and ordered four days of detention. A judge at the Tagamoa court added 15 days the following morning. The case is now with the Supreme State Security Prosecution, which accuses the men of blasphemy, contempt of religion and using religion to spread extremist ideas.
EIPR said hundreds of TikTok videos restage the same film scene and that the clip gives no legal grounds for holding anyone. The group has called for the six to be released. Kelsey Zorzi, senior counsel for ADF International, said such cases are “tragically common in Egypt” and urged officials to free the young men and close the investigation.
Christians make up roughly 10% to 15% of Egypt's population. The constitution protects freedom of religion, but blasphemy and religious-insult laws are still enforced. Open Doors reports mob attacks and limits on church building, with Christians in rural areas at the greatest risk. Watchman News has not independently confirmed the details of the case.
More photos
