Two Coptic lawyers accuse owner of Egyptian TV channels of denigrating Christianity

Two Christian lawyers filed a legal complaint against Egyptian Sheikh Abu Eslam Ahmed Abdullah on Monday for allegedly burning the Holy Bible on Saturday, as the protests in front of the U.S. Embassy in Cairo raged over the controversial anti-Islam film that has surfaced online, an Egyptian daily reported.

Lawyer and deputy head of the Reform and Development Party Mamdouh Ramzi and co-lawyer Tharwat Bakhteet, who filed the complaint, claim that the act of “burning” of the Bible copy is insulting and denigrating to the Christian religion, a report by the Egyptian al-Ahram Online said.

Sheikh Abdullah is believed to be the prominent owner of two TV channels in the country; namely the Islamic TV Channel al-Ommah and Mariya TV, the first Niqabi–only channel.

A video emerged on Friday, posted alongside a report by the Assyrian International News Agency, showing Abdullah tearing what appears to be the Bible in front of a protesting crowd.

In the video, he was not shown burning the book but the news agency states that the Sheikh burned it and before leaving the demonstration and getting into his car, he reportedly told the crowds “next time I will urinate on it.”

His action was met with applause and anti-Christian cheers from the demonstrators, the news agency stated.

Prosecutor General Abdul Maguid Mahmoud has referred the case to prosecution pending investigation.