The first photo of Child Shenouda following the prosecution’s decision to hand him over to his Christian family was posted on social networking sites in Egypt. The North Cairo Prosecution Office ordered the college to temporarily hand over the child to Mrs. Amal Ibrahim, who found him as a trusted parent. She took a pledge to take good care of him, preserve him, and not expose him to danger. The Public Prosecution Office sought the Mufti of the Republic’s opinion on the child’s religion, who issued a fatwa stating that the child follows the religion of the Christian family that found him, according to detailed jurisprudential opinions.
The Administrative Court ruled that it lacks jurisdiction and rejected the lawsuit filed by the lawyer of the adoptive child’s family. The child was then moved to an orphanage where he changed his name to Youssef and became a Muslim. The story began in 2018 when the Coptic woman, Amal Fikry, found a baby in an Egyptian church in the Zawia Al-Hamra area, east of Cairo, and decided with her husband to embrace and adopt the baby. The family lived happily with the child until one of the Coptic husband’s relatives intervened and filed a lawsuit to deprive the family of the child and place him in an orphanage.
Child Shenouda following returning to his family
The Mufti of Egypt issued a fatwa stating that the child follows the religion of the Christian family that found him according to detailed jurisprudence
Posted on social networking sites in Egypt the first photo for the child Shenoudafollowing the prosecution’s decision to hand him over to his Christian family.
And the North Cairo Prosecution Office ordered the college to hand over the child, Shenouda, temporarily to Mrs. Amal Ibrahim, who found him as a trusted parent following she took a pledge to take good care of him, preserve him and not expose him to danger, and assigned her to complete the procedures for his sponsorship according to the alternative families system.
This came following the Public Prosecution Office sought the Mufti of the Republic’s opinion on the child’s religion in light of the circumstances of the investigation, and he issued a fatwa stating that the child follows the religion of the Christian family that found him according to detailed jurisprudential opinions.
child Shenouda
The Public Prosecution instructed the Child Helpline of the National Council for Motherhood and Childhood to take legal measures towards renaming the child a Christian four-legged name for a Christian legal father and mother, in light of the findings of the investigations that included the Mufti’s fatwa declaring the child’s affiliation to the religion of the people who found him.
The case of the Coptic child, Shenouda, who became a Muslim by law, has sparked controversy in Egypt during the past few days, and opened a thorny file on the issue of adoption and change of religion.
The story topped the local media once more following the Administrative Court ruled that it lacks jurisdiction and rejected the lawsuit filed by the lawyer of the adoptive child’s family by embracing him, so that the little boy moved to an orphanage, where he changed his name to Youssef and became a Muslim.
And the story began in the year 2018, when the Coptic woman, Amal Fikry, who was denied childbearing and motherhood, found a baby in an Egyptian church in the Zawia Al-Hamra area, east of Cairo, to decide with her husband to embrace and adopt the baby.
Indeed, he lived with her throughout that period, and she called him Shenouda Farouk Fawzi Boulos.
Things went smoothly, and the family lived happily with the child among them, until one of the Coptic husband’s relatives intervened, fearing that the family’s inheritance would pass to the new child and deprive the rest of the family of it.
The husband’s relative informed the authorities that the family had found the infant outside the church, and filed a lawsuit to deprive the family of the child and place it in an orphanage, which is what actually happened.
The case of Shenouda, the child who was found by a Coptic family and later became a Muslim due to a controversial court ruling, has highlighted the issues surrounding adoption and religion in Egypt. However, the recent fatwa issued by the Mufti of Egypt stating that the child follows the religion of the family that found him brings some clarity to the situation. It is important for such sensitive cases to be handled with care, and for the legal system to uphold the best interests of the child while respecting their cultural and religious background. We hope that this case leads to more awareness and positive changes in the legal system regarding adoption and religious affiliation.
