In an interview with al-Wafd, the official spokesman for the Egyptian Catholic Church, Father Rafīq Greish, said that former U.S. President George W. Bush is responsible for the Sayyidat al-Najāh Church massacre in Iraq because it is one of the consequences of the President allegedly destroying Iraq and the Iraqi people in the name of ridding them of Saddām Husayn. He also said that al-Qā‘idah’s threats to Egyptian Churches brought them closer together. Greish criticized the Egyptian government’s reluctance to update the education curriculum to further endorse national unity and warned that political Islam is just as much a threat to Muslims as it is to Copts.

Key Words: Father Rafīq Greish – Iraq – Saddām Husayn – George W. Bush – Pope Shenouda III – al-Qā‘idah – Azhar – Dr. Muhammad Salīm al-‘Awwā