A retired Egyptian general has accused a historic monastery of being a threat to national security, and a Salafist weekly newspaper alleged that the monastery collaborates with Israeli intelligence officials, according to the Egyptian weekly Watani and the Fides news agency.
St. Catherine’s monastery wiki
Saint Catherine’s Monastery, now Eastern Orthodox, was built by the Emperor Justinian in the sixth century and is located at the foot of Mount Sinai. It stands accused of being a beachhead of Greece and the European Union on Egyptian territory.
Bell tower at Saint Catherine’s Monastery wiki
“It is weird that our monks, and there are no more than 37 of us, would be accused of threatening Egyptian national security,” said Archbishop Damianos I of Mount Sinai and Raithu, according to Watani. ““It is ridiculous that Saint Catherine’s has been accused of building ‘settlements’ occupied by foreigners. The only ‘settlements’ in the town of Katreen constitute a housing project built by the town council.”
Additional sources for this story:
- St Catherine’s Monastery Target of Multiple False Accusations (Watani)
- The false accusations against St. Catherine’s Monastery have been rejected (Fides)
http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=20977
It’s the oldest existing monastery in the Christian world.
