Egyptian woman forced back to Christianity after converting to Islam 'with own free will'

A young Egyptian woman, who had openly embraced Islam but was later spotted praying with her family at a church, has become a focal point of discussion on the country's social media platforms.

Maryam Samir Fayez, a research assistant at the Arish University, an Egyptian state university, reportedly faced familial pressure to return to Christianity.

According to her family, their last communication with Maryam was on July 30th when she mentioned she would be occupied for some time. Subsequently, the family discovered a video on a YouTube channel where Maryam publicly declared her conversion to Islam. In the video, she was also seen as being presented a certificate of conversion to Islam, bearing the signature of Al-Azhar.

Despite Maryam's affirmation in the video that her decision was entirely voluntary and that she hadn't been kidnapped, her family claimed that she had been taken against her will, as reported by Middle East Monitor.

Upon reaching out to State Security seeking assistance in bringing their daughter back to the Church, the family appeared in a video showing Maryam engaged in prayer within a Church.

Maryam was reportedly brought back to the Church with the involvement of Naguib Gabriel, a State Security personnel, who was also observed in the video alongside Maryam and her family during the prayer session.

For years, there has been an ongoing dispute in the country regarding allegations that the Church abducts individuals who choose to convert from Christianity to Islam and forces them to convert to Christianity.

In the aftermath of this incident, netizens took to social media to criticize the family's reported actions in pressuring the young woman to return to Christianity. They also called for state intervention to safeguard the religious freedom of people.