http://www.jewishworldreview.com/0511/christian_churched_torched_in_cairo.ph
p3
May 9, 2011 / 5 Iyar, 5771
Muslims Attack Christians in Egypt, at least 12 Killed, 232 Injured;
churches set ablaze
By Kristen Chick
The "Arab Spring" continues to look a lot like winter
JewishWorldReview.com |
mAIRO- (TCSM) An attack by Muslims on two churches in Cairo led to sectarian
clashes that claimed at least 12 lives, a reminder that Egypt's religious
rift has continued to widen since the successful uprising that pushed Hosni
Mubarak from power.
The violence in the Cairo neighborhood of Imbaba, declared in the 1990's to
be "liberated" from the Egyptian state by Islamist militants, also
highlights the growing role the salafis, a small and strident Muslim sect,
are playing in exacerbating sectarian tensions. The salafy strain of Islam,
which feeds most militant Sunni movements, was publicly repressed under
Mubarak and has been taking advantage of the more open environment since his
downfall.
"There is no security in Egypt," says Rober, a 23-year member of the Virgin
Mary church, which was largely reduced to a smoldering hulk after it was set
alight Saturday night. He stood in a burned-out stairway and watched as a
woman walked past, weeping. "This is only the beginning. I'm afraid for my
sister, for my mother, from the salafis."
On Sunday, stories of what happened Saturday night varied wildly in Imbaba's
maze of dirt alleyways. The sprawling neighborhood on the west side of the
Nile is poor and mostly Muslim, but has large pockets of Coptic Christians,
who account for as much as 10 percent of Egypt's population. The sectarian
violence also left at least 232 injured and saw police and army forces move
into the area and impose a curfew. They blocked access to the St. Mina
church, where the violence began.
Christian witnesses say St. Mina was attacked by a group of armed salafis
carrying Ak-47s and throwing Molotov cocktails on Saturday. The witnesses
say the attackers accused the church of abducting a woman who had converted
from Christianity to Islam, and also destroyed a nearby Christian apartment
building and a Christian-owned shop before setting the Virgin Mary church on
fire.
The violence started when rumors spread that Christians had abducted a woman
who had converted to Islam and married a Muslim man, and were holding her
inside St. Mina church. Christians said the rumor was false, and there was
no such woman. Alleged female conversions and abductions have been a
flashpoint for sectarian tensions for years.
Last year Camillia Shehata, the wife of a Coptic priest, allegedly
disappeared for days. Muslims claimed the church had abducted her when she
tried to convert to Islam. Salafis have continued to hold protests demanding
her "release."
That storyline spawned violence in Iraq, where a group associated with Al
Qaeda attacked a church, killing dozens, and called for attacks on churches
in Egypt. One did come, on a church in Alexandria on Jan. 1. An apparent
suicide bomber killed more than 20 Christians, though no group ever claimed
responsibility for the bombing and it was unclear if it was related to the
issue of Camillia Shehata.
Christians have faced discrimination, particularly in the application of
justice when they face sectarian attacks. Mubarak's regime refused to
acknowledge a sectarian dimension to such attacks. And sometimes authorities
imposed forced reconciliation instead of bringing Muslim attackers to
justice.
ACCOUNTS
Muslims in the area say that the Christians were armed and attacked first.
An Egyptian Army officer standing guard Sunday said that when he arrived
Saturday, there were no salafis but two groups of men were fighting each
other, and that weapons were fired from within the church. The clashes ran
from about 8:30 on Saturday night until early the next morning local time.
Father Mattias Elias, priest of the Virgin Mary church for more than 30
years, says "salafi terrorists" set the church on fire. "We have faith and
hope (that) G0d will change what is happening. But practically, we need
leadership from the Army, the security forces," he says, sitting in a
burned-out former sanctuary, next to the gutted baptismal room where the
fire killed a church employee.
The walls and ceiling of the room are blackened, a ceiling fan's blades
melted into haunting shapes. A partially burnt altar curtain sits in the
corner with children's Bible story books. Acrid smoke hangs in the air.
Hossam Bahgat says the attempt to break into a church to rescue an alleged
hostage is "unprecedented." Bahgat runs the Egyptian Initiative for Personal
Rights, a group that has documented sectarian attacks for years. He also
says it is "disturbing" that Christians reportedly used violence in response
to the attack. The sentiment that seems to be growing among the Christian
community is that "they are going to use force to protect themselves if the
state continues to fail to protect them."
"This is why I think we're seeing this time such a strong response from the
Supreme Council of Armed Forces and the Cabinet," he says. "They seem to
finally realize that the number one priority now, as far as the sectarian
violence is concerned, is physical protection of individuals, communities
and places of worship."
ARRESTS
The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, the military government running
Egypt, said it had arrested 190 people in connection with the attacks and
would try them in military courts "as a deterrent to all those who think of
toying with the potential of this nation." Egypt's prime minister delayed a
trip to the Gulf to hold an emergency cabinet meeting and Egypt's justice
minister announced Egypt would use an "iron hand" against those trying to
"tamper with the nation's security."
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
------------------------------------
--------------------------
Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list,
[email protected].
--------------------------
Brooks Isoldi, editor
[email protected]
http://www.intellnet.org
Post message: [email protected]
Subscribe: [email protected]
Unsubscribe: [email protected]
*** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has
not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of
The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT
YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the
included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of
intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods,
techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other
intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes
only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material
as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use
this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,'
you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
For more information go to:
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtmlYahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/
<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional
<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/join
(Yahoo! ID required)
<*> To change settings via email:
[email protected]
[email protected]
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
[email protected]
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
