Egyptian Christians Worried Sectarian Violence Could Continue
Political rivalry may explain the latest Muslim attacks on a Coptic Christian Church and Christian-owned businesses in Alexandria, Egypt, that left three people dead and scores wounded over the weekend, sources said.
Published Oct 25, 2005
Jerusalem (CNSNews.com) - Political rivalry may explain the latest Muslim attacks on a Coptic Christian Church and Christian-owned businesses in Alexandria, Egypt, that left three people dead and scores wounded over the weekend, sources said.
The trouble started last week with the circulation of a DVD showing a play put on at St. George's Church one time, two years ago, which was said to be insulting to Islam.
Some 5,000 Muslims gathered outside St. George's Church on Friday, throwing stones at police, setting cars alight, and looting and burning Christian-owned businesses. Police used tear gas and fired rubber bullets to keep the crowd from attacking the church, reports said.
Three people were killed and dozens of others wounded in the fray. Some 100 people were arrested.
The play "Once I Was Blind but Now I See" is about a poor, young Coptic Christian who was offered money by Islamic extremists to convert to Islam. When he becomes disillusioned and returns to Christianity they threaten to kill him.
Church officials said the play warned of the dangers of extremism and not of Islam. Father Augustinos, head of St. George's, said his church had nothing to do with the distribution of the DVDs, and it's still not clear who circulated them.
Egyptian security sources were quoted as saying that the DVDs were distributed by Islamic militants trying to fuel sectarian trouble before upcoming parliamentary elections.
The Egyptian Interior ministry issued a statement in which it described the rioters as "fanatic elements."
The Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's largest Islamic group, denied any involvement in the demonstrations.
Officially, Egypt is a Muslim country and its legislation is drawn from strict Islamic Shari'a law. About 90 percent of Egypt's 72 million people are Muslim and 8-10 percent are Christian, according to the government, although church officials say more than 15 percent of the population is Christian. Most of the Christians are Coptic.
By law, Christians are allowed to practice their religion freely, but many complain of discrimination in the workplace and harassment in other areas of life, including problems with obtaining permission for church construction and remodeling.
Many Christians have also charged that their daughters were forced were to convert to Islam and marry Muslim men.
Political rivalry
Dr. Helmy Guirguis, president of the United Kingdom Coptic Association, said those who were behind the rioting were politically motivated.
Egypt plans to hold elections for its national parliament on November 9. Of the 444 candidates from the National Democratic Party of President Hosni Mubarak, only two are Coptic Christians.
The Coptic Christians had hoped to field more candidates following Coptic Bishop Pope Shenuda III's support for Mubarak in recent presidential elections.
The Coptic Christian candidate from Alexandria is expected to win a seat. But the Muslim Brotherhood is using "dirty maneuvers" to try to win political support, said Guirguis, who was born and raised in Egypt.
"To us it would mean a lot. There is a very, very limited number of Christians in parliament," Guirguis said in a telephone interview. But for the Muslims it is just one seat. The Muslim Brotherhood is trying to use its "muscle" to motivate the masses and to shift the election focus to a Christian-Islamic rivalry, he said.
Guirguis described the election of every Christian to the parliament as "miraculous" because the atmosphere is "poisoned by religious hatred," he said.
The more Christians there are in parliament, the more chance there is of exposing injustices, Guirguis said. "[The Muslims] would rather have the status quo. The more the Christians are represented, the more demands they can make," he said.
See Earlier Stories:
Christians Arrested in Egyptian Crackdown on Converts (Oct. 29, 2003)
Egyptian Christian Killed in Army Attack on Christian Center (Jan. 6, 2004)
Christian Persecution Surfaces Again in Egypt (July 28, 2000)
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Send a Letter to the Editor about this article.
The trouble started last week with the circulation of a DVD showing a play put on at St. George's Church one time, two years ago, which was said to be insulting to Islam.
Some 5,000 Muslims gathered outside St. George's Church on Friday, throwing stones at police, setting cars alight, and looting and burning Christian-owned businesses. Police used tear gas and fired rubber bullets to keep the crowd from attacking the church, reports said.
Three people were killed and dozens of others wounded in the fray. Some 100 people were arrested.
The play "Once I Was Blind but Now I See" is about a poor, young Coptic Christian who was offered money by Islamic extremists to convert to Islam. When he becomes disillusioned and returns to Christianity they threaten to kill him.
Church officials said the play warned of the dangers of extremism and not of Islam. Father Augustinos, head of St. George's, said his church had nothing to do with the distribution of the DVDs, and it's still not clear who circulated them.
Egyptian security sources were quoted as saying that the DVDs were distributed by Islamic militants trying to fuel sectarian trouble before upcoming parliamentary elections.
The Egyptian Interior ministry issued a statement in which it described the rioters as "fanatic elements."
The Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's largest Islamic group, denied any involvement in the demonstrations.
Officially, Egypt is a Muslim country and its legislation is drawn from strict Islamic Shari'a law. About 90 percent of Egypt's 72 million people are Muslim and 8-10 percent are Christian, according to the government, although church officials say more than 15 percent of the population is Christian. Most of the Christians are Coptic.
By law, Christians are allowed to practice their religion freely, but many complain of discrimination in the workplace and harassment in other areas of life, including problems with obtaining permission for church construction and remodeling.
Many Christians have also charged that their daughters were forced were to convert to Islam and marry Muslim men.
Political rivalry
Dr. Helmy Guirguis, president of the United Kingdom Coptic Association, said those who were behind the rioting were politically motivated.
Egypt plans to hold elections for its national parliament on November 9. Of the 444 candidates from the National Democratic Party of President Hosni Mubarak, only two are Coptic Christians.
The Coptic Christians had hoped to field more candidates following Coptic Bishop Pope Shenuda III's support for Mubarak in recent presidential elections.
The Coptic Christian candidate from Alexandria is expected to win a seat. But the Muslim Brotherhood is using "dirty maneuvers" to try to win political support, said Guirguis, who was born and raised in Egypt.
"To us it would mean a lot. There is a very, very limited number of Christians in parliament," Guirguis said in a telephone interview. But for the Muslims it is just one seat. The Muslim Brotherhood is trying to use its "muscle" to motivate the masses and to shift the election focus to a Christian-Islamic rivalry, he said.
Guirguis described the election of every Christian to the parliament as "miraculous" because the atmosphere is "poisoned by religious hatred," he said.
The more Christians there are in parliament, the more chance there is of exposing injustices, Guirguis said. "[The Muslims] would rather have the status quo. The more the Christians are represented, the more demands they can make," he said.
See Earlier Stories:
Christians Arrested in Egyptian Crackdown on Converts (Oct. 29, 2003)
Egyptian Christian Killed in Army Attack on Christian Center (Jan. 6, 2004)
Christian Persecution Surfaces Again in Egypt (July 28, 2000)
Subscribe to the free CNSNews.com daily E-brief.
Send a Letter to the Editor about this article.
Originally published October 26, 2005.
