Coptic Christians Attacked In Egypt

Yet again the Coptic Christian minority in Egypt is suffering from violence and persecution at the hands of the Muslim majority. Even though Muslims make up more than 90% of the population of Egypt, they still feel threatened enough to attack Copts. The Copts are already discriminated against in Egyptian law, being forbidden from building or extending churches without a presidential decree.

The Los Angeles Times has an article on the most recent violence. It also follows below, as the website requires registration.

By Noha el Hennawy, Special to The Times
May 12, 2007

CAIRO — A group of Muslim men, angered by plans to enlarge a Coptic church, battled with Christians after Friday prayers, setting fire to several buildings and injuring at least 11 people, officials and witnesses said.

Attackers roamed through the village of Bamha, about 15 miles south of Cairo, carrying hatchets and fuel canisters, said a witness, Tarek Gabbas.

Muslims and Christians reportedly threw firebombs and bricks at each other, and at least 10 Christian houses and businesses were set ablaze before police restored order. Seventeen people from both faiths were arrested, Reuters news agency reported.

Under Egyptian law, no church can be constructed without a presidential decree. However, mosques are not subject to the same regulation, a fact cited by Egypt's Coptic minority as evidence of discrimination.

Christian Copts, who constitute about 10% of Egypt's 80 million people, also complain that the state discriminates against them by denying them proper representation in the government.

Marcos Aziz, a prominent Coptic cleric, said religious tensions have been mounting in Egypt recently. The attack, he said, was "a result of the regime's inability … to solve the problems of the Copts."

Muslim villagers in Bamha, angered by the plans for expansion of the church amid rumors that the Christians did not have building permits, had been circulating leaflets, calling on residents to "defend the religion of Muhammad" by burning down Christian property in the village, said Gabbas, a Muslim.

He said some Muslims ran into the burning buildings to try to help trapped Christians.

"Not all Muslims there were happy with what was happening. There were Muslims who risked their lives while trying to rescue Copts," Gabbas said.

Five of the 11 wounded were women, said Abdullah Fawzi, director of the ambulance staff.

"It's a recurring problem," said Sameh Fawzi, an expert on Coptic affairs. "Most sectarian conflicts that erupted in the past were due to fights over the construction of churches."

In April 2006, religious violence rocked the Mediterranean city of Alexandria after a knife-wielding assailant attacked three churches, killing a man and wounding at least 12 people. The police investigation concluded that the perpetrator was "mentally disturbed."

Jihad Watch has also reported this article, and there are several intelligent comments on their site questioning why western nations are accepting Muslim immigrants, rather than the persecuted Christians.

This is a valid question. Generally Christian immigrants from the Middle East are far more law-abiding than their Muslim counterparts. Good examples are the Copts from Egypt, and the Maronites from Lebanon. The evidence suggests that Christian immigrants willingly integrate far more easily. When riots broke out between Australians and Lebanese in Sydney, Australia, I spoke to several people who were shocked that the Lebanese were causing so many problems. The confusion was quickly cleared up when we discovered that they were used to responsible Maorinte Christian Lebanese immigrants in their area, as opposed to the Muslim Lebanese who caused the violence in Sydney.