May 12, 2007 Egypt: Muslims burn 10 Christian homes and business, injure 11
people, over plans to enlarge a Coptic Church Islamic Sharia law forbids
Christians to build new churches or repair old ones. And even in Mubarak's
"secular" Egypt, "no church can be constructed without a presidential decree,"
while "mosques are not subject to the same regulation." And many Muslims there
obviously take this very seriously.
"Muslims battle Christians in Egypt," by Noha el Hennawy for the LA Times,
with thanks to Morgaan Sinclair:
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....
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.
http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/016407.php
---------------------------------
Need a vacation? Get great deals to amazing places on Yahoo! Travel.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
