Cairo: Muslims and Christians clash in Imbaba

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Cairo: Muslims and Christians clash in Imbaba



The clashes around the al-Azraa church saw the building go up in flames




At least five people have been killed and dozens more wounded during clashes between Muslims and Christians in Cairo.
The clashes started after a crowd of Muslims attacked a church, demanding it hand over a women they believe had converted to Islam.
It took police and soldiers some hours to bring it under control.
Clashes between Muslims and Christians have continued into the post-Mubarak era, after harmony in the revolution.
continued after the fall of President Mubarak in February.
The recurrence of yet another serious outbreak of communal violence - as the military government leads a faltering transition to democracy - is a worrying development for Egypt, the BBC's Jonathan Head in Cairo says.


Church blazes



Eyewitnesses said several hundred conservative Muslims - belonging to the Salafist movement - gathered at the Coptic Saint Mena Church in the heavily-populated north-western Cairo district of Imbaba.
They were protesting over allegations that a Christian woman was being held there against her will because she had married a Muslim man and wanted to convert to Islam, Egypt's official Mena news agency reports.
Shouts were exchanged between church guards, people living near the church and the protesters, which developed into a fully-fledged confrontation involving gunfire, firebombs and stone-throwing.
The church and some nearby homes were set alight, and it took several hours for the emergency services and the military to bring the situation under control.
"I just left one young man dead inside the church," one man, a Christian, was quoted as telling Reuters journalists.
A parish priest, Father Hermina, told the AFP news agency that the group had attempted to storm the church earlier in the day.
But one Muslim protester told the news agency that they had first been fired upon by the Copts.
"We were peaceful," said the man, who gave his name as Mamduh. "We won't leave until they give up their weapons and the people who killed us are tried."
As well as five dead, at least 50 people were reported to have been wounded.
Nearby in the same district, Muslim protesters threw firebombs at another church, setting it on fire. There were no of reports of any casualties but the al-Azraa church was severely damaged in the blaze.


Election fears

Similar claims about women being held against their will have been made before by Salafist groups, who have become more assertive in the post-Mubarak era, our correspondent says.
In March, 13 people died in similar clashes in another neighbourhood. Last month, demonstrators in the southern city of Qena cut all transport links with Cairo for a week in protest over the appointment of a Christian governor.
Coptic Christians account for about 10% of Egypt's population, and have long complained of state discrimination against them.
Now they are expressing fears for their safety if hardline Muslims do well in the election scheduled for September, our correspondent reports.




http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-13325448

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Egypt warns of 'iron fist' response after clashes


Egypt's justice minister has warned that those who threaten the country's security will face "an iron fist".
Abdel Aziz al-Gindi was speaking after 10 people died and 186 were wounded during clashes between Muslims and Christians in Cairo.
More than 190 people detained after the fatal clashes will face military trials, Egypt's army says.
The ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces called the move a "deterrent" against further violence.
"The government's hand is not shaking. The government is not weak," Mr Gindi said.
He was speaking after an emergency cabinet meeting convened by Prime Minister Essam Sharaf.
Mr Sharaf postponed a visit to the Gulf to hold the meeting.

The overnight violence started after several hundred conservative Salafist Muslims gathered outside the Coptic Saint Mena Church in Cairo's Imbaba district.
They were reportedly protesting over allegations that a Christian woman was being held there against her will because she had married a Muslim man and wanted to convert to Islam.
Rival groups threw firebombs and stones, and gunfire was heard.
The church and one other, as well as some nearby homes, were set alight, and it took some hours for the emergency services and the military to bring the situation under control.
"The Supreme Military Council decided to send all those who were arrested in yesterday's events, that is 190 people, to the Supreme Military Court," the Egyptian army announced on its Facebook Page.
It added that it should act as a "deterrent to all those who think of toying with the potential of this nation".
The statement also said that a committee would be set up to assess the damage caused by the clashes and "restore all property and places of worship to how they were".
The army warned of "severe dangers facing Egypt during this phase".
This is not the first outbreak of communal violence since the fall of President Hosni Mubarak in February following weeks of popular protests.
In March, 13 people died in similar clashes in another neighbourhood. Last month, demonstrators in the southern city of Qena cut all transport links with Cairo for a week in protest over the appointment of a Christian governor.
The clashes - coming as the military government leads a faltering transition to democracy - are a worrying development for Egypt, the BBC's Jonathan Head in Cairo says.
Salafist groups - who have made similar claims about women being held against their will before - have become more assertive in the post-Mubarak era, he adds.
Coptic Christians account for about 10% of Egypt's population, and have long complained of state discrimination against them.
Now they are expressing fears for their safety if hardline Muslims do well in the election scheduled for September, our correspondent reports.


Rising toll

Witnesses to Saturday's violence said it began with shouting between protesters, church guards and people living near the church.
A parish priest, Father Hermina, told the AFP news agency that the group had attempted to storm the church earlier in the day.
But one Muslim protester insisted that they had first been fired upon by the Copts.
One person in the area, a blogger called Mahmoud, told the BBC that people who saw the violence break out thought that the perpetrators looked like "regular thugs" rather than Salafists.
He had witnessed the burning of a second church in the same district, al-Azraa, and said that many local people were very upset at the burning of the churches and had spent the night helping the firefighters put the flames out.
Both the death and wounded toll kept rising on Sunday morning, with state media putting the latest number of dead at 10 and injured at 186.




Analysis

Jonathan Head BBC News
For months conservative Muslim groups in Egypt have been protesting about the case of Camelia Shehata, the wife of the Coptic priest, who vanished last year. They say she converted to Islam and was being held against her will. But she has now appeared on a TV channel saying she is still a willing Christian.
Last night's attack by a Salafi crowd on the Saint Mena church in Imbaba was about a different woman, who they also allege is being forcibly prevented from converting to Islam.
Prime Minister Essam Shara is sufficiently alarmed by the scale of the violence to cancel his trip to the Gulf.
Some Egyptians believe the military deliberately allows the fighting to continue because it is unwilling to confront the Salafis, who have become more assertive since the fall of President Mubarak. Some believe it is elements of the old regime stirring up trouble. Certainly there are ambitious figures in both communities whose leadership aspirations might benefit from increased strife
Heightened political competition in the run-up to the first post-Mubarak election in September could well spark off more communal clashes. The interim military government's track record in dealing with them, is not encouraging.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-13325845