Sectarian tension heightened on Friday in a small Egyptian town as police fired tear gas to disperse Muslims throwing stones at a Coptic church in anger over the inter-faith relationship alleged between an Egyptian Muslim college student and a Coptic Christian man, a security official and priest said.
The Protesters accuse Saint Girgis Church of helping Rana Al Shazli, 21, who is believed to have converted to Christianity, flee to Turkey with a Coptic Christian man.
The alleged romance has been fuelling sectarian tension for nearly two months in Wasta, a rural town in Beni Suef province, about 95km south of Cairo, the Egyptian capital.
Muslims have attacked churches there and forced Christians to close their shops for nearly eight days last month and members of the Christian man’s family have been arrested, including his mother and father, after a prosecutor accused them of collaborating in hiding the woman. The woman’s family issued an ultimatum for the church to bring her back early this month, but when it didn’t, fresh violence erupted.
Ultraconservative Salafists on Friday distributed flyers accusing the church of “proselytising Christianity,” according to a copy of the flyer posted on a social networking site. Residents were enjoined to rally inside a mosque located metres from the church to “rescue a Muslim soul and bring her back from the deviant path.”
Father Bishoy Youssuf of the church said he heard loudspeakers from the adjacent mosque calling on worshippers to join a march to the church for the sake of the girl. He said churches in Wasta had been forewarned about “threats to attack churches” and scheduled early morning masses that would be finished before Friday prayers at the mosque.
“God protect us,” he said. “We have nothing to do with this whole story”.
Protesters hurled stones at security forces that had cordoned off streets leading to the church, following earlier threats, and this led to clashes, with police firing tear gas.
Police arrested five people, including the girl’s uncle. Two people were injured by gunshots and others suffered breathing problems from the tear gas, according to the security official at the scene.
Muslims and their terror every where. God save us from these religious fanatics!
Did you dig dip into the matter or you are just following the train like the rest before labelling this terrible allegation against Muslims? So someone cannot detest or show displeasure over an issue because he is a Muslim right?
It’s so terrible or is’s it a crime for the two religions to fall in love with one another?, i believe muslims are suffering from a cause maybe from the bible cos they are like devil in nature,let them just letgo the two happily married couples o,i believe the lady has choosen life instead of dead,God help us.
its not a crime John, but are you sure you’ve got the right story in order to join the feast of insults on Muslims and Islam? For your information, the whole bible is in the Qur’an and again the divide between the 2 religions is Holy trinity and the belief that ‘Jesus is the Son of God’ well if ‘Muslim’s are suffering from a cause from the bible’ then the claim that Christianity preaches love and peace is a lie because no religion permits overriding or the use of abusive/foul language over any other religion. We are not devil in nature John. Seek knowledge and hey! endeavour to get to the root of all issues before joining a train that has no defined destination
Nobody makes noise when a xtian girl falls in love with & marries a muslim man. Muslims shd learn frm christians how to live in peace with their neighbours.
Dis mumuslam, dia mumu dey 4 every corner. She don follow d right path since she know mumumadu no know where him dey go, mumumadu say make dem ask JESUS wey know where Him dey go & dis woman don know dis tin tay tay so she get 2 follow d person wey know road 2 heaven naa, a bi na mumu she go follow? Make others still dey mumu dey go, till dia own mumu clear. Mumu wey dey fight 4 dia arab god.
This comment portrays how shallow the understanding of your religion is, may God enable you to sit for one day and read the old testament of the bible and also read about Islam to understand whether Muslims are mumu? As for this whole story I wish you had the chance to get to the root of the story rather than having a half-baked story for people to have a feast of insults on Muslims as usual, endeavour to seek knowledge please and hey! unadulterated knowledge not what your pastors want you to know in order to extort you and fly private jets all around the world
This really shows d level of madness in them. These muslims are d problem wherever they are all over d world. When their sons fall in love with xtian girls nobody raised an eyebrow. That notwithstanding, not all muslims are terrorists but, all terrorists are muslims.
stop beign foolish! People. Can a lady give herself out in marrage? I blv the insultive ones were born outside wedlock,go on and display ur level of reasoning. Death to d 1 dat insult d religion n d prophet
plz frnds read nd undstan before sayin smthng.
u said not all muslim ar terorist and all terorist ar muslim.
did u knw who ar lord resistance army, did u knw who ar illuminaty, wat of nazi, wat of eta in spain etc plz go nd read,
watch 24 ar dey not christias givin money to terrorist. plz b wise
Love is life. A true Muslim man don’t invovle or cause violence likewise a true Christian can never hurt.
I thing those involved disturbing the peace of the masses should be delt with by the government. They don’t know love.
There is a way of doing things. In islam without agrement between the 2 family no marriage tell kidnaper to produce the girl thanks
Why r muslims perpetratin violence everywhere in d world?If muslims r not violent ppl why can’t they stand against those in their mist using the name to be violent?na wa o
look at them! They lack honor so much that they wud attack a holy place becos of a girl who chose her own path…maybe when mosques start getting attacks arround the world…their orientation wud change for the better…if U guys can’t be at peace,why dont u all just ship urselves away to ur Allah,and spare planet earth of all the problems U create.
gone are those days when parents force their children to marry somebody they don’t love or even practice a religion against their own will, as an adult i can join any religion of my choice witout any interruption from my family, the lady in question is an adult of 21 years and so can think for herself she has not been kidnap, my own sister, the former EFCC boss mrs Ferida Waziri got married to a muslim and became a muslim herself but there was no reberion from anybody or her relatives. Religion is a personal decission so anybody above 18years should be alone to make his or her choice without parental interferance. I wish my muslim brodas should read this and stop all this meanigless violent.
But you people claims that we are worshiping thesame God. I still wonders why there has always been an attack on the other side of the worshipers. Are you hiding something in your mist that you don’t want it to be known. Please we want peace to reign. Stop this violence
weneva i here stories of dis kind i get so confused abt d whole concept of religion, b it christianity, islam, hinduism or any other religion der is on earth, bcos it seems to b causin more destruction dan peace. and to b sincere, my observation over d years has only made me to bliv muslims re readily violent, and der main justification for dat is dat dey re fighting for God (jihad). now if dat b d case, first of all can we humans fight for God? and if we can, has He shown Himself to us as a God dat lyks humans fightin for Him by killin one anoda even wen d inocents re goin to lose der lives in d process? wit due respect to muslims, if u re one, dis re questions i wuld lyk u to ask urself.
The lady as made are choice you people should let are be.what is the problem we have head of christian girls who decided to marry moslem men their parent the did not. Stage any protest neither did their christian families and friend embark on distroying mosque or attacking moslem men and women so this shows the clear difference between islam and christianity .may God give this set of people the grace to value life of others
I must read this!.
Please less just prey for peace not violence my brother’s and sisther!. If you have a dorther, is your right to train her to the truth part of the religious you belong to!.