Attacks on Copts Expose Egypt's Secular Paradox

Muslims marched on a Coptic Christian church in Alexandria, Egypt, in October, to protest distribution of a DVD of a play performed by Copts two years ago that they deemed offensive. (Associated Press)

"Suddenly, a crowd appeared, and they're shouting, 'God is great!' " recalled Mansef Ayad, an elementary school teacher. God is great, a common Islamic exclamation, is also a characteristic cry of Islamic holy warriors, or jihadis.

"The jihadis came from the fields and began to burn palm trees. They threw gas bombs on houses. We knew if they reached the church, it was done for. The roof is wood," Ayad said.

Christian men emerged to block alleys and the most vulnerable side of the church, which abuts a field. They threw stones at the attackers. But it was the smoke that eventually, after two hours, halted the assault. "I think of it as divine intervention," said a priest from nearby Dabaya known as Father Basilios.

Sabah Shahad, a relative of the slain Christian man, Kamal Shaker Meglaa, said Meglaa was not part of the battle but was simply returning to his house near the church. Shahad said two men attacked Meglaa and hit him repeatedly with a hoe, cracking his skull. They also broke the legs of livestock and set the animals aflame. "They did this because we are Christian," said Shahad, who is a cement porter at a construction site.

The unrest drew the attention of human rights groups as well as the Muslim Brotherhood, which is officially outlawed in Egypt but is on a campaign to persuade Egyptians of all stripes that the group's growing political power is not a threat.

"People should be able to worship freely, without having to wait endlessly for licenses to be issued," Essam Erian, a top member of the Brotherhood, told reporters in Cairo. He faulted the government, the Christians for opening a church without a license and the Muslims for resorting to violence.

The Odayssat conflict capped a period of Muslim-Christian flare-ups, some of which resulted from perceived insults felt by both sides.

In December 2004, Christians in Cairo protested an allegedly forced conversion of the wife of a Coptic priest to Islam. The woman turned out to have converted willingly, but the government ordered her returned to the Coptic community. More than 50 people were injured in battles with police.

That same month, dozens of Muslims attacked a church in the hamlet of Damshwai Hashim, about 150 miles south of Cairo. Word had spread that a private home was used for public prayer, in effect making it a church. Police trying to break up Muslim-Christian clashes shot dead Mohammed Mohsen Qassem, a student.

In October, Muslims in the ancient port city of Alexandria marched on St. George's Church to protest distribution of a DVD of a play performed by Copts two years ago. The play, "I Was Blind, but Now I Can See," depicted a Christian convert to Islam who is threatened with death by Muslim militants. In the protest, three Muslims in Alexandria died at the hands of police, and rioters burned down three liquor stores -- alcohol is forbidden to Muslims but not to Christians. Islamic and Coptic leaders tried to soothe emotions. Bishop Armia told Egypt's official news agency, MENA, that "Copts would never tolerate anyone insulting Islam."

"There's rising sensitivity over religious issues these days," said Mohamed Sayed Said, deputy director of the Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies, a state-run research center. "It's starting to scar the national psyche. People are starting to worry about it."

"There is a growing tendency toward religious intolerance in Egypt," said Hafez Abu Saeda, who heads the independent Egyptian Organization for Human Rights.