2 churches alight, 12 die in clashes
May 9, 2011, Monday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
MUSLIM mobs set two churches on fire overnight in Cairo during sectarian clashes that left 12 dead and more than 200 injured.
Military authorities arrested 190 people, immediately sending them to military prosecutions and threatening the maximum penalty against anyone attacking houses of worship. It was the military's toughest response yet to a series of violent clashes between the two religious groups and signifies swift justice.
Mobs of ultraconservative Muslims attacked the St Menas church in the Cairo slum of Imbaba late Saturday following rumors that a Christian woman married to a Muslim man had been abducted. Local residents said a separate mob of youths armed with knives and machetes attacked the Virgin Mary church several blocks away with firebombs.
"People were scared to come near them," said local resident Adel Mohammed, 29, who lives near the Virgin Mary Church. "They looked scary. They threw their firebombs at the church and set parts of it ablaze."
During Egypt's 18-day uprising that ousted former President Hosni Mubarak several months ago, there was a rare spirit of brotherhood between Muslims and Christians. Each group protected the other during prayer sessions in Cairo's Tahrir Square, the center of the revolution.
But in the months that followed the toppling of Mubarak on February 11, there has been a sharp rise in sectarian tensions, fueled partly by an ultraconservative Muslim movement, known as the Salafis.
Egypt's state news agency said of those killed, at least six Muslims and at least three Christians were among those killed. The body of one Christian was found inside the St Menas church, the agency said. The Health Ministry said 12 had died and more than 230 were injured, at least 11 of them critically.
The clashes were set off Saturday around sundown when word spread around the low-income neighborhood of Imbaba that a Christian woman who married a Muslim was abducted and kept in the church against her will.
The report, which was never confirmed by local religious figures, sent a large mob of Muslims toward the St Menas church. Christians created a human barricade around the church and clashes erupted. Gunfire sounded across the neighborhood, and witnesses said people on rooftops nearby were firing into the crowd.
Muslims alleged the Christians opened fire first. Then crowds of hundreds of Muslims from the neighborhood, in many parts instigated by the local ultraconservative Salafi sheiks, converged on the area. They lobbed firebombs at homes and shops and also at St Menas church, setting its facade on fire.
Residents say Christians were hiding inside. Muslims were chanting: "With our blood and soul, we defend you Islam."
The army and police tried to break up the crowd by firing tear gas, but failed to clear the streets. Troops surrounded the church after the fire was put out.
Later, witnesses said a separate Muslim mob moved to the nearby Virgin Mary church and also set it on fire.
Military authorities arrested 190 people, immediately sending them to military prosecutions and threatening the maximum penalty against anyone attacking houses of worship. It was the military's toughest response yet to a series of violent clashes between the two religious groups and signifies swift justice.
Mobs of ultraconservative Muslims attacked the St Menas church in the Cairo slum of Imbaba late Saturday following rumors that a Christian woman married to a Muslim man had been abducted. Local residents said a separate mob of youths armed with knives and machetes attacked the Virgin Mary church several blocks away with firebombs.
"People were scared to come near them," said local resident Adel Mohammed, 29, who lives near the Virgin Mary Church. "They looked scary. They threw their firebombs at the church and set parts of it ablaze."
During Egypt's 18-day uprising that ousted former President Hosni Mubarak several months ago, there was a rare spirit of brotherhood between Muslims and Christians. Each group protected the other during prayer sessions in Cairo's Tahrir Square, the center of the revolution.
But in the months that followed the toppling of Mubarak on February 11, there has been a sharp rise in sectarian tensions, fueled partly by an ultraconservative Muslim movement, known as the Salafis.
Egypt's state news agency said of those killed, at least six Muslims and at least three Christians were among those killed. The body of one Christian was found inside the St Menas church, the agency said. The Health Ministry said 12 had died and more than 230 were injured, at least 11 of them critically.
The clashes were set off Saturday around sundown when word spread around the low-income neighborhood of Imbaba that a Christian woman who married a Muslim was abducted and kept in the church against her will.
The report, which was never confirmed by local religious figures, sent a large mob of Muslims toward the St Menas church. Christians created a human barricade around the church and clashes erupted. Gunfire sounded across the neighborhood, and witnesses said people on rooftops nearby were firing into the crowd.
Muslims alleged the Christians opened fire first. Then crowds of hundreds of Muslims from the neighborhood, in many parts instigated by the local ultraconservative Salafi sheiks, converged on the area. They lobbed firebombs at homes and shops and also at St Menas church, setting its facade on fire.
Residents say Christians were hiding inside. Muslims were chanting: "With our blood and soul, we defend you Islam."
The army and police tried to break up the crowd by firing tear gas, but failed to clear the streets. Troops surrounded the church after the fire was put out.
Later, witnesses said a separate Muslim mob moved to the nearby Virgin Mary church and also set it on fire.
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