Muslim radicals raze Coptic Christian village in Egypt
Muslim radicals attacked a Coptic Christian village in Upper Egypt last week over rumors that a community center and a meeting hall is being converted into a church.
A group of Muslims burned down the community center in Al-Nagameesh village in Sohag Governate and moved to the village to loot the houses and the businesses owned by the Copts, Morning Star News reported.
Human rights activists said that the events hall was gutted by the fire, and other buildings were left in ruins. Four Copts sustained minor injuries in the attack.
The Christian community of 2,000 people in Al-Nagameesh has been using the community center for events such as funerals, weddings, and prayers because there is no church building in the village.
Three days before the attack, the local priest, identified only as Father Marqrious, held a service at the center to commemorate his father's death.
According to the human rights activists, Muslims heard about the service and thought that the building is going to be turned into a church. The day after the service, the extremists distributed leaflets telling Muslims to attack the community center.
A resident named Samir Nashed told International Christian Concern (ICC) that the extremists started attacking at noon after Muslim prayers.
"On Friday [at] noon, November 25, following the Muslim prayers, a great deal of fanatic Muslim young men, some of them were carrying gas canisters and rocks while others came armed with automatic rifles, clubs, machetes and knives, they attacked Copts and Coptic-owned houses," said Nashed.
"The attackers cut [off] the road so that the fire trucks could not enter the village; they also cut off the water and power supply to the village," he narrated.
The local police have arrested 29 suspects, but 15 of them have been released. On Nov. 25, Ayman Mohamed Abdel Monaem, the governor of Sohag, held a reconciliation meeting between the Copts and the Muslim elders.
According to the report from ICC, the Christian villagers have already applied for a permit to build a new church, but they are still awaiting approval from the government.