Violence against Christians in Egypt escalating

The attacks against Christians in Egypt are intensifying at an alarming rate, and the government appears to provide insufficient response to address the matter, a human rights group said.

The violence against the members of the Coptic Orthodox Church has been increasing, and the pattern could be observed not just in the last few weeks but in the last several months.

"It is escalating in a very short time," said Mina Thabet, Egyptian Commission of Rights and Freedoms' program director for minorities and vulnerable groups, according to Breitbart News.

There have been at least a dozen attacks on Christians since May, but the government's continued impunity for the attackers could also be observed.

Ishak Ibrahim from Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights said just a few cases of violence against Coptic Christians make it to court, and most of these are dismissed because of claims of a lack of evidence.

"This sends a message that there is no equality, and no matter what you do and how you break the law you will not be punished," he said.

In late May, the assault against an elderly 70-year-old Christian woman from Minya made international headlines.

The woman's home was attacked by a mob because of a rumor that her son was having an affair with a Muslim woman. She was beaten, stripped naked and forced to parade herself on the streets.

The mob that attacked her burned seven houses in the community, where most of the residents were Christian. However, the police responded late and did not give enough support for the victims.

There have also been reports of Christian women and girls being kidnapped or raped in Upper Egypt. They are forced into converting to Islam.

International Christian Concern said most of the victims were never heard from again.

According to Thabet, there are several factors driving the violence against Christians in Minya. One of these is that radical Islamists are deeply involved in the governorate, allowing them some form of control over the ideology that is being taught.

Furthermore, the governorate has a high illiteracy rate, almost 40 percent.

"You can't separate the economic and social factors from the equation. It's a complicated equation," Thabet said.