300 Muslims strip 70-year-old Christian woman naked, burn homes after son is accused of affair with Muslim woman

Chiqui Guyjoco Sunday, May 29, 2016

Seven Christian homes were looted and burned while a 70-year-old Christian woman was stripped naked and paraded in the streets of southern Egypt by a mob of 300 armed Muslims over rumors that her son is having an affair with a Muslim woman.

Coptic Orthodox Christians mourn their relatives who died in clashes between Muslims and Christians in El Khusus, north of the Egyptian capital, during their funeral at the main cathedral in Cairo April 7, 2013. | REUTERS/MOHAMED ABD EL-GHANY

In a report by Ahram Online, an official statement from the Coptic Orthodox Church issued by the diocese of Minya and Abu Qirqas on Wednesday, May 25, confirmed that a sectarian attack happened in El-Karm village of Minya province on May 20 at 8 p.m.

The statement described "a group of 300 people carrying various types of weapons" responsible for the burglary and burning of seven Christian houses estimating the financial losses at EGP 350,000.

These are the same men who dragged an elderly Christian woman out of her house, beat her, insulted her, stripped her naked, and paraded her in the streets while chanting "Allahu Akbar" (God is greatest), said Bishop Anba Makarios on a Dream TV network talkshow last Wednesday night, according to The Guardian. Makarios is the highest cleric of Minya and Abu Qirqas, and the church's delegated spokesperson for the incident.

The elderly woman is the mother of a Christian man rumoured to be involved with a Muslim woman. Her son left the village on May 19 after receiving threats, while the parents notified the police about the threats a day before the supposed attack.

"No one did anything and the police took no pre-emptive or security measures in anticipation of the attacks," Makarios said on Ahmed Moussa's Sada el-Balad TV, another TV show that also aired on Wednesday night.

Makarios noted that the police arrived two hours after the attack which, he said, gave the attackers "ample time."

"We are not living in a jungle or a tribal society. It's incorrect for anyone to declare himself judge, police and ruler," Makarios told Sada, referring to the Muslim mob.

Egyptian Christians have long claimed to be victimized in the predominantly Muslim country.

According to Ahram Online, 11 of those involved have already been arrested.