BY SUCCESS KANAYO UCHIME
It has been reported that thousands of Coptic Christians in Egypt took to the streets to demand more protection after Islamist extremists torched and destroyed a village church near Cairo. They protested outside a TV station in the Egyptian capital, 22 miles away from Sool, on at least two occasions since the attack demanding greater protection.
This indication is contained in a report by the United Kingdom based registered charity, Release International, (http://www.releaseinternational.org/) adding some moderate Muslims protested with them as there have been clashes between Muslims and Christians in the capital this week.
Egyptian church members grieve for their killed relatives
It noted that a mob of up to 4,000 Islamists exploded gas cylinders inside the Church of St GeorgeGeorge and St Mina in Sool village last Friday then demolished it over the course of Saturday.
According to the report, this followed calls by a hardline Muslim cleric to 'kill all the Christians' – after rumors of an affair between a Coptic man and a Muslim woman, which is forbidden under Sharia or Islamic law.
It noted that one Pastor Hoshea Abd Al-Missieh narrowly escaped being killed in the fire which engulfed his church. He described having to choose between being burnt alive or running the gauntlet of extremists outside the church.
“Eventually, Pastor Hoshea chose to flee the flames – and was met outside by a man with a rifle. 'No one will touch this man: he is with me,' the armed man yelled at the mob, as he escorted Pastor Hoshea to safety,” it stated.
The report said that the mob prevented the fire brigade from entering the village adding that Muslims have since set up blockades around Sool, claiming that they want to turn it into an 'Islamic village'.
Quoting Compass Direct news agency, Christian Solidarity Worldwide and others, it noted that the extremists prayed at the site and immediately started raising funds to build a mosque there. “However, Reuters news agency reports that the Egyptian army has promised to rebuild the church by Easter.”
“Copts are still uncertain about the future in an emerging post-Mubarak Egypt. Since the popular uprising earlier this year, several monasteries have had confrontations with the army: at least three monasteries have tried to erect security fences around their property, which have then been torn down by the military,” it also stated.
The report said that in Wadi Al-Natroun, soldiers used live ammunition to repel monks who tried to protest and that the country's new Prime Minister, Essam Sharaf, has reportedly begun a dialogue with Coptic leaders and further meetings are planned.
For more articles from this writer, click here: http://www.allvoices.com/users/success4u
It has been reported that thousands of Coptic Christians in Egypt took to the streets to demand more protection after Islamist extremists torched and destroyed a village church near Cairo. They protested outside a TV station in the Egyptian capital, 22 miles away from Sool, on at least two occasions since the attack demanding greater protection.
This indication is contained in a report by the United Kingdom based registered charity, Release International, (http://www.releaseinternational.org/) adding some moderate Muslims protested with them as there have been clashes between Muslims and Christians in the capital this week.
Egyptian church members grieve for their killed relatives
It noted that a mob of up to 4,000 Islamists exploded gas cylinders inside the Church of St GeorgeGeorge and St Mina in Sool village last Friday then demolished it over the course of Saturday.
According to the report, this followed calls by a hardline Muslim cleric to 'kill all the Christians' – after rumors of an affair between a Coptic man and a Muslim woman, which is forbidden under Sharia or Islamic law.
It noted that one Pastor Hoshea Abd Al-Missieh narrowly escaped being killed in the fire which engulfed his church. He described having to choose between being burnt alive or running the gauntlet of extremists outside the church.
“Eventually, Pastor Hoshea chose to flee the flames – and was met outside by a man with a rifle. 'No one will touch this man: he is with me,' the armed man yelled at the mob, as he escorted Pastor Hoshea to safety,” it stated.
The report said that the mob prevented the fire brigade from entering the village adding that Muslims have since set up blockades around Sool, claiming that they want to turn it into an 'Islamic village'.
Quoting Compass Direct news agency, Christian Solidarity Worldwide and others, it noted that the extremists prayed at the site and immediately started raising funds to build a mosque there. “However, Reuters news agency reports that the Egyptian army has promised to rebuild the church by Easter.”
“Copts are still uncertain about the future in an emerging post-Mubarak Egypt. Since the popular uprising earlier this year, several monasteries have had confrontations with the army: at least three monasteries have tried to erect security fences around their property, which have then been torn down by the military,” it also stated.
The report said that in Wadi Al-Natroun, soldiers used live ammunition to repel monks who tried to protest and that the country's new Prime Minister, Essam Sharaf, has reportedly begun a dialogue with Coptic leaders and further meetings are planned.
For more articles from this writer, click here: http://www.allvoices.com/users/success4u
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