CAIRO (Reuters) – Egypt’s government announced measures to curb religious violence on Sunday after 12 people died in clashes in a Cairo suburb sparked by rumours that Christians had abducted a woman who converted to Islam.
The fighting on Saturday was Egypt’s worst interfaith strife since 13 people died on March 9 after a church was burned, and it threw down a new challenge for generals ruling the country since the overthrow of president Hosni Mubarak in February.
Prime Minister Essam Sharaf cancelled a tour of Gulf Arab states to chair a Cabinet meeting where the government decided to deploy more security near religious sites and toughen laws criminalising attacks on places of worship.
“Gatherings around places of worship will be banned to protect their sanctity and ensure the security of residents and prevent sectarian strife,” Justice Minister Mohammad Guindy said in a statement read on state television.
The army said 190 people would be tried in military courts over Saturday’s violence. Read more
Categories: Africa, Egypt, Middle East
It is without any doubt that the Egyptian Government is taking this matter seriously. It is also without any doubt that the vast majority of Muslims in Egypt do not favor any discrimination of Christians. During Christmas celebrations Muslims provided a cordon of security around churches. However, small minorities of extremists can create havoc, as we all know too well…