Sound Of Church Bells Drives Egyptian Mob Into Frenzy. Final Tally: 13 Injuries (Plus: Entirely Predictable Media Coverage)

Some people might describe this as mob-enforced political Islam. I take the more generous view and think of it as interfaith dialog:

Early in the morning two Sundays ago, hundreds of Christian Egyptians quietly slipped into a former underwear factory where they had discreetly set up a church and held their first service. Bells rang and hymns were sung… A crowd of angry Muslims quickly gathered, threw stones at the building and burned banners that said, “No to the church.” They tried to storm the gates, clashed with police and chanted, “The church has fallen, the priest is dead,” according to witnesses. In fact, no one died, but 13 people were reported injured… Tempers are flaring as Islamic conservatism gains ground and Christians grow increasingly resentful about discrimination by the Muslim majority.

“Flaring tempers” and “increasing resentment” – those are roughly on the same level aren’t they? Still better than AFP’s writeup:

A clash between Muslims, Christians and the police in the Egyptian capital of Cairo late Sunday resulted in injuries and multiple arrests of members of both groups, eyewitnesses and authorities said. Hundreds of Muslims gathered after evening prayers in a Cairo neighbourhood to protest that Christians in the area had gathered to pray in a parish hall. Violence broke out between the group and police then intervened, eyewitnesses said.

Actually it was closer to 20,000 Muslim rioters and it was more of an anti-Christian lynch mob than a “clash between Muslims, Christians and the police.” But why should facts get in the way of moral equivalence? Pictures and video of the riot – which, you’ll recall, was triggered by the sound of bells – are here and here.

Honestly I’m not really sure why Egyptian Christians are so resentful. The Egyptian court system finally got around to kind of sort of recognizing Christian converts a few months ago. Although – in fairness – the whole “Christians can’t get donated organs from Muslims” thing probably grates.

And then there’s the part where Muslim mobs attack Christian homes on the thinnest pretexts – e.g. teenage Christian boys don’t dismount from donkeys – and in response the state police round up the victimized Christians:

Authorities in an Egyptian village arrested 50 Coptic Christians, whose shops were then looted, to pacify Muslims following violence that erupted on Nov. 4 over a Christian boy’s unwitting break with custom. Muslim villagers attacked the homes and shops of Coptic Christians in violence-prone Tayyiba, a town with 35,000 Christians and 10,000 Muslims, after 14-year-old Copt Mina William failed to dismount his donkey as a funeral procession passed… William’s failure to dismount violated a local custom of showing respect, Copts United reported, and members of the procession reportedly beat him before completing the procession. William suffered minor injuries. After the funeral procession, the processional members began throwing stones at the homes of local Copts and attacking their shops before police broke up the crowd with tear gas. A priest said members of the procession did not attack the youths for showing disrespect but as an excuse to lash out against the community’s Christians for a previous episode of sectarian violence.

State-enforced dhimmitude really is a charming, charming thing.

References:
* Religion today [AP]
* Muslims, Christians and police clash in Cairo [AFP]
* 20,000 Muslims attack Christian church in Egypt [Spencer]
* Video Shows Muslims Storming Church in Egypt [AINA]
* Egypt: Muslims oppose Coptic church gathering, shout "We’re going to knock down the church" [Dhimmi Watch]
* Egypt recognizes Christian converts [JPost]
* Egypt bans cross-religious organ donation [EoZ]
* Christians Arrested, Shops Looted in Egyptian Village [Right Side News]