Egypt holds 52 after clashes
2006-04-18 08:47
Alexandria - Fifty-two people arrested for Muslim-Christian clashes were to be held for another 15 days for questioning, said a prosecutor in Egypt.
Prosecutor Sami Brek said that the detainees were suspected of rioting, incitement, damage to property and transgression of places of worship during the past weekend.
He said that another 50 people were being questioned. Two people were killed and at least 40 were wounded in the clashes, which began on Friday and continued through on Sunday.
Calm returned to Alexandria's el-Asafrah district on Monday. Shops reopened and the Central Street 45 was full of people going about their daily business.
'We need a radical solution'
But, a dozen security force members and plainclothes police stood guard outside the church of Saint Maximus, where worshippers were heard singing hymns.
Bishop Bemwah Ghali said he feared there was a lot of anger in the hearts of Coptic Christians in Egypt's second biggest city.
Ghali said: "There was a sort of a truce, but this is not the end of the crisis. We really need a radical solution that can quell this anger."
Ghali accused certain Muslims of harassing Copts. He said: "Some mosque imams keep calling us infidels. They should stop that." A local imam denied the charge.
Muslims, Christians blamed for the violence
Sheik Ahmed Ibrahim of al-Bukhari mosque said: "This is irresponsible talk. The priest should be seeking peace instead of making statements that could lead to a massacre, especially at this time."
Both Muslims and Christians had been blamed for the violence, with one Muslim accusing Copts of breaking into his house on Saturday night and wrecking everything in sight.
One local Copt Romani Girgis said that the Christian-led violence was a necessary show of strength.
Girgis said: "There was an assault that needed to be returned. They (Muslims) have to change their idea about us. Muslims think that we will give them our right cheek to slap after they have slapped the left."
Muslims, Christians 'belong to same nation'
Two banners hung outside Saint Maximus Church on Monday, called for tolerance and reminded Muslims and Christians that they belonged to the same nation.
One of the banners erected by the National Democratic Party of President Hosni Mubarak said: "The blood of the Nile valley was unified by the blood of Jesus and Muhammad."
A security official said police would guard the church 24 hours a day for the next two days as a precaution. One Muslim, Ashraf Ali, said: "We are all brothers, and our prophet teaches us to respect and love Christians."
Copts account for an estimated 10% of Egypt's 72 million people. The two sects generally lived in peace, but Christians complained of discrimination in looking for work.
Christians were underrepresented in the upper ranks of the civil service, with posts such as general, faculty head or provincial governor almost invariably held by Muslims.
- AP