Christians hit by random arrests, arson

Egypt

Christians facing the prospect of random murder on the streets of their own communities now also are dealing with the additional intimidation from the threat of arrest, arson and looting, according to ministries working within Egypt.

Coptic Orthodox Christians there are reporting the attacks have been on the rise ever since a gun assault on a church earlier this month that left eight people dead.

Ministry officials say since the violence, which was directed at Christians, Egyptian State Security officers have been arresting Christian youths at random – an activity that is contributing to the instability in the region.

It was on Jan. 5 when eight members of the Coptic Orthodox Christian church in Naga Hammadi were murdered by three gunmen while they were leaving a Christmas Eve liturgy.

Several others were severely injured in the attack that coincided with the Christmas holiday. On the Coptic Orthodox calendar, Christmas falls in January.

According to eyewitness reports, three gunmen opened fire on attendees of the worship service as they exited the celebration. The youngest of those killed was only 17 years old.

What has followed has included the torching of homes belonging to Christians by rampaging Muslim mobs, related looting, and various attacks on Christians that even included, according to one witness, the beating of Christians by Egyptian Security forces.

According to reports on the U.S. Copts Association website, demonstrations in support of the Christians have been held – or are scheduled – across the United States as well as in France, Holland, Austria, New Zealand, Germany, Canada, Sweden, Greece and Australia.

But not Egypt. In a first-person story from reporter Ader Shukry posted on the Copts website, it was described how the "security apparatus" in the region of the gun attack confronted several hundred upset Christians rallying to protest the deaths.

When they were persuaded to disperse and go home, the report said, "the security forces allowed them to cross through the cordon … when some 200 of them had crossed, the security forces closed the cordon and caught the others. The scene turned bloody as they tried to escape but were harshly beaten and dragged on the ground by the security forces."

WND reported earlier when officials in the Christian community said the original attack was being blamed on Muslims who wanted revenge for accusations that an imam incited riots against Christians.

In that report, Ibn Misr, who monitors attacks on Coptic Christians through his Coptic news organization, told WND the dead were shot by an attacker who zoomed up to a church just as worshippers were leaving the Christmas Mass.

Revenge was a motivation because of an allegation of a sexual assault of a Muslim girl by a Christian man in November, officials said.

But Misr reported that investigators have concluded the assault report was manufactured. He said it's part of a campaign to spring violence on unsuspecting Christians.

Misr said Christians, including Bishop Anba Kyrollos, had raised the issue of Muslim imams reporting such allegations during weekly worship for their followers, and inciting "mobs to attack, burn, destroy, and loot Coptic homes and businesses and terrorize the whole Coptic population."

He said Kyrollos had sought accountability from a Muslim imam for inciting such riots and had refused demands to withdraw his complaint. The result was the attack on the church where he had just led worshippers in the Christmas event, Misr told WND.

"This is … meant to be a revenge against Bishop Kyrolos for his refusal to drop the charges," Misr said.

Reports now have confirmed that more than 100 Christian teens have been arrested since the fatal attacks – without warrants – by security forces.

The actions by Egypt are drawing concern from U.S. State Department.

"The United States is deeply concerned by [the] arrests of individuals traveling to the Egyptian town of Naga Hammadi to express support for those tragically killed and injured during Coptic Christmas celebrations on January 7," acting spokesman Mark C. Toner said in a prepared statement.

In Egypt, the constitution provides that Islam is the religion "of the state" and also serves as the "principle source of legislation" there.

Shukry's eyewitness account provides some chilling details of the attack.

"We found the blood of the victims still on the ground; the site was fenced with yellow ribbons so that no one would tread on it," Shukry said. "[One witness] told us of the murders and the violence which broke in front of Naga Hammadi public hospital when officials there rudely refused to admit the injured."

"Some of these were in critical conditions and thus had to be moved to Sohad public hospital was 200 kilometers away," Shukry wrote.

Three suspects have been arrested in the deaths.

The Assyrian International News Agency also has been documenting the rising level of attacks on Christians.

And according to FreeCopts.net, a teacher from Naga Hammadi, Anwar Samuel, had his home invaded by state security officers at 4 a.m. who were looking for his nephew, Mohareb. When he told the police that his nephew was in Kuwait, the officers arrested his three other nephews, Fadi, Tanios and Wael Milad.