Amidst the rioting between pro and con Morsi demonstrators, the Muslim Brotherhood supporters and other radical Islamists are waging a campaign of hatred against Christian Copts.
The problem had always been there, but it was sporadic. And it was condemned.
Now the problem is becoming pressing and horrific. Since Morsi's ouster, the Brotherhood and their followers have burned down 42 churches and set afire houses and businesses owned by Christians. This campaign of terror has begun because the Brotherhood has always been intent on 'cleansing' Egypt of any non Muslim presence, but now it has been strumentalized as a revenge for the ouster of Morsi.
The Brotherhood in fact, makes no secret of the fact that in their view, Morsi has been deposed by forces outside the Egyptian borders, and in that way they justify the murder and persecution of Christians, who have lived in Egypt for hundreds of years.
The Human Rights Watch organization has now asked that Egyptian authorities offer protection to Coptic community and their properties. Some of the Coptic churches targeted were centuries old and the destruction was so virulent, that the perpetrators entered the churches to pursposefully destroy the holy texts they contained.
The problem too is that the protection of the Coptic community is taking second place, if at all, to the myriad fires the military have to quell, between the riots, the looting, and now the attempted destruction of thousand year old artifacts and monuments. Just this week, the military installed tanks and other ordnance to protect the pharaoh's tombs, since there is is looting and destruction. In fact, there have been uncorroborated news that the Brotherhood has drawn up a list of archeological treasures they seek to destroy, much like the Taliban have in Afghanistan, because they represent 'pagan' portrayals of deities.
In some cases, priests have called for police rescue during an attack, but no one went to help. One of the Coptic church bishops even called a senior government official to ask for help, but again, no one arrived to help the Coptic church priests.
The Muslim Brotherhood supporters have for weeks blasted the Copts and their sectarian rivals. They have even gone so far as to blame the military crackdown on the Brotherhood as originating in part from the Coptic church.
To make things worse, the elders of the Muslim Brotherhood have failed to condemn these attacks. That of course, is in line with their speeches trying to blame the Christians for the military ouster of the president.
There are a good number of Copts in Egypt. In some areas, they make up almost 10% of the population. Their numbers, however, do not seem to offer any significant protection.
Aside from Copts, there are also Catholics, Anglicans and other smaller Christian minorities. Many of them have suffered attacks on their churches or religious structures.
Partial Source : France 24/ 8.22.13
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