At the same time, they were Muslim-Christian riots in a village in the Minya region in Middle Egypt after a Christian community center was built, which Muslims in the village feared would become a mosque. These tensions can be explosive in the south of Egypt, where there are many mixed communities and the politics of church and mosque construction are very delicate.
Egyptian state media doesn’t like to report these things because of the importance it puts in maintaining the image of good sectarian relations. And while these tensions are not nearly as bad as some Coptic activists (notably the rather loony Copts.com), who see every zoning regulation as a conspiracy against church-building, but there is no denying that at a local level there can be discrimination. The Egyptian authorities tend to complicate matters by taking a rather heavy-handed approach to sectarian tensions, cracking down with paramilitary troops and closing off entire villages.
I just noticed that Copts.com has a story on this, including an appear by its president, the neo-con Michael Meunier: “Only President Bush’s personal intervention can help prevent the escalation of these hate crimes into full-fledged cultural genocide.” Talk about hyperbole.
At the same time, they were Muslim-Christian riots in a village in the Minya region in Middle Egypt after a Christian community center was built, which Muslims in the village feared would become a mosque. These tensions can be explosive in the south of Egypt, where there are many mixed communities and the politics of church and mosque construction are very delicate.
Yeesh, this sounds just like the dispute over whether a mosque could be constructed next to the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth. That was one occasion when the Israeli government was actually trying to mediate fairly between Christians and Muslims, but both sides kept screaming persecution at every turn and even the Vatican got involved. Things seem to have a way of getting heated when religious construction is at stake, especially if it is perceived as altering the sectarian character of a neighborhood or town.
The meme of the moment
When I posted about fairness a few days ago, I didn’t have a clue the topic would be steered onto a collision course with the issue of coptic demonstrations. As it turns out, this seems to be the prevalent meme across Egypt’s blogging community: Big …
Jonathan,
the issue of construction certainly regularly crops up in Egypt. Muslims tend to be very sensitive about churches being built because they think it’s part of a vast conspiracy to convert everyone. (Well, people in small villages in the middle of nowhere think that.) But the issue crops up again in urban areas because Christians think that anytime they’re told they need a building permit it’s a vast conspiracy against them.
And then there’s Beirut…
But I don’t think this is a problem unique to the Middle East.