Danger of pogroms against Christians in Egypt – minority groups need better protection

The Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) sends a warning about possible pogroms against Christians in Egypt and demands better protection for the minority groups. "Evidence suggests that Islamists are destroying churches and Christian institutions as an act of terror to take revenge for the military forces' brutality against the Morsi-followers," said Ulrich Delius, the STP's Africa-expert, in Göttingen on Thursday. "Within a few hours, several churches, monasteries, parishes, religious schools and houses were set to fire – not only in and around Cairo, but also in Alexandria, Suez and in Upper Egypt. The crime scenes are often hundreds of kilometers apart. Many of the attacks occurred at about the same time, so it seems to be a long-planned act of revenge."

Since yesterday noon, at least 26 churches, monasteries, religious schools and houses of Copts, Catholics, Protestants, Baptists and Greek Orthodox Christians in various parts of Egypt were attacked and destroyed by Islamists. However, some Muslims also showed support for the Christians: in some places in Upper Egypt, Muslims helped the Christians to protect their churches or their property. Also, some Salafists called on the Muslim Brotherhood to stop the attacks.

"Despite the horror and outrage regarding the brutality with which the security forces evacuated the protest camps of the Morsi-followers, there is no justification for the bloody vengeance of radical Islamists against the Christian minority. In the past years, the Christian population also suffered from the brutality and arbitrariness of the security forces. The minority group is not responsible for the military's state terror," said Delius. "This latest wave violence against the Christian population does not only harm the reputation of Egypt and its Muslim majority – it also exacerbates the coexistence between the religious communities." After the overthrow of dictator Mubarak, it was the Copts who suffered especially from the lawlessness and the attacks by Muslim extremists.