Hundreds of Egyptians, many of them Coptic Christians, demonstrated in Cairo yesterday over Muslim-Christian clashes that left 12 dead and a church burned.Demonstrators, who numbered about 1,000, said they feared that some people were seeking to create an Islamic state that would marginalise the Christians, who make up about 10 per cent of Egypt's nearly 80 million population. Most are Coptic Christians.
Some of the protesters, gathered outside the headquarters of the state-run television, criticised the army's handling of the clashes at the weekend and demanded that the military ruler step down. Stones were thrown, but the protest was largely peaceful.
"We don't want to bury our heads in the sand," said Rami Kamel, a Coptic protester. "The issue is bigger than rebuilding a church or arresting the culprits. This is Egypt's fate. Is Egypt becoming a religious state, or can we change course and opt for a civil state?"
The demonstration came as authorities yesterday detained 23 Egyptians, including two blamed for sparking the riots that marked a new low in Muslim-Christian relations.
Egypt's military rulers are hard-pressed to deal with the sectarian tension, which has emerged as one of the major challenges in the transition period following the February revolution that ousted president Hosni Mubarak.
Some of the Christian protesters camping outside the state TV building have demanded measures be taken to control an increasingly assertive, ultra-conservative movement of Muslims known as the Salafis, who they say orchestrated the weekend riots in Imbaba district.
Last month, tens of thousands of Egyptians, led by Islamists believed to be affiliated with the Salafis, demonstrated to protest the appointment of a Coptic Christian governor in the south of the country.
The latest riots, sparked by a rumour that a Muslim convert was abducted by the local church, lasted for hours on Saturday night and into Sunday.
Muslim mobs attacked two churches, burning one. Twelve people died, and more than 200 were injured.
Later in the day, Muslims and Christians pelted each other with stones in another part of Cairo. Source
