EGYPT/FILE: Coptic Christians approach anniversary of Alexandria church bombing with mixture of hope and fear

Record ID: 357447

  • Title: EGYPT/FILE: Coptic Christians approach anniversary of Alexandria church bombing with mixture of hope and fear
  • Date: 30th December 2011
  • Summary: CAIRO, EGYPT (FILE) (REUTERS) CHURCH BURNING IN IMBABA DISTRICT CAIRO, EGYPT (FILE) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF CHRISTIAN FUNERAL SERVICE AFTER CLASHES WITH ARMY IN OCTOBER
  • Embargoed: 14th January 2012 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Egypt, Egypt
  • Country: Egypt
  • Topics: Crime,Politics,Religion
  • Reuters ID: LVAJH7QOWMGK3LE67CL2I4RGOPO
  • Story Text: Egypt's Coptic Christians are preparing to mark the first anniversary of a devastating church bombing, at the end of what has been a tumultuous year for the community.
    On January 1, 2011 a suspected suicide bomber hit the Two Saints Church in Egypt's second largest city, Alexandria, as worshippers were celebrating the new year.
    Twenty-three people were killed in the attack.
    While the church's bloodied walls and broken windows have now been repaired and replaced, the community say they will always remember those who lost their lives that night.
    "This incident has not been forgotten and we will never forget it. Firstly, because it was an event of huge proportions and secondly because the 20 martyrs were safely praying inside the church. We weren't, for example, celebrating and it wasn't even a protest that turned violent. No, we were just praying, and we were hit," said Father Makar Fawzy.
    Egypt's worried Christians say attacks on them have multiplied in recent years, with the attack on the Two Saints church happening before former President Hosni Mubarak was swept from power in February, and several more church attacks since then.
    But despite the turmoil in the country since Mubarak's overthrow, some remain optimistic.
    "I am against the notion that 2011 was a bad year for Egyptians. On the contrary, 2011 was truly a great year for Egyptians, because it freed them. Yes, the price was very high, but nobody can be free without blood being spilt for the sake of this freedom. Therefore, I agree with the idea that it was a great year, and 2012 will also be a great year for all of Egypt," said Father Philopatre.
    The Alexandria bombing prompted protests in Cairo and Alexandria with hundreds of Christians, who make up about 10 percent of the country's 80 million people, accusing the government of failing to provide adequate security even after threats.
    The spate of such attacks since the uprising has further upset the Copts who say the country's interim army rulers have ignored their grievances and failed to protect them.
    And as the Alexandria anniversary approaches, some are nervous of what might happen when the Copts celebrate their Christmas on January 7.
    "I'm waiting until after new year to decorate the house, bake and feel joyous. But we are afraid of what might happen on the eve of our Christmas. Some people say something might happen and this scares us. We are not afraid of them, we are afraid of the problems but our fear only belongs to God," said Coptic Christian Naeema Abdel Malek.
    The rise in church attacks this year has been particularly blamed on Salafists and other strict Muslim groups who have emerged in the wake of Mubarak's downfall.
    Christian painter, Gerges Samir, says further attacks against Egypt's Christians would come as no surprise to him.
    "Our expectations come from the current circumstances we are living in. We are not prophets, but we knew that the Marinab (church) incident would happen. Not because we can see the future but because nobody was held to account for Sol (previous church attack). When the old is gone and done with, what comes next will always be better. But, if until this day not a single person has been jailed, and they're acting as if nothing happened, what would make me think that such incidents won't be repeated? I am expecting everything," he said.
    After the Alexandria bombing, a Coptic church was set on fire in the village of Sol in March, while another burnt in the Cairo suburb of Imbaba in May, in an incident that left 12 people dead.
    In one of the worst incidents this year, at least 25 people were killed when troops broke up a protest in the Maspero district of Cairo in October.
    Protesters had taken to the streets after accusing Muslim radicals of partially demolishing a church in the village of Marinab in Aswan province.
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