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http://www.assistnews.net/Stories/s05100116.htm

ASSIST News Service (ANS) - PO Box 2126, Garden Grove, CA 92842-2126 USA
Visit our web site at: www.assistnews.net -- E-mail: danjuma1@aol.com

Friday, October 21, 2005

THREE KILLED IN EGYPTIAN CHURCH RIOT FOLLOWING SCREENING OF RELIGIOUS PLAY

By Michael Ireland
Chief Correspondent, ASSIST News Service

EGYPT (ANS) -- Three people have died during a riot outside a Coptic church in Alexandria, Egypt, after a protest against a play accused of offending Islam.

(Pictured: Protesters threw stones at the Coptic church and police officers during riot of play deemed offensive to Muslims. Credit: BBC website).
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) reports Police used sticks and tear gas to hold back a crowd of some 5,000 protesters who marched on St George's church.

Dozens of people were injured in the crush. One man who died was trampled and had inhaled tear gas, police said.

On Wednesday, a Muslim man stabbed a nun in protest at the sale of a DVD of the play, staged at the church in 2003.

The demonstration was the latest in a series of incidents at the church related to the performance of the play.

Entitled "I Once Was Blind But Now I See," the drama tells the story of a poor young Copt who is drawn to Islamist militants who then try to kill him.

Coptic Christian leaders have said the play depicts the dangers of extremism, not of Islam.

"Copts would never tolerate anyone insulting Islam," Coptic Bishop Armia is quoted by Egypt's official Mena news agency as saying.

The Egyptian Interior Ministry described the protesters as "fanatic elements" who "escalated a negative reaction to a play," according to the Associated Press (AP) news agency.

A nun was stabbed at the church by a young Muslim on Wednesday

The Interior Ministry said the demonstrators gathered near the church in the Mediterranean port city after Friday noon prayers at local mosques.

Stones were thrown at the church and police officers, injuring 20, and cars were set alight before police fired tear gas to disperse the crowd. Dozens of people were arrested.

Relations between Muslims and the Coptic minority -- which makes up 5 –10 percent of Egypt's population -- are generally calm, although tensions sometimes flare.

Copts remained the majority in Egypt for centuries after the 7th Century conquest of the country by Muslim armies.

Nowadays, they complain of discrimination in the workplace, restrictions on church construction and periodic fears that Christians are being forced to convert by Islamic extremists.

CNN, in a news story by The Associated Press (AP), reports that thousands of
Muslims clashed with police as they rioted outside a Coptic Christian church Friday to denounce a play deemed offensive to Islam. Police responded by beating protesters and firing tear gas into the crowd, officials said.

Police said 53 protesters were arrested as people hurled stones, smashed windows and tried to storm St. George Church. Protesters also set a police car on fire and wrecked eight other cars, the Interior Ministry said in a statement.

A photographer for The Associated Press saw police fire rubber bullets into the crowd, causing injuries. Police claimed officers fired rubber bullets only into the air while trying to disperse the crowd.

One protester, Mohammed Zakaraya Hassan, 48, died after being trampled and inhaling tear gas, according to a police official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

The Interior Ministry described the protesters as "fanatic elements" who "escalated a negative reaction to a play." The ministry said about 5,000 Muslims marched to the church after Friday noon prayers at mosques.

"The police tried to prevent (the demonstrators) from approaching the church and attacking it, but the protesters did not heed the warnings and started to hurl stones at the church, security forces and pedestrians," the ministry said.

The riot was sparked by the distribution of a DVD of a play that was performed at the church two years ago. The play, "I Was Blind But Now I Can See," tells the story of a young Christian who converts to Islam and becomes disillusioned.

The church's director, the Rev. Augustinous, said it was difficult to explain the reaction to a one-time performance that took place two years ago.

"There are so many questions on what is behind all of that," he told the AP in a telephone interview.

He denied the play was offensive to Islam because its Christian hero is ultimately saved by a Muslim friend.

Egyptian security officials accused Islamic militants of distributing the DVDs to stoke sectarian tensions ahead of legislative elections Nov. 9.

The Muslim Brotherhood, the country's largest Islamic group, denied any involvement in Friday's demonstration.

Coptic Christians make up about 10 percent of Egypt's 70 million people, who are overwhelmingly Muslim. Accusations of forced conversion are common in the country.

Reuters news agency quoted security sources who said the three demonstrators were killed when thousands of people protested on Friday near a church in the Egyptian city of Alexandria over the staging of a play they said was offensive to Islam, security sources said.

The demonstrators were killed during clashes between police and the more than 5,000-strong crowd, which had gathered near St. George's Coptic church in the Mediterranean port city after Muslim prayers, the sources said.

Police used teargas to try to disperse the crowd, which had pelted police with stones and which regrouped on several occasions after prayer times through the day and evening, the sources said. They said protests continued late into the night.

Police formed a cordon to prevent the crowd approaching St. George's church, prompting some of the demonstrators to try to storm another church nearby, the sources said, adding that dozens of police and protesters were injured in the clashes.

Coptic Bishop Armia denied accusations the play insulted Islam, Egypt's official MENA news agency reported, as monitored by the BBC.

"Copts would never tolerate anyone insulting Islam," Bishop Armia was quoted as saying.

He did not give details about the play or what it was about. Coptic officials could not be independently reached for comment.

Copts make up about 5 percent to 10 percent of Egypt's mainly Muslim population of 72 million people.

The Interior Ministry had earlier said in a statement that one demonstrator had died in the crush and 20 police and 25 demonstrators had been injured. The statement said 35 people had been detained.

The statement also said protesters also torched a police vehicle and a private vehicle and several shops in the area.

It was the second mass protest over the play in the past week and came two days after a young man stabbed a nun and a man. Their injuries were not serious and the attacker was arrested, the security sources said.

Relations between the two communities are generally peaceful but tensions sometimes flare. In 1999, 22 people were killed in sectarian strife in the southern village of Kosheh but such incidents are rare and are usually sparked by local disputes.

Al Jazeera.Net, in a story headlined:"Violence erupts in Egypt over play.
Protesters came out on the streets after Friday prayers," said Egyptian riot police battled to prevent thousands of angry Muslims from storming a church in Alexandria, beating protesters with sticks and firing tear gas in a riot that ended with three people dead and 53 others arrested.

Police said about 90 people, including 20 police officers, were wounded on Friday outside St George Church in the Mediterranean city in what began as a demonstration against a theatrical play deemed offensive to Islam.

The rioters hurled stones that injured police officers, smashed church windows and damaged the white facade of the three-story church, a police official said. They also set a police car on fire and wrecked eight other cars, the Interior Ministry said in a statement.

One of the victims, Mohammad Zakariya, died late on Friday of his injuries in hospital, the ministry said. Two others died shortly after midnight after the police opened fire on the protesters.

The Interior Ministry described the protesters as "fanatic elements" who "escalated a negative reaction to a play." The ministry said about 5,000 Muslims had marched to the church after Friday noon prayers at the local mosques.

The riot was the latest in a series of incidents at the church in which Muslims have condemned the distribution of a DVD of a play, performed at the church in 2003, that tells the story of a young Christian who converts to Islam and becomes disillusioned.

On Wednesday, a Muslim man stabbed and seriously wounded a novitiate nun inside the church. He was arrested.

The church's director, Father Augustinous, said it was difficult to explain the reaction to a one-time performance that took place two years ago.

"There are so many questions on what is behind all of that," Augustinous said.

Muslims who have seen the DVD say the play is insulting.

The Interior Ministry, which is responsible for security in Egypt, has dispatched thousands of police to Alexandria in anticipation of sectarian trouble.

**This news article was compiled from news media reports previously posted to the World Wide Web.
** Michael Ireland is an international British freelance journalist. A former reporter with a London newspaper, Michael is the Chief Correspondent for ASSIST News Service of Garden Grove, California. Michael immigrated to the United States in 1982 and became a US citizen in September, 1995. He is married with two children. Michael has also been a frequent contributor to UCB Europe, a British Christian radio station.

** You may republish this story with proper attribution.