Free Republic

What do Muslim Brotherhood members do when Egyptian Security Forces launch a forewarned operation to clear them from Cairo tent cities? Attack Christians. That's right.Morsi supporters responded with a monumental attack--unprecedented in modern times--on churches throughout Egypt. The torching and destruction of churches occured within six hours of the start of the military crackdown. Many Muslims opposed the violent response against Christians. Some Salafists urged the Brotherhood to halt the attacks, and even some Muslims in Upper Egypt reportedly helped Christians defend churches.One destroyed church in Upper Egypt was built in the fourth century.Here's the list of burned churches and...

Supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood attend a protest in support of ousted Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi outside the Rabaa al-Adawiya mosque, in Cairo, Egypt, 12 August 2013. EPA/KHALED ELFIQIChurches burned across Egypt following the security crackdown on pro-Muslim Brotherhood demonstrators. Online reports suggest up to 17 churches were burned across Egypt, along with other Christian-owned businesses and schools.    Coptic witnesses and religious leaders said the attacks were carried out by supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood in areas without police protection. In some areas, the attacks reportedly came amid ongoing fighting between security forces and supporters of the Muslim...

The rise of the “mostly secular” Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt has had a decidedly non-secular effect: Persecution of Egypt’s Coptic Christians is on the rise. In the latest bout of civil unrest, the Brotherhood torched three churches. Copts are a minority in Egypt. They don’t control the military government any more than they controlled Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood government. But notice how AFP characterizes the burnings.Supporters of deposed Islamist president Mohamed Morsi torched three churches in central Egypt on Wednesday in reprisal attacks as police dispersed demonstrations in Cairo, reports said.“Reprisal attacks”? They’re attacking Christians, who are largely powerless in Egypt,...

"The Islamists are taking revenge on us Christians": With these words the Coptic-Catholic Bishop of Assiut, Kyrillos William Samaan, commented on the latest Islamist attacks on Christians and Christian institutions in Egypt.The bishop made his comments while talking to international Catholic pastoral charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) on Monday, August 12th.  The Bishop was referring among other things to events in the towns of Sohag, Fayum and Beni Suef and on the Sinai Peninsula, where churches have been attacked by Islamists and Christians have been threatened. There have also been fatalities. In the town of Sohag, there...

Despite the deaths of more than 500 Muslim Brotherhood supporters and the resulting retaliation against Christian targets nationwide, Egypt's Christian community stands with yesterday's decision by the military-backed transitional government to break-up the pro-Morsi sit-ins. "If a peaceful sit-in took place in Times Square and locked down the city, how long would it take American authorities to disperse it?" said Ramez Atallah, head of the Egyptian Bible Society. "The government spent six weeks trying to solve this crisis, and finally used force. What were the alternatives?" Youssef Sidhom, editor-in-chief of Coptic newspaper Watani, explained why one alternative—to simply allow the...

Violence in Egypt has taken a dark turn for sectarianism as more than 45 churches and Coptic institutions were torched or stormed across the country. The wave of attacks against Copts and their houses of worship, businesses, schools and homes came as Egypt’s security forces dispersed two large pro-Morsi sit-ins in Cairo. In cities across Egypt, from Sohag and Minya to Cairo and Assiut, Islamists took to the streets attacking churches. In one case in Minya, a Coptic man and his wife were detained before being killed by armed individuals. In one incident, Islamists torched parts of one of Egypt’s...

Mideast: Christians in Egypt are again the target of Islamist Muslim Brotherhood supporters using the new violence as a cover for ongoing persecution. If Christians were burning mosques, the world would be outraged. Amid the raging violence in Egypt, a less-publicized war is being waged against Egypt's long-persecuted Coptic Christians, this time using the excuse that they were somehow involved in the military's ouster of the Muslim Brotherhood's Mohammed Morsi from power. Coptic Christians comprise up to 10% of Egypt's 84 million people. Ishaq Ibrahim from the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights group has documented as many as 39 incidents...

The Egyptian defense minister has ordered the repair and reconstruction of all churches that suffered damage in the country’s violent demonstrations since the Egyptian military removed President Mohamed Morsi from power last month.