AL-NAGAMEESH, Egypt — Dozens of Coptic Christians in northern Egypt are rebuilding their lives after Muslim extremists attacked them Nov. 25 on suspicions they were converting a meeting hall and community center into a church building.
After noon prayers in Al-Nagameesh village in Sohag Governorate, a group of Muslims set ablaze the community center for the elderly where the Christians often gathered. They then moved on to the village, where they looted and attacked more than 10 homes and a handful of businesses, all Coptic-owned, with Molotov cocktails and stones.
The fire gutted the events hall and left other buildings in ruins, according to human rights activists. Four Copts were slightly injured in the attack.
The attack came three months after parliament passed a law regulating the building of churches in Egypt. The Egyptian government celebrated the law, but human rights advocates said it merely codified discriminatory standards between Muslims and Christians in Egypt for building houses of worship. (MS)
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