TAMIYYAH, Egypt — Muslim villagers in Egypt’s Fayoum Province attacked a church, pelting four Christians with rocks, setting parts of the church building on fire and tearing down a cross atop the structure.
The second assault on property of the province’s Coptic Christians in a little over a month, the attack on the Church of Mar Girgis began Feb. 15 at 3 p.m. after the church’s worship services in the town of Tamiyyah, 64 miles southwest of Cairo.
About 20 to 30 villagers, most from an extended Muslim family in the village, gathered outside the church and began pelting it with rocks and smashing windows. Eventually the mob threw Molotov cocktail-type explosives at the building, trying to set it ablaze but only starting small fires. They then pushed their way into the building through a hole they had knocked in a wall.
Once inside, the Muslims were able to destroy icons, crosses and enough of the support structure of the church’s dome that part of the dome collapsed. Four people, including a priest, suffered minor injuries from stones the mob hurled.
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