Sheik incites Muslims to attack Christians in Egypt

MARSA MATROUH, Egypt ­— A mob of enraged Muslims attacked a Coptic Christian community in a coastal town in northern Egypt, wreaking havoc for hours and injuring 24 Copts before security forces contained it.

The violence erupted March 12 after the sheik of a neighborhood mosque incited Muslims over a loudspeaker, proclaiming jihad against Christians in Marsa Matrouh, 200 miles west of Alexandria, according to reports. The angry crowd hurled rocks at the district church, Christians and their properties, looted homes and set fires that evening.

The mob was reportedly infuriated over the building of a wall around newly bought land adjacent to the district church building. The building also houses a clinic and community center.

“I was very surprised by the degree of hatred that people had toward Christians,” said a reporter for online Coptic news source Theban Legion, who visited Marsa Matrouh after the attack. “The hate and the disgust were obvious.”

Following afternoon mosque prayers, Sheik Khamis rallied neighborhood Muslims, gathering more than 300 people. The mob broke into groups, attacking the church and nearby houses of the Coptic Christian community.