Condemnations for Coptic houses burning in Minya, Egypt by Islamic extremists

Minya, Egypt —  In a continuation of anti-Christian violence less than two weeks before Orthodox Christians celebrate Easter, Islamic extremists threw stones at Coptic houses in Al-Fawakher village, which is home to 3,000 Christian families, in Minya Governorate.

They also set some houses on fire, after a rumor spread that residents of the village had obtained a permit to construct a church building.

Video of the burning homes was shared on social media that featured celebratory music and Arabic lyrics.

Mobs are out on the streets and burning down homes of Egyptian Coptic Christians in Al-Fawakher in Minya.

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— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) April 24, 2024

Anba Makarios, Coptic Orthodox Archbishop of Minya, stated that the Copts of Al-Fawakher village in Minya were attacked by extremists, as well as a number of house were burned and their residents were prevented from leaving.

In comments to the Akhbar al-Ghad website, a high-ranking Egyptian security source confirmed that security forces arrived at the area to curb the situation and restore stability of the village.

The security source added that additional forces were deployed in the area to maintain security and ensure the safety of Coptic citizens.

Strict measures were taken against the aggressors and they were pursued firmly to ensure that such incidents would not be repeated in the future.

This incident was condemned by several Egyptian parties, including EL-Tahalof Party who sent a distress call to the government and its security agencies to protect Christians in the region.

The party pointed out that such practices are repeated for rumors related to building houses of worship, stressing that the law should ensure full equality in this area and guarantee freedom of religious practice.

El-Adl Party, in turn, strongly condemned the criminal attack on Christian citizens, pointing out that such incidents threaten peace and community security.

“Such attacks need a serious stance and confrontation,” the party added, stressing the need to form a fact-finding committee to address the real reasons of the issue and develop permanent solutions.

Christianity in Egypt dates to the very beginnings of the faith and nearly 10%  of the 111 million population are Christian. Most Egyptian Christians belong to the Coptic Orthodox Church, while about 2.5% belong to the Coptic Catholic Church and other particular churches.

The Open Doors organization, which monitors persecution against followers of Christ, ranks Egypt as the 38th most dangerous country in the world to be a Christian.