Egyptian village evicts 8 Coptic families over rumors of interfaith affair

ICC Note:
“Eight Coptic Christian families have been evicted from a village in northern Egypt following clashes sparked by rumors of an illicit affair between a Coptic man and a Muslim woman,” Agence France-Presse reports.
2/13/2012 Egypt (AFP) – Eight Coptic Christian families have been evicted from a village in northern Egypt following clashes sparked by rumors of an illicit affair between a Coptic man and a Muslim woman, a rights group said on Sunday.
The decision to evict the families came after a meeting of village elders – a traditional form of conflict resolution – in the village of Sharbat near the Mediterranean city of Alexandria, the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) said.
On Jan. 27, hundreds of Muslim residents of Sharbat attacked the home and shops of a Coptic Christian man, Murad Samy Guirguis, and property belonging to his family, following rumors that he had an affair with a Muslim woman.
Fearing for his life, Guirguis handed himself over to police but the homes and shops of relatives were also later set on fire.
After three reconciliation meetings with village elders, involving local police, it was then decided that eight families in the village should be evicted and their properties sold, EIPR said.
The Muslim Brotherhood, the largest political force in the country, denied that eight Coptic families had been evicted.
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