Church Attacked by Muslim Villagers in Egypt

Second assault on Christian properties in province in less than five weeks.
ICC Note: A village church in Egypt’s Fayoum Province was set on fire by a mob of Muslims on Friday after they tore down a cross on top of the building and pelted four Christians with stones. “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. The attack lasted for several hours, ebbed away at night and then started again at noon the next day,” Morning Star News reports. It was the second attack in a little over a month against Coptic Christians in Fayoum Province.
2/17/2013 Egypt (Morning Star News) – Muslim villagers in Egypt’s Fayoum Province attacked a church this weekend – pelting four Christians with rocks, setting parts of the church building on fire and tearing down a cross atop the structure, witnesses said.
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 Friday (Feb. 15) at 3 p.m., after the church’s worship services in the town of Tamiyyah, 64 miles (103 kilometers) southwest of Cairo.
“It was an ordinary day, starting with the liturgy and Sunday school,” said a 30-year-old Coptic Orthodox Christian who attends the church. “As usual, most people leave after services, but a few people stayed at the church. While we were sitting, we saw all these people coming like they do on the television at Tahrir Square, coming to attack the church.”
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. The attack lasted for several hours, ebbed away at night and then started again at noon the next day. The assailants tried to set fire to the church building again during Saturday’s assault (Feb. 16), but a water storage unit on the roof of the structure, weakened in the attack, burst open and doused the flames, according to witnesses.
Four people, including a priest, suffered minor injuries from stones the mob hurled.
…
[Full Story]