CAIRO: Sectarian violence between Muslims and Christians in Alexandria and the death of a 24-year-old Muslim man made the headlines in Egypt’s national and independent press, with the incidents also receiving extensive coverage in international media.
Egypt’s second largest city experienced heavy rioting Sunday with police using teargas and live ammunition to disperse groups of Muslims and Christians who attacked one another. Al-Wafd features a picture of a Christian youth armed with thick batons in a face off with police. The ABC News International Web site features a picture of Muslim protestors throwing rocks. On its front page, independent daily Al-Masry Al-Youm ran a picture of a youth, sword in hand, standing with the cross engraved on a wall behind him. The caption read, “Anger . a sword and a cross in the background.
The violence began when Copts in three churches in Alexandria were attacked on Friday. A 78-year-old Copt died as a result of a knife attack outside Saints Church and at least seven others were wounded at the same time.
Following Saturday and Sunday’s clashes, the toll of those hurt and wounded rose to at least 22. According to an Associated Press report, the aforementioned “24-year-old Muslim died Sunday [possibly] after being beaten by Christians a day earlier.
Mahmoud Abdel-Raziq, a young Muslim man, has been held responsible. An Alexandria court ruled Sunday that Abdel-Raziq was the perpetrator of the three attacks. The attacker, according to official reports, suffers from mental problems (initial reports stated that he is schizophrenic) and is currently being held under observation in a mental hospital according to the AP.
Al-Akhbar says the accused will remain in custody for 24 days. The national newspaper also reports that 67 rioters were arrested and an official investigation is in motion.
Many of the protesting Copts, “the rioters included, have expressed their disappointment at Egypt’s security; some dismissing the claim that a “mentally ill person was responsible for the three church attacks.
A dozen parliamentarians have also condemned security forces for their failure to catch the perpetrator of the attacks immediately after they took place, labeling security police “unreliable.
“It is not to our benefit to jump to conclusions or give immature judgments concerning the accident in Alexandria,” said columnist Mohammad Barakat in Al-Akhbar. “We must [not heed] passionate cries, [and] unfounded accusations . the fact remains that national security and stability is the red line that no one must cross whatever happens.
“We have seen some irresponsible attempts to circulate rumors, unwise claims and hasty judgments in order to create a religious faction and fuel [the anger] leading to it. These attempts, thus, must be faced and immediately stopped . using the force of the law and the sword of justice that all Egyptians must yield in the face of.
On the other hand, Al-Masry Al-Youm reports a demonstration of a different kind that broke out in Alexandria. This one, however, united Muslims and Christians under the slogan, “Let both the crest [symbol of Islam] and the cross live as one. The demonstrators stressed the importance of national unity and harmony in face of such tension.
In another development, Egypt arrested 43 students studying at Assiut University for suspected membership in the banned Muslim Brotherhood; other charges against them have not yet been revealed. Mahmoud Hussein, the Assiut Muslim Brotherhood leader, told Al-Jazeera that “the arrests were part of the authorities uninterrupted campaign of detentions.
A representative of the Brotherhood students at Assiut University, who refused to disclose his name to Al-Jazeera, “fearing police reprisal, told the network that “security men stormed students apartments in three residential areas at dawn and confiscated books and papers. The student also said that demonstrations may take place in the university if the detained are not instantly released.
Al-Jazeera also reports that on Saturday, “police detained 12 suspected members in the Al-Sharqiyya and Behira provinces north of Cairo.
“The arrests have focused on provinces where support for the group is strongest and in districts that elected group members to parliament in last year s elections, the network says.
A Muslim Brotherhood insider has told the Save Egypt Front, a London-based opposition Web site, that he considers such arrests “illegitimate and “impetuous. According to the Brotherhood member, such attacks on the “Brothers mean to hinder the Muslim Brotherhood’s admirable activities in Egypt’s parliament.
The latest crackdown on the Brotherhood brings the number arrested, including leaders and students, to at least 100.
Meanwhile, Egypt’s press awaits parliament’s decision concerning the amendment of a press law that allows imprisonment of journalists in libel and slander cases.
Three days ago, Galal Aref, press syndicate chairman, led hundreds of journalists in a demonstration. The demonstrators demanded that parliament pass the amendments recommended by the syndicate for approval; the journalists said they wanted to make sure the new laws do not suppress journalists in any sense and that they revoke imprisonment and arrest “once and for all.
However, in response, Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif was quoted in Monday’s papers as saying that the press “syndicate must set an alternative to imprisonment; penalties which reporters must take in case of libel.
“The fact that we [the government] are negotiating the amendment of the law and the cancellation of the prison sentences for journalists with you [the syndicate and reporters] does not mean that we give up the right to reshape the law in whatever form we see fit . even if the syndicate does not approve of it, added Nazif.
