By Abdel-Rahman Hussein
CAIRO: About 150 people gathered at Qasr El Nil Bridge Friday afternoon to mourn the victims of the New Year’s Alexandria church bombing.
Many of the mourners were holding Qurans and Bibles and reading from them as they faced the Nile. Some stood silent, sometimes with heads bowed down.
Similar silent gatherings were reportedly held in governorates across Egypt.
In Cairo, the vigil lasted an hour until those present headed towards the Shrine of Saad Zaghloul where they merged with protesters already there.
Activist Sally Moore, who was wearing a necklace with an entwined cross and crescent, said, “We’re here to stand against any sort of oppression. The reaction has been amazing. I’m Christian myself; yesterday when Muslims came to the churches it was very touching. I hope more and more people stand together against oppression and against the regime.”
A group from the April 6 Youth Movement also joined the protest where slogans were chanted against the president and the interior ministry as well as attempts to fuel sectarian strife in Egypt.
Police security officers escorted the Qasr El Nil protesters to the shrine, but broke them up into smaller groups. The way to the shrine was littered with a security presence, especially at the mouth of the bridge.
A police officer, who refused to be named because he’s not authorized to speak to the media, told Daily News Egypt that security was breaking up the march because they didn’t want passersby to join.
“Gatherings are wrong,” he said.
“I had to be here today … I’m happy that I feel all people are together [in condemning the attack]. I don’t like what security is doing; after what has happened, they don’t want us to express what’s inside of us?” said Salma Ghali, a Muslim student of mass media.
“Things will deteriorate quickly if anti-riot security forces resort to their typical methods of violence against protesters,” Hossam Bahgat, director of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, told Daily News Egypt.
“So far, it’s been a week since the attack and we haven’t seen a sign that the regime will change tactics or policies. I’m expecting these protests to continue and we will be vigilant in tracking any violations against the protesters,” he added. –Additional reporting by Yasminah Elsayed.
