No Copts to visit village church

Via Wataninet.com

Copts of the village of Bassra, in Amiriya, Alexandria expressed fear that discrimination against them is escalating now that Egypt’s president is an Islamist.

Last Friday in Bassra—on Friday the Islamists had declared their candidate Mohamed Mursi president even though the official election results had not been announced—the village Muslims surrounded the village church of Anba Wannas as Holy Mass was being celebrated inside. They demanded that the priest Fr Sawiris should kick out a group of Copts from outside the village who were had come in buses to visit the church. They threatened that they would burn down the church if Fr Sawiris does not oblige. The small church of Anba Wannas regularly receives visitors as they stop for blessing on their way to the Western Desert monastery of Mar-Mina. 

Fr Sawiris could do nothing but give in to the threats and ask the people to leave, especially that when he called the police station asking for help, he was advised to do as he was told and stop receiving trips, in order to ‘solve the problem’. But as the visitors mounted their buses to head back home, the Muslim villagers hurled stones at them and their buses.

Once the visitors left, a group of Salafis and radical Isalmists went to the church and repeated the threat to the church priest, advising him to abide by their rules, lest they destroy the church. The village Copts are now more fearful after the MB reached power, found no solution but to oblige.

Trying to solve this predicament, a group of Coptic activists in Cairo appealed to a number of politicians and journalists and organised a high profile visit to Bassra. Under the theme: “I’m going [to Bassra] to visit the house of God [the church], and have lunch with my fellow Muslims [the Muslim villagers]”, politicians, journalists and political and rights activists were invited to visit Bassra next Friday. It is hoped the visit will bring to light the discrimination, and will spur an end to divisions and a peaceful coexistence between the Copts and the Muslims.

Watani International

26 June 2012

 

 

via www.wataninet.com