Last month in a province south of the Egyptian capital a Muslim mob stripped the woman and paraded her naked through the streets, also torching and ransacking seven Christian homes. According to the local Orthodox Coptic church and security officials, the assault in the Minya province village of Karama began after rumours spread that the woman’s son had had an affair with a Muslim woman. The mob decided to vent their anger by assaulting and humiliating his 70-year-old mother. Anba Makarios, Minya’s top Christian cleric, told a talk show host on the private Dream TV network that the woman was dragged out of her home by the mob, who beat and insulted her before stripping off her clothes and forcing her to walk through the streets as they chanted Allahu Akbar, or “God is greatest”. According to a statement by Makarios, police arrived at the scene nearly two hours after the attack began. The family of the Christian man had notified the police of threats against them by Muslim villagers the day before the attack, he added.
President al-Sisi vowed that all those responsible for the assault on “an Egyptian woman” will be punished. Mr Sisi said he called her an “Egyptian woman” because “we are all the same and we have equal rights and duties.”
The President said that the attack was “deplorable” and promised to punish all those responsible “no matter how many there are”. So far, at least 11 people have been arrested in relation to the attack. Egypt’s highest Sunni Islamic authority, Al-Azhar, also condemned the attack as unacceptable and un-Islamic. Al Azhar said it would send a delegation to Minya to ease tensions and urge unity.
President al-Sisi, in office since 2014, has changed election laws to allow more Christians into the national legislature and eased restrictions on building new churches and renovating old ones. But many Christians say they are still consistently victimised in disputes with Muslims. Criminal gangs have often targeted wealthy Christian families south of Cairo in recent years, kidnapping their children for ransom. There have also been scores of claims of underage Christian girls lured from their families by Muslim men who force them to convert and keep them in hiding until they reach adulthood.
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