Thursday, February 23, 2006

Raid on Christian Copts Exposes Egypt's Secular Paradox

http://www.aina.org/news/20060222215931.htm

[AINA] February 23, 2006--On Jan. 18, the Copts held Mass between 4 and 7 a.m. Riot police ringed the half-acre grounds. As worshipers left the church, police told them to lock themselves in their houses. At 8:30, power to the neighborhood was cut.

"Suddenly, a crowd appeared, and they're shouting, 'God is great!' " recalled Mansef Ayad, an elementary school teacher. God is great, a common Islamic exclamation, is also a characteristic cry of Islamic holy warriors, or jihadis .

"The jihadis came from the fields and began to burn palm trees. They threw gas bombs on houses. We knew if they reached the church, it was done for. The roof is wood," Mansef said.

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