Islamist Rebels Driven Back in Egypt After Months of Attacking Christians; But Some Skeptical If Peace Will Last

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Coptic Christians have reacted with nervous relief to the Egyptian military's pushback of the Christian-persecuting Islamist rebels who had taken over Dalga.

During the two and half months that Islamist rebels held control, Christians suffered the vandalism and destruction of a monastery, two churches and close to three dozen homes. Recently, they had reported that the rebel rulers had forced them to pay a "jizya" or tribute tax to the Islamists — in essence, bribing their oppressors to let them stay in their homes.

Further, Copt incomes also suffered severely — the majority of Christian-owned small businesses were shut down during the Islamist takeover. In response to these measures, hundreds of Dalga's 20,000 Christians fled the city.

However, Coptic Christians have now expressed concern that the Egypt government's decision to move into Dalga and push back the Islamist rebels was less an attempt to rescue them, and more to capture a single Islamist fugitive, according to The New York Times. Keep reading

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