Nearly 4,000 Muslims attack Christian homes in Egypt

Pray for Egyptian believers!

A mob of nearly 4,000 Muslims attacked Coptic homes on March 5 in the village of Sool, Atfif, in Helwan Governorate, 30 kilometres from Cairo. They also torched the Church of St. Mina and St. George, reported Assyrian International News Agency.

There are conflicting reports about the whereabouts of the Church pastor Father Yosha and three deacons who were at church; some say they died in the fire and some say they are being held captive by the Muslims inside the church.

Witnesses report the mob prevented the fire brigade from entering the village. The army, which was stationed for two days prior in the village of Bromil, 7 kilometres from Sool, initially refused to go into Sool, according to the officer in charge. When the army finally sent three tanks to the village, Muslim elders sent them away, saying that everything was “in order now.”

A curfew was imposed on the 12,000 Christians in the village.

The incident was triggered by a relationship between 40-year-old Copt Ashraf Iskander and a Muslim woman. A "reconciliation" meeting was arranged between the relevant Coptic and Muslim families and together with the Muslim elders it was decided that Ashraf Iskander would have to leave the village because Muslims torched his house.

The father of the Muslim woman was killed by his cousin because he did not kill his daughter to preserve the family's honour, which led the woman's brother to avenge the death of his father by killing the cousin. The village Muslims blamed the Christians.

The Muslim mob attacked the church, exploding five to six gas cylinders inside the church. They pulled down the cross and the domes and burnt everything inside.

The mob reportedly broke into Coptic homes, too.