CAIRO: A minor sectarian clash broke out Monday in the village of Bahwash, in Menoufia governorate, north of Cairo. The dispute erupted over the decision to allow Muslims to have right of passage on a road that separates Muslims and Christians in the village, according to Al-Masry Al-Youm. How exactly the violence occurred is not yet clear, but the Director of Menoufia's security, General Atef Sherif, received a report of a clash involving several villagers, with a small number taken to Menoufia's general hospital. Intensive efforts involving local religious leaders are underway to resolve the situation. In the meantime, another dispute arose in the village of Rhoda, Fayyoum, south of Cairo, yesterday, over reparations being made to the wall of an Anglican church. A group of youths, angered by the construction work, allegedly attacked the workers making the reparations, and destroyed their equipment, before attacking two Christian houses beside the church. The incident echoes sectarian clashes in the past, over the building and restoration of churches, most recently in the town of Bimha. The church's Pastor, Father Methat, told The Daily Star Egypt that relations between Muslims and Christians in the town are usually fine, but that issues such as these raise tensions. He stresses that the church had the necessary permits from the governor's office, and says that Christians have three demands following the incident. "First we want the people who did this to be brought to justice; second we want the building work to be completed; and [finally] we must receive compensation for damages to the equipment and houses. Former Kefaya leader, George Ishaq, believes the underlying cause for incidents such as these is poverty. "When people are suffering, they express their frustration in different ways, he told The Daily Star Egypt. He said the government should be doing more to relieve Egypt's "very bad atmosphere regarding religious issues. The Ministry of Interior was unavailable for comment.
