CAIRO: Leading Egyptian Muslim figures have denounced al-Qaida's threats to target churches in the country if women allegedly kidnapped by the Coptic Church are not released. Leading the charge against the radical and violent international terror organization is the country's most popular opposition movement the Muslim Brotherhood. The group said on its website that Muslims must do all they can to protect Christian houses of worship after an al-Qaida group in Iraq threatened to blow up churches in Egypt. “The Muslim Brotherhood is stressing to all, and primarily Muslims, that the protection of holy places of all monotheistic religions is the mission of the majority of Muslims,” the group said in a statement on its website late on Tuesday. The chief of Egypt's Al-Azhar, the oldest Islamic seat of learning, said on Tuesday that such threats served only to “undermine national unity.” “This is something to be rejected and strongly denounced, and it serves none but those who want to spark discord and target national unity,” said the Sheikh of Al-Azhar, Ahmed al-Tayeb. He condemned what he described as “heinous” hostage-taking, which left dozens of Christians dead after security forces stormed the church. According to reports, security has beefed up patrols around all churches in Cairo and other governorates in the country to deter any potential al-Qaida attack. The ministry of interior told Bikya Masr on Wednesday morning that all churchgoers would be searched upon entering any house of worship. “This is a precaution because we want to protect our citizens from any attack against a religious institution,” said an interior ministry official on condition of anonymity. Across the country, trucks were stationed outside churches and dozens of security personnel were stationed around church entrances following the attack on a church in Iraq that left dozens dead and scores injured. George Idris, a Coptic Christian in Cairo who attends Wednesday morning mass regularly, told Bikya Masr that he was not concerned about an attack, but the heightened security is a step in the right direction to “show Christians the government doesn't forget about them.” He told Bikya Masr that “churches are supposed to be a place of peace and faith and that anyone would want to target them is wrong and shows that these fanatics have no true belief in anything but death and destruction.” Egypt has faced sporadic sectarian violence in recent years, with a shooting last January highlighting what can sometimes turn bloody. In the incident in Qena, in southern Egypt, on January 7, gunmen opened fire on worshipers as they exited the church on Coptic Christmas Eve, leaving 6 Copts and a Muslim security guard dead. The incident had caused a major rift between the Coptic and Muslim leadership in the country after the government was accused of not moving quickly enough to arrest and try the assailants. The al-Qaida threat against Egypt said that Coptic leaders had 48-hours to release two women who they said were being held in Christian monasteries in Egypt after they had converted to Islam. That deadline has passed. The Coptic Church in Alexandria refused to comment when contacted on Wednesday morning on the accusation. It is unclear where the women, if at all, are being held. Earlier this year, a wife of a Coptic priest allegedly converted to Islam and fled from her Upper Egypt home to Cairo, but was later “returned” to her husband by police after the church said she was kidnapped. Her status is unknown. Christians in Egypt account for approximately 10 percent of the population and the majority of those Christians are Coptic Christians – the first Christian church dating back to the second century. BM
