CAIRO - The security authorities, knee-deep in the quagmire of Muslim fundamentalism, are now ducking their heads to avoid being hit by an extraordinary opponent: radical churchgoers. The security authorities' new dilemma unfolded last month when more than 3,000 angry Copts rioted in the Omraniya district of Giza. Two people were killed and about 160 were arrested in the violent showdown with the police over the alleged refusal by the Local Municipality to license the construction of a new church in the district. The security authorities, in collaboration with moderate Copts, are now debating why Coptic radicals decided to follow the example of Muslim fundamentalists and attempt to take the law into their own hands. The Coptic riots in Giza have triggered fears that, like mosques run by fundamentalists, churches are skirting round Jesus' teachings only to incubate radical youths. Observers worry that influential bishops in the Coptic Orthodox Church have dismissed Jesus' message of peace as unfashionable and obsolete. The allegedly radical bishops have also been accused of ignoring Jesus' advice to turn the other cheek. Coptic radicalism allegedly reared its ugly head when Coptic rioters in Giza chanted anti-Government slogans. Defiantly ignoring appeals for self-restraint, the rioters threatened to resume the construction of the church at any price. They shouted that they were ready to sacrifice themselves for Jesus and His Church. Anti-riot policemen and officers were attacked by youths wielding iron bars, bricks and petrol bombs. Young men carrying a large wooden Cross, suggestive of a holy war, led the angry demonstrators, as they advanced towards the Giza Governorate headquarters. Speaking to foreign media at the scene of the trouble, a bishop named Mena Zarif alleged that he had led the rioters. He also alleged that Egypt's Copts are suffering from religious persecution, as they claim their being prevented from building a new church. Bishop Mena has been accused of sparking the clashes in Giza by deliberately circulating inaccurate and incorrect information about the Local Municipality's refusal to issue a licence for the construction of the new church. His claims have been dismissed as “baseless and dishonest” by Giza Governor General Sayyed Abdel-Aziz, who says that Coptic officials in Giza were bent on causing problems even after they were invited to reconsider the construction of the church. There are now serious fears that, unless the security authorities clamp down on the domestic situation, a violent confrontation between Muslim and Coptic radicals could be inevitable. A few years ago, hundreds of university students loyal to the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood demonstrated their martial arts skills at Ain Shams University. It seemed that the fundamentalist organisation was flexing its bulging biceps in the face of the security authorities, after the mass arrest of many of their key members.
