CAIRO - Egyptian Christians Tuesday refused to end their protests over torching a church in Helwan, south of Cairo, even after strong official promises to rebuild the church and bring the perpetrators to justice. The Shahedeen Church (the Two Martyrs' Church) was set to ablaze following a row sparked by a relationship between a Christian man and a Muslim woman, according to witnesses and a security source. Members of the woman's Muslim family clashed among themselves over the affair and two men of them were killed. Muslims from the village then burnt the church on Saturday, according to local eyewitnesses. Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi the head of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces in charge of Egypt's affairs since Mubarak stepped down on February 11, said the military would rebuild the church and would complete. Soon after his government was sworn in on Sunday, Prime Minister Essam Sharaf went to the Christian protesters outside the state Radio and TV building and promised to track down the suspected arsonists. Some protesters welcomed Sharaf especially when he responded to a top demand of theirs, namely setting free Father Meta'ous who last year completed a jailing sentence. Looking from a window of the Radio and TV building, Sharaf chanted with protesters “The Muslim and the Christian are one hand”. Many Muslims have joined the Coptic protesters over the past three days. In addition, acting head of the Radio and TV Union, Major General Tareq el-Mahdi came out of the building reiterated the military promise to rebuild the “The Shahedeen Church” (Two Martyrs Church) in “its very place”. Major General Hasan el- Reuaini, Chief of the Central Military Zone, said he had visited the village of Soul where the church was located and held a reconciliation session with Priests, Sheikhs and seniors of the village. El- Reuaini told the Monday evening episode of “el-Hayat al-Youm” TV programme that he would defend the land of the church with his life until it was rebuilt, noting that Christians forced to leave the village would be back to their homes. Traffic in one of the most vital areas of the capital came to a halt as Coptic protestors, many of them were staying there for three days, blocked the Corniche road on Monday and yesterday. There were fears of escalation when some fired in the air to force cars and pedestrians in both directions to turn back. Meanwhile, a military source yesterday quashed media reports that other attacks were carried out against more churches in various parts of the country. He also denied that clashes took place between Muslims and Christians, according to MENA.
