CAIRO - A relative calm has returned to the densely populated Cairo suburb of Ain Shams Sunday following a series of street protests by Muslims against plans for turning a privately owned spinning factory into a church. The protests started on Thursday over rumors that the Christian owner would turn the facility, which has been closed since 2008, into a church. However, riot police were still stationed around the disputed building to prevent anyone from entering it, according to eyewitnesses. The Muslim residents of the Arab el-Taawilla Street, where the factory is located, said that they were upset over an unconfirmed plan by the owner, whose name would be withheld, to turn the factory into a church without a license. However, the eyewitnesses added that traffic was returning to normal in the Street, where the factory stands idle, and it appears that few residents are responding to calls for returning to their homes after the Muslim and Christian community leaders agreed to hold a crisis meeting to settle the dispute. They said the leaders had promised to control the situation and solve the problem through arbitration. The residents said that clergymen and senior neighbourhood residents had met in the morning in an attempt to reconcile the two communities. The Copts, who make up 10 per cent of Egypt's 83 million population, have long complained of discriminatory policies and negligence by the authorities when it comes to building of churches. However, a Coptic resident, who asked not to be identified, said poor policing and slow justice caused the dispute with the Muslims. "The security forces and the judiciary are responsible for the escalation of the dispute. If they had been present after the troubles on Thursday it would not have happened. If the judiciary had approved the license for turning the factory into a church three years ago, the protests against the copts in Ain Shams would not have taken place," he said, adding that he was happy that the community leaders were holding a crisis meeting to settle the dispute. Nasr Adli, a resident and factory owner, said that Government of Prime Minister Essam Sharaf should smash all attempts to ruin stability and incite sedition between the Muslims and the Copts. Adli, a Muslim, said that the Government should take swift moves to defuse sectarian tensions to prevent minor Muslim-Coptic conflicts from exploding and turning into large scale sectarian clashes particularly during this critical time the country was passing through. He lauded the community leaders because they acted quickly and effectively to stop protests, which erupted after Muslims complained a new church would replace the old factory, ending few days of sectarian calm. Wary that underlying tensions - which have led to deadly Muslim-Christian clashes in the past - could make the situation worse, the community leaders and well-known figures from both sides rushed to Ain Shams to help settle the dispute through peaceful means. "The community leaders intervened swiftly...to show that they would deal firmly with these incidents," said Atta Ishaq, a Copt. While welcoming the Government's current approach as constructive, Ishaq said it might not be enough at a time when economic and social problems are fanning sectarian grievances after the January 25 revolution. He said tensions, particularly in densely populated areas of the capital, were often described as sectarian but are actually much more complex and include factors such as family feuds and poverty. "I expect to see more turmoil, this is not especially sectarian. The neighbourhood as a whole is tense and suffers from economic and political frustration after the January 25 Revolution," Ishaq said. But, the Muslim and Coptic residents of Ain Shams, he continued, should not lose hope that things would get better in their neighbourhood.
