Published: July 27, 2008

Fears of Sectarian Strife Following Gang Rape in Egypt

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Egyptian security forces are again on alert, fearing another spread of sectarian strife between Copts (Egyptian Christians) and Muslims.

Over the weekend, the German press agency DPA reported that three young Copts had been arrested by the police and were charged with raping a seven-year-old Muslim boy in the village A'sfoun in the Qunna district.

The boy's name, it was reported, was Usama and his nickname - Bin Laden.

The local police have reinforced its forces in the village in order to prevent sectarian conflicts.

Last May a local dispute over a small piece of land surrounding a monastery in Minya, 200 miles south of Cairo, ended with one person - a Muslim - dead and four wounded, including at least two monks.

A gun battle broke out when monks began building a wall around disputed land near their monastery. The monastery's Muslim neighbors claimed the wall would have caused damage to their crops.

A few days earlier four Copts were shot dead in a jewelry shop in Cairo. The shop was owned by a Copt, who was killed during the incident along with three of his assistants. The fact that nothing was stolen has raised fears that the attack may have been cause by sectarian tensions.

Last year 15 people were wounded and 35 arrested in a monastery in Minya as a result of another land dispute.

A more serious outcome was the result of a film produced in 2006 depicting conversion methods used by Muslims. A few days of violence in Alexandria left one man dead and hundreds were arrested.

The Christian population in Egypt comprises approximately 10 percent of the country's 81.7 million citizens.

judythpiazza@newsblaze.com