At least seven Copts have been killed in sectarian violence in recent months, says Amnesty International
As tensions rise again in Egypt, the country's Christians are dreading a further backlash.
The Coptic Orthodox Church is one of Christianity's oldest, founded in Alexandria around 50 AD.
But
since President Mohammed Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood were removed
from power by the military in early July, Islamist extremists have
targeted Egypt's Christian minority, holding them partly responsible.
The Coptic Pope, Tawadros II, has received death threats, while several Christians have been killed.
At
St Mark's Cathedral in Cairo on Sunday, dozens of children gathered for
Bible study. Security at the gates was tight, after an attack there
earlier this year.
Last
Tuesday, 10-year-old Jessi Boulus was walking home from her Bible class
in a working-class area of the capital when a gunman killed her with a
single shot to the chest.
For
Jessi's parents, the grief is still almost too raw for words. She was
their only child. Both try but cannot hold back the tears as they
describe their daughter.
Grief and despair
Her mother, Phoebe, believes that she was targeted purely because she was Christian.
Egypt's Coptic Orthodox Church
· 6m-11m members in Egypt
· About 1m members outside the country
· Copts believe their church dates back to about 50 AD
· Led by the Pope of Alexandria, Tawadros II
· Services take place partly in ancient Coptic language (based on language used in the time of the Pharaohs)
"She
was my best friend, my everything. Jessi was just becoming a young
woman," she says. "Every woman dreams of becoming a mother, and for 10
years I was lucky enough to be a mum. I'll miss Jessi calling me mum - I
know I won't ever hear it again."
Jessi's father, Boulus, veers between grief and despair, as he recalls the hatred that changed their lives forever.
"Jessi
was everything to us. Her killers didn't know that Jessi was my life -
my future. They killed our future. I lived for her. We both did," he
says, unable to conceal his emotion.
The
couple say that in recent months, Jessi had begun to worry about her
own safety, aware of the tensions on the streets. The family had talked
about emigrating, but made a conscious decision to remain in Egypt,
their home.
Boulus,
though, says that a climate of increasing intolerance created by
Islamic fundamentalism led to his daughter's and other deaths.
"I'm
telling you in the West that your taxes and government money go towards
supporting the killing here - by funding Islamist political parties."
History of co-existence
Though
Muslims and Christians stood together in Tahrir Square in July, radical
Islamists have blamed Egypt's ancient Coptic Christian community for
helping to remove President Mohammed Morsi from power.
At another church in Cairo, St Cyril's, the walls outside are scrawled with graffiti.
Inside, Father Antoine Rafik Greiche is praying for his Melkite Greek Catholic flock as he prepares for the evening service.
He
explains that the cross and the crescent have co-existed, mostly
peacefully here, for well over a thousand years, especially in the 18th,
19th and much of the 20th Centuries.
But
he, too, says radical Islamists are now scapegoating Christians in
Egypt, as well as other Muslims who disagree with their views.
“Start Quote
They only give lip-service to attacks on Christians, and actually don't take any concrete action”
Diane Eltahawy Amnesty International
"The
fall of President Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood was a release for
Christians," he says, explaining that many Muslims and Christians felt
that early promises made by the Morsi government were never fulfilled,
leading to the mass popular demonstrations against his rule.
"But
at the same time, since then it's become more dangerous because some in
the Muslim Brotherhood now want to prove themselves by using force and
violence. We are doing our best to bear it, but young children and
others are paying a high price."
'Climate of impunity'
After
deadly clashes outside Cairo's Coptic cathedral in April, Mr Morsi
phoned Pope Tawadros to condemn the violence. He also called for an
immediate investigation.
But
Egypt's Copts and other Christians feel increasingly vulnerable, as do
Christian minorities in many other parts of the Middle East, such as
Syria and Iraq.
Christians make up at least 10% of the population in Egypt, or well over eight million people.
According
to figures from Amnesty International, Jessi was one of seven
Christians killed in sectarian violence in Egypt over the past few
months, while shops, homes and Christian businesses have also been
targeted. One church in the central town Minya was burnt down; the black
flag used by jihadist militants raised over others.
Diane
Eltahawy, Amnesty International's Cairo-based North Africa researcher,
asks why Christians are not being properly protected.
"We
are concerned that these attacks are happening in a climate of
impunity, with security forces standing idly by while people are being
killed, while their properties are being looted," she comments.
"They
only give lip-service to attacks on Christians, and actually don't take
any concrete action to combat the prevailing discrimination that exists
in policies and society here."
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