Religion Today

Egyptian residents pass by the under construction Nour mosque in Ein Shams district, Cairo, Egypt,...

Egyptian residents pass by the under construction Nour mosque in Ein Shams district, Cairo, Egypt, Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2008. Early on a Sunday morning, hundreds of Christian Egyptians quietly slipped into a former underwear factory and held the first services in a church they'd secretly been setting up inside. Bells rang, and worshippers sang hymns in the ancient Coptic language. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

(AP)

Early in the morning two Sundays ago, hundreds of Christian Egyptians quietly slipped into a former underwear factory where they had discreetly set up a church and held their first service. Bells rang and hymns were sung.

A crowd of angry Muslims quickly gathered, threw stones at the building and burned banners that said, "No to the church." They tried to storm the gates, clashed with police and chanted, "The church has fallen, the priest is dead," according to witnesses.

In fact, no one died, but 13 people were reported injured. For Egyptians in general, the incident in the blue-collar district of Ain Shams served as a warning that Muslim-Christian clashes, largely confined to the south of the country in recent years, have seeped into the capital.

Tempers are flaring as Islamic conservatism gains ground and Christians grow increasingly resentful about discrimination by the Muslim majority. The Ain Shams incident highlights that even in Cairo — seen as more cosmopolitan in its sectarian relations than the rural south — suspicions run between the communities. Muslim and Christian neighbors also are competing over who can set up houses of worship and where.

"We don't want to hear their hymns and for sure, they don't want to hear our prayers," a Muslim woman who lives in the area said as she shopped at a dairy store.

Like other residents, Muslim and Christian, she spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity, fearing trouble with police standing nearby. Security agencies often try to prevent discussion of sectarian tensions.

Egypt's government often tries to play down such strains. Police responding to incidents in southern villages usually only intervene when violence gets out of control, often arresting an equal number of people from each religious group. Then authorities force the families involved to reach a behind-the-scenes compromise, without investigating or prosecuting aggressors.

Critics say that only papers over the causes of tensions and say the government is bending to fears among Muslim conservatives that Christians are seeking to undermine what they see as Egypt's Muslim identity.