A number of politicians and human rights organizations have denounced the attacks carried out by the Muslim Brotherhood and its supporters on churches and Copts’ property. They interpret these attacks as trying to drag the country into sectarian strife and bring about chaos as to weaken the popular front as well as a way of giving the U.S. a pretext to intervene in Egypt in the name of protecting the Copts.
‘Abd al-Ghafār Shukr, the head the of the popular alliance socialist party, stated that that the attack on churches is an attempt by the Muslim Brotherhood and Islamic groups to give the political conflict a sectarian dimension to fragment the popular front against it.
Najīb Jubrā’īl, head of the Egyptian Union for Human Rights Organization, said the attempt to ignite sectarian strife in Egypt and to drive a wedge between Muslims and Copts is an American scheme implemented by the Brotherhood to Copts feel they are at risk. Bishop Yuhanna Qultā, Deputy Patriarch of Catholics, that what you are doing Brotherhood of actions burning and destruction of the homeland of all its institutions and churches is the last card they have to burn Egypt. He praised Muslims who protected the churches and homes of Copts in Minya and Sohag, which expresses the cohesion of the national fabric.
Dr. Rev. Safwat al-Bayādī, head of the Evangelical Community Council, called for the need to change the religious discourse and to develop the awareness of young people, through mosques and churches. He clarified that what happened indicates ignorance, demanding that the Muslim Brotherhood listen to the Shaykh of Al–Azhar (Muhamad Hassan, Hiba Saīd, Abīr al-Mursī, and Shādīah Yussuf, al-Ahrām, Aug. 16). Read original text in Arabic.
