Three Coptic priests have celebrated the holy mass in Diljā village, Dayr Mawās, in southern al-Minya governorate. The mass took place in Virgin Mary and Bishop Abraham Monastery yesterday morning, Wednesday (September 4) after it had been canceled for more than 21 days. The mass was attended by less than 50 Copts because many people were frightened the attacks could be repeated in the total absence of security forces. The same monastery has been burned and demolished by supporters of the ousted president Muhammad Morsi (Mursī).

Father Yūsif Ayūb, who serves as Bishop of Virgin Mary and Bishop Abraham Monastery, said that the Copts want to defy all threats and intimidation against them. He pointed to the complete absence of security forces in the village since the ouster of Muhammad Morsi. He stated, “security forces were hindered from entering the village, so that the supporters of the ousted president could practice violence and intimidation against the Copts. They were not allowed to practice their prayers in the burned and destroyed churches.”

As a reaction to the security farce, Minister of Interior, Muhammad Ibrāhīm, decided to transfer the al-Minya security director, his deputy, and the detective superintendent to a different duty zone. He justifies this step with the degradation and absence of security in the governorate before and after the raids on Rābaʿa al-ʿAdawīyyah and al-Nahdah Squares (Muhammad al-Zahrāwī, al-Tahrīr, Sept. 5, p. 5). Read original text in Arabic.