Bloody start to the year for Egypt's Christians (News Feature)

By Nehal El-Sherif Jan 1, 2011, 15:52 GMT

Alexandria, Egypt - Hundreds of Coptic Christians were singing hymns at the New Year's Eve mass in Alexandria in northern Egypt shortly after midnight when a bomb blast outside rocked the church.

Video footage taken by one of the worshippers shows scenes of panic inside the Church of the Saints, with priests calling for calm.

'Don't panic, nothing is wrong,' two priests said repeatedly, before starting to pray out loud.

At least 22 people were killed and 79 injured in what authorities say was a suicide bombing. The Interior Ministry said the suicide bomber was armed with a 'locally-made' bomb containing nails and probably died in the the blast.

Televised footage in the aftermath of the bombing showed a man with blood streaming down his face, shouting: 'What have I done to deserve this?'. He is seen being led away from the area that later sees Christians and Muslims clash shortly afterwards.

In the early morning hours on Saturday, Coptic Christians held a protest in the area, chanting, 'With our blood and soul, we will defend our cross.'

At a crowded nearby hospital, members of the public offered help to the injured. One of them, a man called Mohamed, donated blood to an injured young girl who has the same blood type.

Michel Nasr, a witness told the state-owned Nile News TV that the bomb exploded in a car to which a note that read 'the rest is yet to come' had been attached.

Authorities said 'foreign elements' were behind the bombing, with President Hosny Mubarak vowing to track down those responsible and 'cut off the hands of the terrorism.'

The Islamic State of Iraq, a group affiliated with al-Qaeda, recently warned that Christians throughout the Middle East are legitimate targets.

The group called for the 'release' of two Egyptian women, whom they alleged had converted to Islam but were being forcibly held by the Coptic Church in Egypt.

The two women, Camilia Shehata and Wafa Constantine, are the wives of priests. Confusion over their disappearance and return days later has led to protests by some of Egypt's minority Christian population, who claimed the women had been kidnapped and forced to convert to Islam.

Meanwhile, Muslim protestors claimed that the church is holding the women against their own will for converting to Islam.

Christians account for roughly 10 per cent of Egypt's population.

Is is almost a year since gunmen opened fire on worshippers leaving a Coptic church in the southern city of Nagaa Hamady after Coptic Christmas Eve service, killing eight Christians and a Muslim security guard.

While violence between Egypt's Christian and Muslim populations is rare, tensions have been high since the beginning of the year.

The most recent clashes were in November, when Copts protested against a decision by the authorities to halt construction of a church in a Cairo suburb. One Christian was died in the clashes.

Naguib Gebrael, head of the Egyptian Union of Human Rights Organizations, blamed the government for the Alexandria attack, saying it was because extremists had been allowed for months to preaching in mosques.

Gebrael said that official statements that 'foreign elements' stand behind the attack is like burying their head in the sand.

Officials on Saturday played down sectarian differences. State-run TV played music video clips focusing on Egyptian unity, co-existence and nationalism.

'Now all Christians and Muslims are asking themselves why did this happen,' said Ramez Nader, an observant Christian from Cairo. He too believes that 'foreign meddling' is behind the bombing.

Nader said he did not believe there was cause for panic after the attack, which comes one week before the Coptic Christmas.

'Why should we be scared, this is God's house. What is meant to happen, will happen,' he said as he helped clean the New Year's decorations at his church.

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