An angry mob of Muslims reportedly looted and burned down the homes of 80 Christian families in an Egyptian village last Friday after hearing rumors of church being built in the city without their permission.
According to the Christian Post, an eyewitness saw a large number of Muslims gathered in front of a home that was under construction after Friday noon prayer. Allegedly, the Muslims were drawn to the house after hearing a rumor that a church was secretly being built in the house. The mob chanted slogans at people standing nearby and working on the house until they finally reached a breaking point and began to ransack the home.
The mob rapidly ransacked the home, destroying the building materials, seriously injuring the owner of the house and his brother, and burning the house to the ground. The mob then quickly streamed into the village, torching the cars and houses of any Christian they found.
The police arrived during the early part of the attack, but did not immediately step in. After the mob had quieted down, six Christians and six Muslims were arrested. The Muslim men were quickly released from custody, but the Christians are still currently being held on bail after being charged for “praying and building without a permit.”
There is no proof to substantiate the claim that a church was being built. It is especially hard to prove that a church was being built now that the house was burned to the ground.
Over 85 percent of Egypt’s population is Muslim, leading to harsh persecution of Christians. Christians are not allowed to build churches, or to repair those which fall into ruin. This has caused a substantial drop in the number of churches in Egypt. According to the International Christian Concern, the average distance from a place of residence to a church is up to about four miles. In America, there is usually a church just down the block or a short drive away.
This is not the only attack on Egyptian Christians that has gone largely unpunished. Just last month, Egyptian Christian were a victim to a similar attack, when 300 Muslims raised Christian homes to the south of the town, and stripped a 70-year-old Christian woman naked. The act was condemned by the president but no further measures were taken to prevent an attack of that sort from happening again.
This issue has not gained much attention in the media, as people tend to focus on the alleged persecution of Muslims while overlooking what is happening to the Christians in the same area. The percentage of Christians in the area is expected to drop below three percent by the year 2050.