Egyptian church siege over inter-faith love
Egyptian police fired tear gas and clashed with a stone-throwing mob of Muslims who had surrounded a Coptic Church in anger over an inter-faith romance.
The Muslim protesters accuse the church of helping to secret away 21-year-old Rana el-Shazli, believed to have converted to Christianity before fleeing her small town with a Coptic Christian man to Turkey.
The alleged romance ignited sectarian tension in Wasta, a rural town in Beni Suef province, about 60 miles south of Cairo.
Clashes flared anew today after weekly Muslim prayers, said a police source and a priest.
For more than a month, Muslims have attacked churches over the incident and forced Christians to close their shops in the town.
Christians make up nearly 10% of Egypt’s population of 90 million.
