WATANI International
8 August 2011
On Monday evening a ‘reconciliation session’ between the Copts and Muslims of the village of Nazlet Faragallah in Minya, Upper Egypt, was organised by the local authorities. The aim was, reportedly, to restore peace to the village in the wake of a vicious attack against the village Copts, which left the 46-year-old Maher Nassif dead, and five Coptic-owned houses torched. Seven Muslims were caught, as was one Copt who was charged with illegal possession of arms. The Copts believe he was so charged in order to pressure them into reconciliation, upon which all charges would be dropped.
The story began last Saturday when a tuk-tuk driven by Ezz Farouq Abdel-Wahab, a Muslim young man, hit a small Coptic girl. The Muslim, feeling threatened that the girl’s family would not let him go free, succeeded in gathering members of his family and friends and began attacking the village church with stones. The security forces were able to bring matters in the 90 per cent Coptic village under control but, according to the villager Nageh Henein, a rumour was circulated in neighbouring villages the following day that the Nazlet Faragallah Muslims were under attack and the village mosque was burned. Calls for rescue of the minority Muslims were blared over mosque microphones after evening prayers, and the Muslims of four neighbouring villages converged on Nazlet Faragallah complete with firearms and weapons. They set houses on fire and shot at the Copts in their homes; Nassif, whose house is on the outskirts of the village, was shot and beheaded.
The security and military forces surrounded the village and, Monday morning, Nassif’s funeral was held at a church in the nearby village of Nihnal-Gabal in order to avoid further clashes. Minya governor and security chief attended the funeral.
By Monday a number of Muslims fled the village for fear of being implicated in the attack, while several Copts left following threats that a further attack was in the making. But in the evening, the reconciliation was held, meaning that, if successful, both parties should withdraw legal claims against each other. Until midnight, the reconciliation was still in session.
Copts are vociferous in their claim that ‘reconciliation’ effectively curtails their rights since it places victim and offender on the same footing and that, furthermore, they are usually pressured into reconciling when one or more of them are detained.