A large number of hardline Salafi Muslims gathered in front of the church of Mar Mina in the village of Daramalli in Beni Sweif, some 100km south of Cairo, to protest construction work in the church
A large number of hardline Salafi Muslims gathered in front of the church of Mar Mina in the village of Daramalli in Beni Sweif, some 100km south of Cairo, to protest construction work in the church. Despite the fact that Mar Mina##s has official licence signed by Beni Sweif governor Maher Beibars to replace the old wooden roof with a concrete one, the Muslim mob succeeded in forcing the church officials to halt the construction work.
A committee from the building administration at the governorate should now inspect the work and the licence and submit a report to the governor. Until the governor approves or disproves the restoration, construction has been discontinued.
Eyewitnesses say the mob came from outside the village, and that Muslim-Coptic relations in Daramalli have always been cordial.
WATANI International
13 August 2012