A rumour that circulated on social media has had Copts deeply worried that their monasteries may be under attack. The rumour was to the effect that a shootout at the gate of the monastery of the Holy Virgin in al-Muharraq, Assiut ,left a number of monks and a child dead.
Egypt’s Ministry of Interior denied the alleged shootout, stating on its official Facebook page that “what has been circulated on several social media pages regarding the alleged death of monks and a child in front of a monastery in Assiut was not true.” The ministry declared that legal procedures would be taken against those who had circulated the false claims.
For its part, Muharraq Monastery issued a statement on 27 August denying the rumours circulating on social media that the monastery had been attacked, and that monks had lost their lives in the gunfire. The monastery’s statement stressed that the news were completely unfounded. “Thank God, the monastery and all the monks are living in peace and stability, practicing their life normally, and there is always nearby security presence. We ask everyone to be careful and not to share rumours without verifying their content with the original sources,” the statement read.
A monastery source said that the page which posted the fake news has already deleted it, but that security authorities are monitoring the page and others who perpetrated the rumour.
Watani International
28 August 2024
