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Egypt police disperse Muslims who attacked church
CAIRO (AFP) - Egyptian police clashed with Muslims after they attacked a church and injured passersby in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria, angered over a DVD they consider anti-Muslim. "Nearly 5,000 faithful gathered after Friday prayers as they exited from a mosque in the Moharem Bek area in Alexandria and proceeded towards the Mar (Saint) Girgis church," the interior ministry said. | Friday prayers always git the rubes fired up |
"A police force tried to prevent the protesters from approaching the church and attacking it, but they did not heed police warnings and stoned the church, the force and passersby, which resulted in injuries," the ministry said. "This left the police with no option but to use tear gas to disperse them," the statement added.
Police also used batons, witnesses said. There were no immediate details on the injuries or on whether there had been any arrests. | Well, it's not like they were doing anything disruptive, like calling for democracy |
The protests came three days after a man lightly wounded a nun with a knife at the entrance to the same church, and a man who came to her aid was stabbed in the back. Islamists mounted two protests outside the church last week following the DVD release of a play produced by Saint Girgis two years ago. The play, performed by amateur actors, tells the story of a young Christian who converts to Islam and is exhorted by a sheikh to kill priests and destroy churches, according to the independent Al-Dustur paper. Performances of the play had to be abandoned after it sparked a public outcry. | "They're defaming Islam by saying we're violent! Kill them!" |
Church authorities have distanced themselves from the new recordings of the play.
Posted by: Steve 2005-10-21 |
