[AlAhram] Beni Suef security directorate facilitated a reconciliation between Moslems and Christians in a village in the Upper Egyptian governorate after Christians were attacked there on Friday, Al-Ahram Arabic reported on Saturday.According to Al-Ahram Arabic, the security forces managed to control the situation, which was caused by a rumour that a church was being constructed, before it deteriorated.
On Friday, a group of Moslems in a small village in Beni Suef gathered after noon prayers, and went to the houses owned by Christians attacking them by rocks, after a rumour spread that one of the buildings had been turned into a church.
A video clip showing Christian families reacting to the attack while standing at their balconies went viral on Friday in Egypt.
The head of the local security directorate reportedly sat with the elders from the village, both Moslems and Christians, and they agreed on reconciliation and that the Christians would not turn a house into a church unless they received official authorisation.
This is the most recent sectarian incident involving Moslems and Christians in the past four weeks in Upper Egypt.
At least three festivities have erupted in different villages in Minya governorate between Moslems and Christians recently.
Sectarian festivities frequently occur in the countryside over news or rumours that an unauthorised church has been built or repurposed.
A draft unified law for building houses of worship is expected to be discussed by the House of Representatives.