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Much of the violence has been against Copts, a religious minority that represents about 10 percent of the 84 million people in Egypt. Attacks against Anglican and Catholic churches as well as Christian schools also have been reported.
Members of the Muslim Brotherhood, which called for a "day of rage" on Friday after government forces killed hundreds of its pro-Morsi demonstrators and injured thousands this week, have denied involvement with the attacks on churches. Coptic rights groups and U.S.-based monitoring organizations have questioned that claim.
On Friday, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom called on the Egyptian government to crack down on religious targeting.
“The level of violence against Coptic Christians, their property and businesses is unprecedented in modern Egypt, both in its scope and the number of churches and structures attacked,” said USCIRF Chairman Robert George. "This could portend even worse violence ahead if the situation is not brought under control. Assaulting religious minorities is not a legitimate form of protest against government action."#MB Morsi supporters killed a taxi driver who had a Christian cross on his dashboard, then torched his taxi. #Egypt pic.twitter.com/VSbulptdBd
— Lisa Graas (@CatholicLisa) August 15, 2013
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There's no doubt the radical Muslims in Egypt see the current situation as a holy war. The Christian Science Monitor reported yesterday that Christian churches and homes were marked with red ink before being attacked or burned.
Before the violence that shook this small village last week, there were warning signs.
On June 30, when millions of Egyptians took to the streets to protest against now ousted President Mohamed Morsi, residents of Al Nazla marked Christian homes and shops with red graffiti, vowing to protect Morsi's electoral legitimacy with “blood.”
Relations between Christians and Muslims in the village, which had worsened since Morsi's election in 2012, grew even more tense as Islamists spread rumors that it was Christians who were behind the protests against Morsi and his ouster by the military on July 3.
Finally, on the morning of Aug. 14, the tension erupted. In Cairo, the police attacked two protest camps full of Morsi supporters, using live ammunition and killing hundreds. When the news reached Al Nazla, a local mosque broadcast through its loudspeakers that Christians were attacking the protesters, say residents. Hundreds of villagers marched on the Saint Virgin Mary Church. They broke down the gate and flooded the compound, shouting “Allahu akbar” and “Islam is the solution,” according to Christian neighbors.
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I'll leave you with this:
Imagine 40 mosques were burned.. Never hear the end of it, world leaders would denounce 'sick perpetrators' + 'criminals'. Churches? nada.
— Ron M. (@Jewtastic) August 18, 2013
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