JERUSALEM – Hundreds of Muslims over the weekend tried to set a local Egyptian Christian's home on fire after he announced he would turn the structure into a church, an Egyptian security source and local Christians told WND.

At least four Christian Copts and two Muslim policemen were wounded in the clashes that ensued this past Friday after about 500 local Muslims descended upon the small Christian village of Al-Hawasiliya, vowing to burn down the house.

Local Christians told WND the Muslim mob was provoked at local mosque services.

"The imams deliberately worked up the congregants against us," a local Christian told WND yesterday.

The Muslims accused the Christian home owner of attempting to build a church without the proper local permits. Islamic Shariah law, not explicitly accepted by the Egyptian government, forbids the construction of any new churches in a Muslim state. Existing churches are allowed to remain but cannot be expanded and cannot conduct public ceremonies or ring church bells.

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Egyptian police eventually stepped in to stop the Muslim crowd, but not before they first set several nearby Christian farms on fire, a security source in Egypt told WND.

This was not the first time Egyptian Christians were targeted on suspicion they might build a church. In 2007, WND reported Muslims in Egypt attacked local Christians and set fire to their shops and homes after the Christian community was accused of attempting to build a church. The Egyptian government heavily restricts the construction or enlargement of churches, requiring permits for any Christian building.

Coptic Christians constitute between 8 and 15 percent of Egypt's population. They are regularly targeted by the country's Muslim majority.

In April, WND quoted local Christian leaders charging an Egypt government policy to slaughter the country's pigs as a stated precaution against swine flu was also aimed at targeting and weakening Egypt's long-persecuted Christian community. Almost the entire pig farming community in Egypt is run by Coptic Christians.

Egypt that month started seizing and slaughtering herds of pigs in a bid to rid the country of its swine, explaining it was a safety precaution against swine flu. The move was heavily criticized by the United Nations, which put out a statement that the mass cull of up to 400,000 pigs was "a real mistake" since the new flu strain has not been found in pigs.

Christians are effectively restricted from senior Egyptian government, military or educational positions, and any worship services require the permission of the government.

The Coptic Church, a major Christian community in Egypt, reportedly dates back to the origins of Christianity. Christians were the majority in Egypt until several centuries after the Arab conquest of the 7th century.

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