Passions and churches aflame

FREEDOM is not for free, said a sign raised in Cairo's Tahrir Square during the revolution that overthrew Egypt's government. Since then, the price of greater freedom seems to have fallen disproportionately on the large Coptic Christian minority. Sectarian clashes, a dismal feature of Egyptian life for more than a decade, have risen alarmingly.

The latest one, in the Cairo slum of Imbaba on May 7th, left 12 people dead, more than 200 injured and several churches smashed, with one burned to cinders along with Christian-owned shops and homes. The trouble began when a small group of Salafists—Muslims inspired by Saudi-style puritanism, supposedly harking back to the time of the Prophet Muhammad—marched on a church in response to rumours that a female convert to Islam had been kidnapped and was being held there. Local Christians surrounded the building to protect it. With police failing to act and crowds gathering, shots were fired. The mêlée lasted into the early morning.

For months Salafist preachers had roused passions with similar tales of forced reconversions of women, which the ageing and equally conservative church leadership only feebly denied. The women in most of these cases appear to have resorted to converting to Islam to escape unhappy marriages, since the Coptic church bans divorce. It says they either never converted or sought sanctuary in the church to return to Christianity. The Salafists cite rules of Islam that forbid leaving the faith, and accuse the church of kidnapping and brainwashing their Muslim “sisters”.

Such sectarian sniping, inflamed by traditional notions of women as the repository of family honour, has not been the only cause of strife. Other recent cases have seen Muslim mobs attack Christian property following rumours that Christians were hoarding weapons, building churches illegally or engaging in black magic. Egypt's government has paid compensation, offered to rebuild churches, and held public reconciliation meetings between religious leaders. But, wary of riling Muslims, it has seldom brought miscreants to trial.

This time may be different. Mobile-phone cameras captured Salafists inciting violence, as well as gun- and club-wielding men rampaging through a church. Testimony from witnesses suggests that former officers of Egypt's now-disgraced secret police, as well as members of the former ruling party, may also have helped stir trouble. Government officials say they will prosecute offenders to the full extent of the law. Through media commentary and street protests, mainstream Egyptians have voiced outrage and disgust at the strife. Yet Egypt's Christians feel increasingly besieged, fearful that the revolution, which inspired scenes of cross-sectarian harmony, may end up empowering bigots.