- Dec 5, 2010
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Pitched street battles broke out across the impoverished neighborhood of Imbaba, in the western part of Egypts capital, after Salafi Muslims turned out in force to demonstrate outside Saint Menas Church Saturday night.
'Salafists blamed'
"The Salafists are being blamed, but who exactly is responsible is not clear," Al Jazeera's Rawya Rageh, in Cairo, said.
The hardline Muslims were angry over rumors that a Christian woman was being held against her will inside the church because she wanted to convert to Islam and marry a Muslim man. Christians deny the claims.
The Salafis set the front of the church ablaze while Christians were still inside the building, and threw petrol bombs at homes and shops.
"The violence is symptomatic of a bigger problem. In fact, it's about increasing lawlessness in the country since the revolution, and the perception that security forces are being quite lax - not just in dealing with petty crime but with sectarian tension."
Later on Sunday, hundreds of young Christian men ran through central Cairo towards the main state television building calling for the removal of Tantawi, who leads the military council ruling Egypt.
A crowd of Muslim men met them and some sought to calm the Christians' anger but fights broke out and the two groups pelted each other with stones.
AFP: Egypt sectarian deaths slammed amid civil war fear
I know. Just an isolated incident.
Every year there are less Christians in Egypt.