The deadly Muslim-Christian clashes that occurred a month ago in Kosheh have raised
fears that Egypt is heading down a dangerous slope of religious intolerance.
Some analysts say the violence in Kosheh is evidence that although the government has crushed Islamic militant groups, it has failed to prevent their ideas from taking root in much of the Nile Valley.
These ideas have in turn provoked fanatical reactions from the Coptic Christian minority, they said.
In interviews from Cairo to the deep southern town of Kosheh, many Egyptians voiced mistrust and scorn for the other religion, while others said Egypt enjoyed religious harmony and that Kosheh was an isolated incident.
Coptic writer Milad Hanna, who lives in Cairo, insisted the violence which claimed 22
lives here on January 2, almost all of them Copt, flows from growing intolerance manifested in alien "Bedouin fundamentalism."
Hanna called for a government-led media and educational drive against intolerance.
Salama Ahmed Salama, the managing editor and columnist for the government daily Al
Ahram, agreed that a campaign had to be conducted on television and in the schools
to reverse what he saw as growing intolerance.
Intolerance has grown since Islamists gained strength in the 1970s as late president Anwar Sadat backed them to undermine the Nasserites.
Salama, a Muslim, added that some Copts have reacted with a fanaticism of their own
and warned that pressure from Coptic groups in the United States could backfire by
stirring more suspicion from Muslims.
Makarios Yusef Labib, a Coptic priest, agrees that such pressure will only cause problems.
Father Makarios said religious leaders can resolve what he dismissed as minor sectarian
disputes, then escorted AFP to a mosque in the city of Abu Qurqas to meet a sheikh
whom he embraced.
The two recalled how a recent dispute between a Muslim and Christian family was
resolved over tea.
But Hanna and Salama insisted that such methods at finding solutions were not enough, nor was the government’s heavy reliance on the security forces.
Both sides blamed each other for starting a December 31 dispute in a Coptic shop that
led two days later to the killings in this poor, dusty town where Christians form a
majority of the 35,000 inhabitants, a rare case in Egypt.
Copts, particularly those in the former militant stronghold of Asyut, said they were
enjoying better times than they were ten years ago as the government crushed Islamic militants and endorsed freer economic policies.
But the Copts, most of whom refused to give their full name, still voiced mistrust.
They also said they only indirectly benefited from new economic policies adopted by a
government that still discriminates against them in the bureaucracy, police and army,
education system, and other areas.
Many Copts do well in trade and business, they say, because they have so few other
choices.
Salama said greater democracy would allow Egyptians to vent frustrations outside of
religious channels and permit Copts to increase their representation in public life.
But more Koshehs could occur if the government fails to make changes and "go deep
into the roots of the problem," Salama warned.
