Continuing their call for Muslim-Christian unity, Egyptian newspaper editorialists on Thursday described the attack on the Church of the Two Saints, Saint Mark and Pope Peter, as “not sectarian,” but against Egypt as a whole. A few writers took a different stance, however.
In Al-Misrī al-Yawm, Karīmah Kamāl criticized the investigation, saying “there is no real political will to solve or face the [the problem], the solution has been abbreviated to a security solution.” She added that the government is trying to cover up what happened by claiming it is not fitnah.
Al-Shurūq writer Muhammad al-Makhzinjī criticizes Al-Ahrām's Editor-in-Chief Usāmah Sarāyā’s statements after the attack, which blamed the Hizb Allāh group. He also disapproves of People's Assembly Speaker Fathī Surūr's denial of the existence of sectarian aggression in Egypt.
Many editorialists praised Pope Shenouda’s position and statements concerning the attack, saying that he has handled the situation wisely. One such article that did so was written by Makram Muhammad Ahmad in Al-Ahrām.
Muhammad ‘Alī Ibrāhīm, Editor in Chief of al-Jumhūriyyah, writes that the reason behind choosing Alexandria as the place of the attack is because it is a symbol for Copts, in addition to having many Muslim Brotherhood members.
Al-Jumhūriyyah’s ‘Azah Ahmad Haykal writes that education is the solution for fitnah tā’ifīyah.
In Rose al-Yūsuf, 'Irīnī Thābit answers the question of why people become suicidal. She says this is because they were socially isolated and their psychological freedom was chained before their physical one.
Kamāl ‘Āmir mentions that the government and the security forces are doing everything they can to protect Egyptian citizens.
Sāmih Fawzī discusses how to improve on the idea of the Muslim-Christian “Family Council” suggested by Grand Imām of the Azhar, Shaykh Ahmad al-Tayyib. Fawzī says that the council should not merely be one that simply makes an official statement after a crisis takes place.
In al-Fajr, Muhammad al-Bāz spotlights some of the people who he says contributed to Alexandria’s attack by inciting anger and prejudice: Muhammad Salīm al-‘Awwā by his accusations that churches and monasteries store weapons; Muhammad ‘Imārah by allowing the shedding of Copts' blood because they are considered Kāfirs; Priest Zakariyyā Butrus by cursing the prophet and the Qur’ān; Bishop Bīshūy by his statement describing Muslims as guests in Egypt and asking for a review of the Qur’ān; Zaghlūl al-Najjār by accusing the church of killing Wafā’ Constantine; finally, Ahmad al-Mahalāwī by supporting a boycott against Copts, which affected them economically and socially.
‘Ādil Hammūdah in Al-Fajr suggests that Egypt's crisis is not sectarian, but democratic. “Our silence when the Bahā’ī's homes were burned led to Copts massacre," he says.
‘Isām al-‘Iryān blames the political regime for the attack, saying that injustice led Christians to run to churches as their shelter, which led to the explosion.
An article with the name “Jesus' Tears” had several noteworthy statements. For instance, in the recent Israeli espionage case, one of the suspects admitted that he was assigned to penetrate Islamic groups and recruit some of their members to use them in terrorist attacks against Copts in Egypt. It also claimed that al-Qā‘idah is at the top of the suspect list because this attack matches other operations they have carried out. The article claimed that Israel is allocating money to strike at Egyptian national unity and likes to commit crimes by the hands of others. Finally, it says that the Muslim Brotherhood is not involved with these attacks. The writer wonders if Salafīyin have anything to do with it.
In Al-Misrī al-Yawm ‘Amr al-Shubkī denies that Israel has anything to do with the attack.
In Al-Ahrām, ‘Abd al-Muhsin Salāmah writes that there are accumulated mistakes Christians and Muslims are responsible for.
An interesting caricature was shown in Al-Dustūr, which portrayed an extremist holding a remote control device and exploding the church. Meanwhile, a Jew is shown holding a remote control that he uses to control the extremist.
Also appearing was the opinion article of Usāmah al-Ghazūli, who complains that, if every time an accident happens a Copt would say that it was a Muslim who did it, then the nation would be well on its way to destruction.
