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According to official government figures, 59 suspects have been ordered arrested for their alleged role in the rampage. On January 15, state security officials said 19 of those in custody were Muslims, and two were Christians. Local church sources told Compass that 21 Copts were known to be under arrest, 15 detained in El-Kosheh and another six arrested in Cairo.

Cairo's more moderate press has joined official Coptic Orthodox Church circles in blaming the local security police for not preventing the carnage and vandalism, believed to be much more one-sided than reported by the semi-official press.

"To this day," a senior clergyman stated February 9, "there has been no investigation conducted nor any charges filed against any person from the police forces, either a junior or senior officer."

El-Kosheh Christians have named two police officers whom they allege shot and wounded three Copts in the first round of violence on December 31. The conflict began following a dispute along El-Kosheh's main street between a Christian shopkeeper and his Muslim customer. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak denied these allegations in a personal letter faxed to U.S. Congressman Joseph Pitts on January 6, stating it was "totally inaccurate" that "the first gunshots fired were by two security officers." A third policeman was accused of killing one of the victims by the dead man's wife and daughter, who reportedly witnessed the shooting.

On January 17, Mubarak promised that "Egyptians will swiftly be told the truth" about the violence that erupted between December 31 and January 4 at El-Kosheh. On the heels of the president's pledge that investigators would demonstrate "complete transparency and neutrality," the justice minister said the prosecutors' findings would be announced "within a week."

Ten days later, however, Mubarak publicly blamed "subversive foreign elements" for instigating the violence in an attempt to destabilize Egypt. Results of the government investigation have yet to be released.

As the official publication of the Coptic Orthodox Church in Egypt, Al-Kiraza magazine warned in its January 21 issue that "the (El-Kosheh) problem will not be resolved by covering up, or by painting the victims as criminals."

"In all honesty," the article continued, "attempting to cover up the previous events … has led to the escalation of the problem in a horrific manner."

A predominantly Coptic Christian village 250 miles south of Cairo, El-Kosheh had been the focus of international inquiries in the fall of 1998, when local police were accused of brutality against 1,200 Coptic villagers arrested in a murder investigation. An official government inquiry exonerated the policemen involved.

Copyright © 2000 Compass Direct. Used with permission.

See also other past articles about Egypt's Coptic church:
Egypt's Christians seek answers after deadly riots | At least 21 Christians killed in clash with Muslims (Jan. 13, 2000)
Church of the Martyrs | Copts thrive in the face of bloody carnage, legal restraint, and discrimination (Aug. 11, 1997)
Did Carey Really Deny that Copts Are Persecuted? | Was the Archbishop of Canterbury misquoted? What did he really mean? (Dec. 20, 1999)
New Coptic Church Forcibly Closed (Oct. 5, 1998)
Extremists Kill Coptic Christians (Apr. 28, 1997)
The U.S. Department of State and Freedom House have both issued reports criticizing the persecution of Christians in Egypt.
For more news articles and resources about Egypt and the recent violence between Christians and Muslims, see Yahoo!'s Full Coverage site on Egypt.
For more information about the Coptic church, see Coptic.net

Copyright © 2004 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

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February (Web-only) 2000, Vol. 44