For Arab World's Christians, An Uncertain Fate
As Egypt plunges into unrest amid the military-backed government's crackdown on demonstrators, the country's Christian minority has been targeted by Islamic extremists.
Dozens of churches have been burned, ransacked and looted since the government began fighting against supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood and ousted President Mohammed Morsi two weeks ago.
Video posted on YouTube shows the streets of the city of Minya, 190 miles south of Cairo, by night, an orange glow in the sky. The video shows flames bursting from the arched windows of a Coptic Christian church. Young men toss wooden boards and rocks at the facade.
Activists and human rights groups say this scene has played out dozens of times around the country, where Christians make up approximately 10 percent of the population.
The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, an Egyptian human rights group, has documented attacks on at least 45 churches this summer. Eight schools were also attacked, along with two charities and at least one orphanage.
"Burning our churches, killing our brothers and sisters and looting our shops and our stores," says Mina Thabet, an engineer and activist with the Coptic Christian group Maspero Youth Union, tells Jacki Lyden, host of weekends on All Things Considered, from Cairo. "I have seen the real meaning of hate."
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