Archbishop Girgis Gamil of Mit Bashar village in Sharqiya on Tuesday said the village is calm again after tensions flared Saturday following the two-day disappearance of a Christian girl who had converted to Islam.
“The Freedom and Justice Party and the imams of the mosques played a significant role in calming the angry villagers,” the archbishop told Al-Masry Al-Youm on Tuesday.
"The Muslim village elders made a human shield to protect the church and my house,” he added. “Some of them were wounded.”
News reports said the village has seen tension in the past two days after the disappearance of 14-year-old Rania Khalil on Saturday. A number of angry Muslims gathered at the church during the last couple of days accusing the church of hiding the girl.
State-run Al-Ahram newspaper said security forces succeeded in dispersing the crowd outside the church on Monday.
Al-Ahram reported that security forces had Khalil in custody on Monday and said they interrogated her to clarify the reasons for her disappearance.
The liberal Al-Wafd newspaper said Khalil and her brother Reda converted to Islam a year ago after their father did. The paper also said the girl got engaged to a Muslim two weeks ago before she disappeared for on Saturday.
