In Cairo’s heavily-populated Christian areas, most Copts are planning to attend Christmas mass, despite the obvious security concerns following the bombing of a church in Alexandria on New Year’s Day that killed 23 people. Coptic Christmas falls on 7 January.
Plain-clothed and uniformed police officers have been deployed around the Omraniya Church in Giza, which fell under the spotlight in late November when police forces clashed with more than 2000 Coptic protesters over a government decision to halt renovation work on a local church. Two Copts were killed in the melee and 157 others arrested, while some church property was damaged.
Although many churchgoers in the area express fears of escalation, they are nevertheless trying to keep their spirits high for the holiday.
“Of course I’m going to attend mass in the evening with my family,” said one, insisting on anonymity. “I’m scared for my life and the lives of my loved ones, but those who die in a church will go directly to heaven.”
Security officials, meanwhile, appear to be taking the threat seriously.
“We need to be on the lookout at all times here,” said one police officer stationed in the area. “In these tense times, we can’t let any small incident pass without investigation.”
In December, Coptic Pope Shenouda III vowed that the Coptic Church would obtain justice for the two Copts killed in the Omraniya clashes.
Attorney-General Abdel Meguid Mahmoud, meanwhile, has ordered the release of 135 Copts arrested during the clashes on humanitarian grounds. And on Tuesday, he released the 23 Copts still in detention to allow them to spend Coptic Christmas with their families.
The predominantly Coptic neighborhood of Manshiyet Nasr east of Cairo has witnessed three demonstrations since the Alexandria church bombing. Hundreds of young men staged protests on Sunday and Wednesday at the entrance of the neighborhood, while surrounded by dozens of security officers. Streets in the area, meanwhile, were bedecked with enormous black banners to symbolize the community’s grief.
Anti-government sentiment among the Copts of Manshiyet Nasr has mounted since mid-2009, when–at the height of the national swine flu crisis–the state ordered the culling of hundreds of thousands of pigs. Since most pig farms are located in and around Manshiyet Nasr, the move outraged many local residents.
Clothing shop employee Romane Girgis explained that, despite the risks associated with attending Christmas mass, most local residents planned to observe the holiday as they would any other year.
“Christians aren’t afraid, and many Muslim friends will accompany us to mass. We live together, so we can die together,” he said with a shrug. “Also, by attending mass, we’re paying our respects to the martyrs of the church bombing.”
Mina, a teenager sitting in a small local coffee shop, is also determined to attend tonight’s mass. “But I’m going to wear black out of respect for the victims of this horrible terrorist attack,” he said.
Nearby, 50-year-old Samira Mohamed Hassan is serving tea in another small coffee shop. “I’ve been living in Manshiyet Nasr for the past 30 years,” she said. “I’m Muslim, but our two communities live in peace together. We drink and eat together, and our relations haven’t been strained by last week’s horrible incident.”
Café patron Shehata Samin chimed in to expresses his anger at those responsible for the crime. “How do these people think?” he asked. “Why do they attack people at prayer instead of attacking sinners in cabarets? It doesn’t make any sense!”
Just down the road, Nagafa Rassmi, a Coptic woman, sits behind the cashier of a small gift shop. “The people who blew up the church are terrorists,” she asserted. “The Muslims of Manshiyet Nasr are our neighbors and friends–there is no confusion here.”
Asked whether she and her family were considering leaving Egypt in the wake of the attack, she said: “There’s no way we are leaving our country. Self-imposed exile is not an option.”
A nearby Coptic monastery, meanwhile, was very quiet this morning, with no more than five police officers stationed at the entrance.
“Guards and officers will arrive at 6 PM, one hour before mass,” explained an elderly man at the entrance of Anba Shenouda Church. “There will be 40 guards at the doors of the monastery, the same number inside the premises, and about 40 on top of that hill,” he added, pointing to a high plateau nearby.
