Cairo’s teeming Shubra district, which has a significantly large number of Christian residents, is preparing to celebrate Coptic Christmas amid a particularly charged atmosphere this year. Following the Alexandria church bombing on New Year's Eve–in which 23 people were killed and scores injured–protests and clashes with police have abounded in Shubra, with eight solidarity activists arrested and a tighter-than-usual security presence in and around churches.
"The atmosphere in the area is calm but tense. Police are patrolling the streets," Fayez Kirolos, a resident of Shubra's Teraa al-Bulaqiya neighborhood, said. "But despite these conditions, I plan to attend Christmas mass at the church near our home."
Another Christian resident of Shubra, Sandra George, expressed more trepidation.
"I will not be attending church today. Churchgoers are very worried,” she said. “Moreover, the priest at our church–the Virgin Mary Church of Ayyad Bek–has canceled the annual Christmas celebrations that had been scheduled for tomorrow."
“Security forces have positioned chains and barriers in front of many churches to prevent cars from parking outside," she added.
According to George, who lives in Shubra’s Geziret Badran neighborhood, demonstrations have largely subsided since yesterday, “but there are still many security vehicles on the streets." As for security personnel deployed outside Shubra's churches, she added, "there are more policemen stationed around churches, but there is only one policeman in front our church."
Thousands of Coptic demonstrators have staged protests in Shubra since the New Year’s Eve bombing, while hundreds of Muslim and secular opposition activists have joined the demonstrations to express solidarity with the Coptic community.
"On Wednesday we went to the Church of the Virgin Mary (also in Shubra) and asked clergymen there if we could attend Christmas mass in solidarity with Christian worshipers,” said activist Malek Mustafa. “They said that they welcomed us, but that they had orders from security officials that nobody except Christian worshipers be allowed to attend mass today."
"We were told the same thing at the Omraniya Church in Giza,” Mustafa added. “So we’ve decided to attend Christmas mass in Zamalek."
On 3 January, police arrested eight Muslim solidarity activists, including Al-Masry Al-Youm's Mostafa Mohie. The non-violent activists were released on Thursday after spending nearly four days in police custody. Police have charged them with assaulting security personnel and destroying public and private property. All the defendants strenuously deny the charges.
A court is scheduled to hear the case on 13 January, but defense lawyers say the charges will most likely be dropped.
Shubra is one of the districts of capital in which Christmas is most visibly celebrated. One of Shubra's best known sons was Nazir Gayyed, who was elected to the Egyptian Papacy–under the name Pope Shenouda III–in 1971.
