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Arrest Made In Egypt Church Dispute

59 people, all Muslims were arrested by Egyptian authorities after a clash broke out in a village, where an extension of a local church was taking place, reported the AFP.

By: Robert Williams
Christian Today Correspondent
Monday, 14 May 2007, 13:17 (EST)
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59 people, all Muslims were arrested by Egyptian authorities after a clash broke out in a village, where an extension of a local church was taking place, reported the AFP.

The AFP reported that 11 Christians were hurt in Friday’s fighting between the two groups, and 25 Christian homes and five shops were damages. The clash comes after the local church wants to make an extension that treads on a disputed land between the religious groups. Christians in Egypt requires authorisations to build churches while this is not the case for mosques.

The Coptic Orthodox Diocese in Sydney reported a recent ‘surge’ in the number of teenage Coptic Christian girls who have suddenly disappeared and later turn up to be married to Muslim men, who in most cases were twice their age.

“In one of the cases in Fayoum, Egypt a young girl was kidnapped and the police refused the church and the family to contact the girl, but to the surprise of everyone they gave permission to a local Satellite TV channel to have a full interview with the girl and her senior husband,” states the Sydney Coptic Orthodox Church in a press statement.

“The interview caused extreme anxiety as it was clear that the girl was suffering of deeply disturbed emotions – not the expected joyful new wife attitude.”



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