Christians Under Attack

The church was licensed by republican decree no 457 of 1999 and was built on a 1000 square metre plot of land allocated for that purpose by the State. In 2000, a 5000-square-metre plot adjacent to the church’s western wall was also allocated to the church In February 2007 Matrouh governor Lieutenant General Mohamed Abdel-Hamid al-Shahaat re-allocated 1000 sq.m of the land to the research body Protecting Marina’s Coast Authority, and the remaining 4000sq.m. to Esprit tourist investment company, which accordingly erected a barbed wire fence around the land.
Those in charge of the church filed a complaint to the President and to minister of local development Abdel-Salam Mahgoub who asked Lieutenant General Shahaat to annul the allocation to Protecting Marina’s Coast
In the morning of the next day a building squad arrived at the site on the pretext that Matrouh governor had ordered a road to be built on the land. The congregation went wild with fury. The men and women gathered at the construction site, throwing their bodies on the earth to prevent the work. The security forces were called in; they harshly questioned the church priests, and detained 11 men. They surrounded the site, but the congregation kept their ground.
On Wednesday morning the stand-off ended, the security forces withdrew, and the 11 detainees were released. But a state of wary suspense reigns as the congregation awaits the governor’s decision regarding the intended road which brought on the crisis.
The crisis between the government and the Coptic Church because of the dispute over a piece of land allocated to the Church has escalated. Anba Bakhoumious, archbishop of Beheira, accompanied with several members of the clergy and prominent Coptic laymen—including MP Georgette Qellini—headed to the site on Egypt’s North Coast last Sunday to officially receive the land from a hand-over governmental committee, but the committee never showed up. The Copts were informed the hand-over date was postponed, with the possibility that the matter would be taken to court for judgement.
The issue is now not one of a dispute between the Church and the government, but is more between the Local Development Ministry and Matrouh governorate, both of which claim the right to dispense with the land. If the matter cannot be settled between them on the administrative level it will have to be taken to court.

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