Suspicions and sadness overwhelm the little town Nagaa Hammadi after the death of six Copts and a Muslim guard, shot by three Muslim gunmen. Al-Masry Al-Youm asked people on the street in Cairo: Do you think the clashes that broke out in Naga Hammadi were sectarian violence or criminal action?
Mohamed Ali, 30, employee in a computer firm: “It is a criminal action as a consequence of raping the young girl. However, those crazy people, who killed the Christians, do not represent our whole society. I will never think about harming my Christian neighbor because God orders us in Quran to respect other religions.”
Hajj Ahmed, 60, newspaper kiosk owner: “I think it is a Jewish conspiracy against Egyptians to distort our image in the West. They hired hit men to shoot some Christians. Jews aim at causing sectarian strife between Egyptian Muslims and Christians.”
Ahmed el Sayed, 33, lawyer: “Of course, it is criminal action because we all love one another here. It is the media that always tends to exaggerate this issue. Why doesn’t it focus on vendetta where Muslims kill each other every day in Upper Egypt and nobody bothers to stop that?”
Said Safwat, 40, science teacher: “There isn’t sectarian strife in Egypt. It is so clear that they are taking revenge for the rape of a 12-year-old Muslim girl by a Christian man.”
Mostafa Abul Kheir, 48, employee at HSBC: “After this terrible accident, the situation calls for effective action by the government to stop the growing sectarian strife before it turns to civil wars like other countries in the region.”
