Seven defendants were arrested in al-Awr village in the Samalout locality, Minya Governorate, following clashes between Muslims and Copts over the construction of a church.
Security authorities were able to restore order to the village.
Awr village is where many of the Egyptian Copts, who were recently killed by the IS in Libya, came from.
A Coptic businessman bought a piece of land at the entrance of the village to build a church commemorating the Coptic victims who were killed in Libya upon instructions from President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.
Some Muslim residents staged a protest against the construction of the church on Friday. They returned at night and attacked the Virgin Mary Church, according to priest Stephenos Shehata of the Coptic Orthodox Church in Samalout.
Shehata accused the Muslim Brotherhood of being behind the incident in an attempt to embarrass Sisi.
The clashes, which were initially an exchange of stones, led to the burning of a car and resulted in one injury.
Christians are approximately 10 percent of Egypt’s population of almost 90 million. They often complain of discrimination and say laws make it easier to build a mosque than a church.
Clashes sometimes erupt between Copts and Muslims due to land conflicts or disputes over church constructions.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
