NGOs blame Brotherhood and state for rise in sectarian violence

Sixteen Egyptian human rights organizations have expressed concern over the increasing sectarian violence targeting Christians since the ouster of former President Mohamed Morsi.

In a statement issued today, the organizations also strongly condemn rhetoric used by the Muslim Brotherhood and its allies “which includes clear incitement to violence and religious hatred in order to achieve political gains.”

The NGOs say that the state’s failure to protect Egypt’s Christians or enforce the law against perpetrators of sectarian violence is a “manifestation of the pattern of impunity which spread during the [Hosni] Mubarak era and remained in place during the rule of the Muslim Brotherhood.”

The latest sectarian incident occurred in the village of Bani Ahmed in the Upper Egyptian governorate of Minya this week when an argument between a Muslim and a Christian in a coffee shop led to an attack on the village in which one person died and at least three houses were burned down.

The NGO statement says that state institutions and security forces failed to intervene in order to quell the rising tensions between Bani Ahmed’s majority Christian population and Morsi supporters from neighboring villages.

The statement also makes reference to violence against Christians in Northern Sinai, including the kidnapping of Magdy Lamaai, who was murdered after his family was unable to pay the ransom demanded by his kidnappers.

The NGOs call on Islamist groups to reject violence and put an end to rhetoric that incites violence or religious hatred. The statement also calls for urgent impartial investigations into sectarian violence and for the state to ensure that individuals responsible are held to account.