Suspect arrested in June Shia lynching
Security forces arrested Sunday a suspect accused of killing four Shias, including prominent Shia leader Hassan Shehata, in Giza’s Zawyet Abu Musallam in June, Al-Ahram reported.
Ibrahim Khamis was arrested for his involvement in killing four people, attempting to kill others, and setting fire to Shehata’s house during a meeting with other members of the Shia community.
After an angry mob attacked and lynched Shia residents in Zawyet Abu Musallam, video footage showing the gruesome attack circulated online.
Many believed the attack was a result of growing anti-Shia rhetoric generating by some extremist sheikhs. A speech given by now deposed President Mohamed Morsi in a packed stadium days before his July 3 ouster in support of the Syrian rebels, which was preceded by several speeches by Salafi sheikhs who incited against Shias, was believed to be the tipping point.
Shia Muslims are a small minority in predominantly Sunni Muslim Egypt.
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Videos circulating on social media showed a barn owned by some of the residents being set ablaze.
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