CAIRO, Jan. 13 (UPI) -- International rights groups and Christian supporters blame a rise in Islamic extremism for increased attacks on the Coptic community in Egypt.
Gunmen opened fire following the Jan. 6 midnight mass for the Coptic Christmas Eve, killing six members of the native Egyptian Christian faith and a Muslim security guard.
Youssef Sidhom, the editor of the Coptic weekly newspaper Watany, told the U.N. humanitarian news agency IRIN that lingering sentiments against non-Muslims in Egypt has manifested itself in violence.
"Everything in this country is leading up to a situation where non-Muslims are hated, denigrated, and even marginalized," he said. "Our education (system) fills the students with nothing but hatred and fear of those who are different."
Copts complain Egyptian authorities ignore violence against non-Muslims, adding many officials choose not to address the matter.
Amnesty International in a 2008 report on the situation said "sporadic clashes" between Copts and Muslims were on the rise. Cairo's Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, meanwhile, said religious freedoms for the Coptic community were suppressed heavily.
Gen. Fouad Allam, the former head of Egyptian security services, complained the state education system and religious television channels "spread nothing but hatred," adding dealing with the issue as a security matter was "a gross mistake."
