CAIRO, Jan. 11 (UPI) -- Christians are part of the Arab community and should get equal protection from terrorist threats, the Arab league secretary-general said.
Minority Christian community from Iraq, Nigeria and Egypt have been targets of an increasing number of attacks in recent months.
Twenty-one people died New Year's Day when a Coptic Christian church in Alexandra was bombed, setting off days of protests and riots by Christians who said the government encouraged discrimination and didn't do enough to protect Coptic Christians.
Amr Moussa, the secretary-general of the Arab League, said Christians were part of the Arab world and deserved equal protection.
Egyptian Ambassador to Germany Ramzy Issaldin Ramzy said extremism was a chronic issue, adding terrorists were trying to split the fabric of Arab society, the Muslim Brotherhood said through its Ikhwanweb site.
Moussa added that Egypt was united in its fight against extremists wherever they strike.
He cautioned, however, that the Christian issue wasn't something for Western countries and the European Union to meddle with, arguing it shouldn't be used as a policy for intervention.
