Cairo police clash with Christian rioters, 1 dead

[November 24, 2010]  CAIRO (AP) -- Hundreds of Christian rioters smashed cars and windows in Cairo Wednesday and clashed with police in protests against a halt in construction of a church that left one person dead, officials said.

It was not immediately clear how the Christian protester was killed. Police fired tear gas and beat back rioters who threw stones at the officers and at a municipal building. Thirty people were injured in the clashes and 85 were arrested.

Egyptian security officials said the riots erupted outside a municipal building in the suburb of Giza, near the famed pyramids. The protesters were angry after authorities halted construction on a church, claiming the local Christian community had violated a building permit. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not allowed to speak to the media.

About 15 security vehicles surrounded the area where the church is and there was heavy security in the suburb after the clashes subsided.

Coptic Christians make up about 10 percent of Egypt's population of 80 million. They complain frequently of discrimination, though Christians generally live in peace with the Muslim majority with occasional flare-ups of tension and violence.

The Coptic community says authorities in Egypt are reluctant to approve permits to build churches, which they say they need to accommodate growing numbers of worshippers. One way to evade the rules is to obtain permits for Christian service centers, which they then turn to churches. Authorities say this was the case with the church at the center of the riots on Wednesday.

Human rights groups say attacks on Copts are on the rise, underscoring the government's failure to address chronic sectarian strains in a society where religious radicalism is gaining ground.

The government insists Christians enjoy the same rights as Muslims.

[Associated Press; By MAGGIE MICHAEL]

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