Religious Clashes in Egypt: Government Works to Ease Tensions

CAIRO (RIA Novosti)-The Egyptian government will hold an emergency session on Monday to discuss the recent clashes between minority Coptic Christians and Muslims, the worst violence since former President Hosni Mubarak was ousted in February, Egyptian TV said.

The government will also discuss a draft law on religious buildings that is expected to ease sectarian tensions.

At least 24 people were killed and more than 200 wounded in Cairo on Sunday. The bloodshed took place just over a week after the burning of a Coptic Christian church in southern Egypt. That incident prompted the protests on Sunday, which saw Copts demand equality and legal protections for their places of worship.

The violence is an attempt at "stirring of discord between Muslim and Christian sons of Egypt,” Prime Minister Sharaf wrote on his Facebook page. He urged Egyptians to reject the calls for strife.

Discrimination against Copts, who make up about 10 percent of the population of Egypt, had been encouraged by the government of former president Hosni Mubarak, according to a U.S. State Department report on religious freedom published last year. Some Christians say this policy has continued under the military council which took power after Mubarak was ousted in February.