Egyptian Evangelical Church Attacked with Stones and Gas Bombs

Coptic woman, sitting in Kasr El-Dobara, ponders.

According to Al Masry Al Youm, Kasr El-Dobara, the largest evangelical church in the Middle East, located in Egypt, was recently besieged by “unknown people” hurling “stones and gas bombs. ” The first gas bomb thrown at the church Thursday afternoon, September 13, was signaled as an error by police, but it was soon followed by other bomb attacks, which went into midnight and early Friday. Worshippers locked themselves inside the church and put on masks to avoid gas poisoning.

Some of those trapped inside looked for help by trying to contact politicians, journalists, and even the “moderate” Muslim Brotherhood. All the latter did was announce on TV that the attackers were not members of the Muslim Brotherhood. After the besiegers left and the trapped Christians finally came out, not a single police or security agent to counter the attacks or protect the church could be found.

And today, Reuters reports that “Most Christians living near Egypt’s border with Israel are fleeing their homes after Islamist militants made death threats and gunmen attacked a Coptic-owned shop.”