Copts Divided in Nag Hammadi Aftermath

Several things continue to simmer in the wake of the Nag Hammadi Christmas Eve killings. Although the arrested bloggers have now been released, protests in the Coptic Community have been building. Georgette Qollini, a Christian Member of Parliament, has insisted in a debate in Egypt's People's Assembly that the government is refusing to acknowledge that the Nag Hammadi killings were sectarian. Some video interviews in Arabic here. Qollini is a member of the ruling National Democratic Party but is not on board with the party's attempts to paint the killings as criminal rather than sectarian in motivation. I should note that Qollini is one of the Presidentially-appointed members of the People's Assembly. The President gets to appoint ten members and usually uses the power to name women, minorities etc. who hae trouble winning at the polls. As both a Christian and a woman, Qollini probably seemed ideal, but now she's splitting with the Party line.

She has also criticized the local Nag Hammadi governor, himself a Copt and an NDP member.

There is also growing criticism by some Copts of their Church's relative silence. Bishop Kirollos of Nag Hammadi, who was accompanied by the young men who died and may have been the intended target, is being criticized for not more openly denouncing the government in the matter. Although there are reports that some local priests will sue State Security and the local governor, Pope Shenouda's office in Cairo has been clear in noting that it is not a Papal initiative. I've noted before that Shenouda's closeness to Mubarak and the NDP is not all that popular among some Copts (especially Copts abroad); the latest violence, the bloodiest in some years, is making things worse.

The arrests of the bloggers, who were merely going to offer condolences and express Muslim-Christian solidarity, is a reminder of how nervous this is making the government.