Alexandria Blast Provokes Clashes

The New Year's Eve bombing in Alexandria of a Coptic Church, which officially left 24 dead and many more injured (though there are rumors of as many as 50 dead) at the Al-Qiddisin church, is the worst terrorist attack in Egypt in some time, as well as the worst outbreak of anti-Christian violence. It toll is heavier than last year's Christmas shooting in Nag Hammadi, which is still a sore point in itself. Though President Mubarak went on television to insist all Egyptians are in this together, there have been a number of reports of Coptic-Muslim clashes in Alexandria and Cairo bfollowing demonstrations by Copts and clashes with police.

You may recall that two months ago, after the terrible church bombing in Baghdad, the Islamic State of Iraq (an Al-Qa‘ida affiliate) threatened Egypt's Copts as well. Egyptians rallied in support at the time, but Christian-Muslim tensions have remained high. Not surprisingly, the Egyptian government is reflexively blaming Al-Qa‘ida for the Alexandria bombing (though old habits die hard and a few in Egypt are blaming Israel). Some Copts seem bothered that the knee-jerk blaming of foreign elements means the government is not serious enough about protecting Copts.

Admittedly, the technique — originally attributed to a car bombing but now to a suicide bomber — is reminiscent in either case of the Iraqi group's tactics in that country, but the Bishop of Alexandria has suggested that the shift in blame to a suicide bomber allows the government to blame a single individual now dead.

Certainly this is a horrible way to start the year, but it's also exacerbating tensions between sectarian groups at a sensitive time. If there is no credible evidence forthcoming of who is really responsible, things could get worse quickly.