In a conflict between Muslims and Coptic Christians in Egypt left 13 dead and 40 injured. The Copts claim that all the dead are Christian, but Muslims say they lost 5 people.
This comes after a church was burned down by Muslim extremists last week. In Egypt, it is extraordinarily difficult to build or repair a church and it takes a presidential decree to do so. This is common in many Muslim countries, however often it's much stricter. In many places, Christians are completely forbidden from building or repairing any existing churches, so people are forced to overfill delapedated churches. In some countries, such as Saudi Arabia, churches are banned outright and public Christian worship is forbidden. Ironically the situation in Egypt may not be as bad as it may become. Hosni Mubarak, when he was in power, maintained a secular government. The Copts fear a Muslim government will take over the reigns once hostilities have subsided and make being Christian, which represents 12% of the population, in that country even more difficult.
The protests are occurring in a part of Cairo known as Garbage City, where the mostly Christian residents eek out an existence by sorting through garbage and converting it to money by finding valuables.
Persecution of Christians in Egypt must end. A secular government is the only way to ensure their rights are not completely destroyed. Keep them in your prayers.
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