A massive brawl between Muslims and Christians erupted on the streets of Egypt, leading to the arrest of dozens of men.
UK Express reported that the violence began over an argument that two men had over a donkey cart. Christians and Muslims in the surrounding crowd joined in as the fighting escalated the men began to smash cars and set fire to business outlets. According to CBN News, the police arrested nearly two dozen men.
Religious tensions between Muslims and Christians in Egypt have been ongoing for years. This is especially true in the country's Minya region, where a majority of the country's Christians live. In fact, the region had witnessed a wave of religious riots this summer, after which Bishop Makarios of Minya pleaded, as NY Times reported, "Please, for Christ's sake, avoid this behaviour. We are at a breaking point. People can't put up with any more of this."
Statistically, Christians make up only 10% of Egypt's population, while Sunni Muslims make up the majority. The attacks on the minority group have been frequent, and the country's Christians have long complained of facing discrimination.
This July, there was a violent incident wherein several young Muslims destroyed a Christian's place of business. The attack was triggered by rumours that suggested that the place was to be converted into a church. A video of the incident was posted on YouTube.
A couple of months prior to this attack, another incident occurred when a mob of around 300 Muslim men stripped a 70-year-old woman naked, and had her paraded through the streets of a village in Karama. Local officials denied that such an incident even occurred.
Bishop Makarios said of this incident, "After that woman was stripped, we couldn't be quiet, not after that. Had they (local officials) apologised or said they would follow it up, it would be different, but this was an insult to Egypt."