Ten hurt in Christian-Muslim clashes in Egypt*

Reuters
Friday, May 11, 2007; 1:26 PM

CAIRO (Reuters) - At least 10 Egyptian Christians were injured on Friday
in sectarian clashes after rumors spread in a village near Cairo that
Christians planned to build a church without government permission,
security sources said.

They said four Christian homes in the village of Behma were set on fire
during the clashes that erupted after Muslim Friday prayers.

The security sources said police intervened to stop the clashes, in
which close to 500 people took part, and arrested 17 people from both
faiths.

Coptic Christians comprise up to 10 percent of the about 75 million
Egyptians, most of whom are Sunni Muslims.

Relations between the two communities are usually peaceful but there are
sporadic outbreaks of violence. In 1999, 22 people were killed in
communal strife in southern Egypt.