Attack on Shiites in Egypt stirs anger

The killing of four Shiites in a sectarian conflict in a village in Egypt's Giza governorate on Sunday has triggered outrage of state officials as well as different political forces. Dozens of Sunnis from Abu Musallam village on Sunday burned a house in which 15 Shiites stayed, after one of the Shiites delivered a religious speech deemed by Sunnis as offensive and insulting to the companions and the wife of Prophet Mohammed. The Sunni Muslims hurled stones and Molotov cocktails at the house. Four of the Shiites were caught by the Sunnis and beaten to death. Angered by the incident, the Egyptian presidency on Monday strongly condemned it, assuring that the security apparatus will pursue the perpetrators and bring them to justice. "The state would never tolerate attempts to undermine national security and unity," said the presidency. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Hesham Qandil said the killing " contradicts with principles of all religions." Official MENA news agency quoted a source in Giza security directorate as assuring that some of the perpetrators who were involved in the incident have been uncovered and are "currently being pursued," noting that stability has been regained in the village where the murders took place. For his part, Egyptian Grand Mufti Shawki Ibrahim warned against any attempts to ignite sectarian rift. Meanwhile, the April 6 Movement blamed the incident on the leadership's "silence" over the recently-propagated sectarian speeches and on the "reluctance" of the security apparatus. The Egyptian Democratic Social Party, in a statement, considered the incident "an assault" against the Islamic values that support freedom of belief. "The incident is resulted from the sectarian speeches recently used by some Islamists," the party said. The Egyptian Shura Council (upper house) also censured in its session Monday the attack, saying that "citizenship" should be the basic principle to deal with all Egyptians. Describing the incident as "heinous crime," Essam al-Erian, deputy head of the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party, said all citizens have the freedom of belief and expression. On the other hand, head of the Shiite Current in Egypt, Mohamed Ghoneim, described the incident as "shocking and lamentable," demanding an international protection of the Shiites in Egypt.