Interfaith romance fuels Egypt’s sectarian row

CAIRO (AP) — An Egyptian security official and a priest say police fired tear gas and clashed with a stone-throwing mob of Muslims who had surrounded a Coptic Church in anger over an inter-faith romance.

The Muslim protesters accuse the church of helping to secret away 21-year-old Rana el-Shazli, believed to have converted to Christianity before fleeing her small town with a Coptic Christian man to Turkey.

The alleged romance ignited sectarian tension in Wasta, a rural town in Beni Suef province, about 95 kilometers (60 miles) south of Cairo. Clashes flared anew on Friday after weekly Muslim prayers.

For more than a month, Muslims have attacked churches over the incident and forced Christians to close their shops in the town.

Christians make up nearly 10 percent of Egypt’s population of 90 million.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.