Increasing religious turmoil in Egypt

HUNDREDS of Egyptian Muslims tried on Friday to set on fire the home of a Coptic Christian in southern Egypt after he announced plans to turn it into a church, a security official said.

The Christian had angered Muslims in the village of Hawasliya, near the southern town of Minya, earlier this week by saying he would turn his four-storey house into a church, he told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Residents complained to the authorities arguing that the Copt did not have the proper permit to carry out the transformation and their anger boiled over after Friday weekly Muslim prayers, the official added.

Emerging from mosques, around 500 Muslims gathered near the house to try to set it ablaze but the police prevented it. MORE HERE