Political analysts warn of growing sectarianism in Egypt

7 people died in clashes between Christians and Muslims on Sunday night Egyptian political analysts have warned about the worrying rise in sectarian violence in recent weeks, following an assault on a Coptic funeral in Cairo by security forces on Sunday. Egypt was on edge Monday after a night of sporadic violence outside Cairo's main cathedral following the death of seven people in clashes between Christians and Muslims.
Islamist President Mohammed Morsi has promised to launch an immediate investigation into the bloodshed.
Calm was restored outside St Mark's as police deployed in force at the cathedral in the central neighbourhood of Abbassiya, where several Coptic Christians were still gathered in the morning.
The death toll from the clashes outside the cathedral rose to two, according to an updated health ministry toll issued on Monday.
A day earlier, mourners had packed the cathedral for prayers to honour four Copts who had been killed in sectarian clashes in a town north of the Egyptian capital that also left one Muslim dead.
Egyptian Union for Human Rights chairman Naguib Gebrael has called on President Mohammed Morsi to take full responsibility for the attacks, after Christians were deliberately targeted, he said.
“The president has not taken any steps to contain these incidents,” Gebrael argued.
“Residents in Abbassiya backed Copts at the funeral, but security forces did not protect them. Security forces failed.”
Denying earlier reports that National Salvation Front (NSF) activists were behind the attacks, Gebrael stressed the front “has never stormed or attacked churches.”
“The Islamists besiege our courts, Media Production City and now they’re doing it with churches – killing 51 Copts in total,” he claimed.
Gebrael, who is himself a Copt, urged other Egyptian Christians to turn to international law and European rights organisations to protect themselves from future sectarianism.
Egyptian political expert Emad Gad has also criticised President Morsi’s stance on other religions, claiming the country’s Copts face “systematic persecution.”
Both analysts suggest Muslim attacks on Christians come after Coptic youth groups publicly backed Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayyeb, Grand Imam of Cairo’s al-Azhar mosque and university.
Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) spokesman Mohammed Sudan has meanwhile blamed a “conspiracy aimed at destabilising the country” for sectarian violence.
The Catholic Church has called on Egypt’s Interior Ministry to accept responsibility for Sunday’s violence, warning of future repercussions.
Sunday's service was being held for the four Christians killed in the sectarian clashes two days earlier.
The violence in al-Khusus, a poor area in Qalyubia province, flared on Friday after a Muslim in his 50s allegedly objected to children drawing a swastika on a religious institute.
The incident sparked rioting during which a church was partially burnt and a Christian's home torched.
Clashes in the town erupted again on Sunday evening, police said.
Christians form between six and 10 percent of Egypt's population of nearly 83 million people.