A Christian teenager has been detained by military authorities in Egypt for posting images of Muslim’s prophet Muhammad on his Facebook page.
The 17-year-old Coptic student, identified as Gamal Massoud, however, has denied knowledge of the incident. He said the images were posted on his Facebook wall without his knowledge.
With this incident, tensions between Egypt’s Coptic Christians and the Muslim community have reached a new high.
News reports quoting an unnamed security official said Saturday that Massoud will remain in custody for four days, and could face charges of ‘contempt for Islam.’
The youth’s arrest led to rioting in Assuit in southern Eygpt where Muslim villagers went on a rampage attacking Massoud’s home and the houses of other Christians. Military forces were deployed in the town with orders to tear gas Muslim protesters.
Since the Arab Spring uprisings in February last year, Egypt has seen a mass exodus of Christians. One report said as many as 93,000 Christians left Egypt since March.
Observers say the Islamic uprising has bolstered several fringe Muslim fundamentalist groups to go mainstream.
In what has been called the Maspero massacre, violent clashes between Muslims and Christians were reported on Oct 9.
Three soldiers have been charged with ‘involuntary manslaughter’ in the Maspero massacre. However, protesters have expressed dissatisfaction with the charge. They fear the authorities would go soft on the soldiers and eventually absolve them of the crime.
