According to the local priest and Coptic spokesman, last Friday’s assault on a proposed Coptic Christian church proposed to be built, with President Sisi’s permission, to honor the 21 Coptic Christians who were slaughtered by the Islamic State in Libya, was all too typical and a reminder that Islamic sharia sentiment continues to trump the sovereignty of the Egyptian state. During an interview he said:
First, what happened is that, when we make a decision for the church but then cannot implement this decision [to build the church] because some of the Muslims do not want it, because they don’t want the church—this is, first and foremost, a failure of the state and its authority and a failure of the rule of law. When a group comes to oppose [with violence, several Copts were injured], and the police leaves them free, this is like a disease that will spread everywhere.
Today, for example, there is a decision, but there are say 3-4 Brotherhood or Salafis opposing it, and the government appears protesting with them—in this case, you have given everyone who wants to oppose [with violence] the opportunity to oppose.