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As young Egyptians gathered in a crowded tea house near Tahrir Square following last night’s deadly violence, the owner was in no doubt who was to blame for the latest trouble.
“This is all because of the Revolution,” he shouted, over the din of chatter and bubbling shisha pipes.
At least 24 people were killed and scores more injured during the chaotic scenes, which were unlike any since the fall of former President Hosni Mubarak in February. It left many worrying that Egypt’s uprising is spiralling out of control.
The trouble began during a demonstration by members of Egypt’s Coptic community, who were trying to draw attention to a recent spate of attacks against churches in Upper Egypt.
Witnesses said that after gathering outside the state television headquarters in Downtown Cairo, the protesters came under attack from plain-clothed thugs.
In the mayhem that followed, thousands of activists – both Muslim and Christian – fought running battles with police and regime loyalists at the northern end of Tahrir Square. Petrol bombs were thrown and the sound of gunshots and exploding tear gas canisters reverberated through Downtown Cairo.
The deadly clashes have renewed fears that Egypt’s uprising is in danger of imminent collapse. Already today, Prime Minister Essam Sharaf was claiming the violence was part of a “dirty conspiracy” and condemned “foreign meddling” in the nation’s affairs; all highly reminiscent of the language one might expect from a Gaddafi or an Assad – not the man supposed to be leading the country towards a brave new world of democracy and pluralism.
But there were other worrying signs; not least that the trouble might inflame the sectarian tensions which have been bubbling away between Copts and the more fundamentalist elements of the Muslim community for some time.
At the height of last night’s trouble, a Downtown off-license was attacked and had its shutters stoved-in. Shops selling alcohol are a particular bugbear of hardline Islamists, and the attack was a sign of the potential backlash against Egypt’s Christians, who make up about 10 per cent of the population.
Elsewhere Christians fought plain-clothed assailants outside a Coptic hospital as doctors tried to help the wounded last night. One Egyptian told The Majalla she had heard numerous people around the Downtown area condemning the Christians and blaming them for the violence.
In the past few weeks, riots have erupted outside two churches in southern Egypt involving Muslims angry over church construction – a long-running sore point between the two communities.
Many Christians believe the ruling military council, which took power following Mubarak’s ouster, has been too lenient in the face of attacks on Christians. Others are also worried about the increasingly vociferous fundamentalist Salafi Muslim movement and its influence on the transition period.
The Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Ahmed al-Tayyeb, has reportedly been in contact with Pope Shenuda III, the Coptic leader, in a bid to resolve the crisis. But with further clashes reported in Cairo today, Egypt’s revolution is teetering on the brink of failure.
