An Egyptian Christian was killed during clashes with the Egyptian army this week at a Christian center for orphans and mentally and physically handicapped children outside Cairo, a Christian watchdog organization said.
This is the ninth time that the Patmos Christian Center has been attacked by the army during the last six and half years.
The current dispute apparently centers on the wall on the compound, which does not conform to a building code passed in January 2003, but Christians argue that the trouble stems from anti-Christian sentiments.
Some 500 soldiers and two bulldozers assaulted the Patmos Christian Center for an hour on Monday, blocking the entrance to the compound with a large pile of stones and rubble and destroying seven meters (23 feet) of an adjoining wall, the British-based Barnabus Fund said in a statement.
When workers on the compound rushed out to prevent the army from entering the property, soldiers threw bottles and stones at them.
During the fray, a bus plowed into a crowd, killing Kirilos Daoud and injuring seven other people, one critically. A nun reportedly was injured when soldiers beat her. The head of the Christian center, Bishop Botros, was unharmed.
According to Paul Cook, advocacy manager of the Barnabus Fund, although soldiers had stopped traffic in front of the center, they allowed the bus to proceed.
"It seems they may have even tried to encourage [the driver] to hit the bishop," Cook said by telephone. "Some Christians [believe it was] a deliberate attempt to get the bishop."
Police later could not locate the bus driver, he said, heightening the suspicion that perhaps he had been whisked away by the army.
Under a law passed last year, all buildings must be at least 100 meters (325 feet) from the Cairo-Suez road. The Christian center's wall is just 50 meters (163 feet) from the road, but it was built 10 years ago - in full accordance with the law at the time, the Barnabus Fund said.
Christians argue that the wall surrounding the local army barracks on the same road is only 50 meters from the road and many other buildings in the area are much closer, including some 15 mosques, built just five to 10 meters (16-33 feet) from the road. There have been no attempts made to tear down those structures, they say.
Church leaders say Egypt's minister of defense has been opposed to the Christian center since 1997 and has ordered Muslim officers from the local army unit to enforce the building code at the Patmos Center. According to Cook, the the defense minister is a "conservative Muslim" with anti-Christian sentiments.
The Barnabus Fund said it believes the trouble is inspired by anti-Christian prejudice rather than a dispute over building regulations.
Persecution of Egypt's 10-12 million Christians is well documented by human rights and religious organizations. They suffer from discrimination in jobs and education and inequality in all aspects of daily life as well as restrictions on building and repairing their churches.
The Fifth Annual Report on International Religious Freedom released by the State Department on December 18, 2003, said that while the Egyptian constitution "provides for freedom of belief and the practice of religious rites" it nevertheless "places restrictions on this right."
One restriction, for example, requires non-Muslims to obtain a presidential decree to build a place of worship or repair church facilities.
According to the State Department report, in 1999 Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak issued a decree making the repair of all places of worship subject to a 1976 civil construction code.
"The decree places churches and mosques on equal footing before the law and facilitates significantly church repairs. However, local permits are still subject to approval by security authorities," the State Department report said, which means that in some cases, permits can take years to obtain.
"Security officials also may deny or delay permits for the supply of water and electricity," the report says.
One example given was that of a small church in the Cairo suburb of Ezbet el-Nakhl, which for 16 years has been waiting for a presidential decree to demolish a small church and rebuild a home for the elderly in its place.
In cases of personal freedom, the constitution "provides for equal public rights and duties without discrimination due to religion or creed, and in general, the Government upholds these constitutional protections; however, government discrimination against non-Muslims exists.
"There are no Christians serving as governors, presidents of public universities, or deans. There are few Christians in the upper ranks of the security services and armed forces," the State Department report said.
It also notes that there was "some improvement" in the government's "respect for religious freedom."