Milan: Muslims, Copts hold joint cultural events

Milan: Muslims, Copts hold joint cultural events


Muslim and Christian immigrants from the Egyptian community in the northern city of Milan were to hold cultural events on Sunday in a bid to build solidarity after six Coptic Christians were killed in Egypt recently. Violence broke out between hundreds of Christian Copts and police in southern Egypt earlier this month after the six churchgoers and a security guard were shot dead outside a church in Naj Hammadi in southern Qena province on 6 January.


The killings were the latest in a series of attacks against Copts by Muslim hardliners in Egypt in recent years.



Sunday's programme of events in Milan was to include a screening of the Egyptian movie, Hassan and Marcos, starring Adel Imam and Omar Sharif.



In the comedy, a Muslim preacher and Coptic Christian priest are forced to change their religious identities and go into hiding after both come under fire from fanatics within their respective communities for being too moderate.



"In Milan there is no tension between Copts and Muslims. All the same, it is important to invest positive energy into bringing together the communities and prevent religious identities from leading to isolation," read a note by the Ital-Egyptian Association and Vita Magazine, joint organisers of the event.



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Source: AKI (English)

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