Priest dies from stabbing on seaside promenade in Egypt
Al Azhar head condemns attack, warns such acts ‘might instigate religious wars’
Cairo: A knife-wielding man mortally wounded a Coptic priest during an attack at the popular seaside promenade in Alexandria on Thursday evening, Egypt’s interior ministry said.
The ministry said the priest died while being treated for his wounds. It said the suspected attacker had been arrested.
The priest was identified by the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria as Arsanious Wadid, 56. It said he had served at a local parish,
Christians make up more than 10% of Egypt’s mostly Muslim population. Violence between communities occasionally erupts, mainly in rural communities in the south.
Shaikh Ahmad Al Tayyeb, who heads Egypt’s Al Azhar — the highest institution of Sunnis in the Muslim world — condemned the attack, warning that such acts “might instigate religious wars.’’
“The Grand Imam affirms that homicide is a major sin that arouses God’s wrath and is punishable in the afterlife,’’ read the statement posted on Al Azhar’s Facebook page.