Crowds protest Christian governor in south Egypt

(April 25, 2011) Tens of thousands of Egyptians led by hard-line Islamists escalated their protests on Good Friday over the appointment of a Coptic Christian governor in southern Egypt. The largest demonstrations so far in the campaign to unseat the governor of Qena province coincided with Good Friday services for most of Egypt's estimated 10 million Christians. Since President Hosni Mubarak's ouster in February after an 18-day popular uprising, ultraconservative Islamist groups have been flexing their muscles and vowing to take a more active political role as Egypt charts its transition to democracy. Protesters streamed out of Friday's Muslim prayer services in Qena and gathered in front of the governor's office and at other public squares, calling for the newly appointed Emad Mikhail to be replaced by a Muslim governor. During the latest of more than a week of protests, crowds barricaded vital train lines, blocked main roads and took over government buildings. Organizers had called for 1 million people to turn out. The bulk of the protesters are driven by a sectarian cause, believing it is not proper for a Christian to govern Muslims, who make up the majority of the population. Coptic Christians make up an estimated 10 percent of Egypt's population of nearly 80 million and complain of discrimination. Relations between the two faiths plunged to new lows after a suicide bomber blew himself up outside a Coptic church in Alexandria on Jan. 1, killing 21 people and injuring 100 others.