Fighting broke out over false rumours that a Christian woman was being prevented from converting to Islam

Egypt's transitional government moved quickly to defuse tensions after Muslim-Christian clashes in Cairo left 12 dead and cast a cloud over hopes for peaceful post-revolutionary change.

Angry demonstrations erupted in the capital after a Coptic church in the Imbaba neighbourhood was burned down on Saturday night. Military police separated opposing camps at one protest reminiscent of the dramatic events that overthrew the regime in February.

Fighting broke out over rumours, which turned out to be false, that a Christian woman was being held inside a church and prevented from converting to Islam.

Essam Sharaf, prime minister of the military-backed government, postponed a visit to the Gulf to convene an emergency cabinet session, and announced compensation payments for the dead and nearly 200 injured as well as strict implementation of tough new laws banning gatherings outside places of worship.

The government, sensitive to mounting alarm about deteriorating security since the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak in February, also rushed to announce that all 190 people arrested would be tried in military courts. The justice minister, Abdel-Aziz al-Gindi, pledged to "strike with an iron hand all those who seek to tamper with the nation's security".

Imbaba, a poor neighbourhood in the north-west of Cairo, was quiet but tense as night fell. The main al-Wahda street was blocked by armoured cars and patrolling soldiers – trusted far more than the police, who were discredited during the revolution.

Witness described how several hundred Muslims massed outside St Mina church demanding the woman be surrendered. Gunfire was heard and stones and petrol bombs were thrown before the army and emergency services were able to bring the situation under control. A second church was burned down.

Copts, who marched last night to the state TV station, called for national unity but blocked roads and raised tensions.

Egyptian media described the Imbaba attackers as Salafis – fundamentalist Muslims who want the imposition of sharia law. The Salafis, often with links to Saudi Arabia, are seen as having become more visible because internal security is less repressive now than before the revolution. It is also widely believed that elements of the Mubarak regime are encouraging them.

"It's the previous regime that is responsible for this," one distraught resident told reporters. "We demand that the higher military council punish all those responsible for this crime," said George Ishaq, a pro-democracy activist. "This is a crime – not sectarian strife."

The incident was condemned by the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's main Islamist grouping. "We should crack down on that violence and not let those people ruin what we achieved in the January revolution," said a spokesman, Essam el-Erian. "The Imbaba incident clearly shows that there are some people who are still working behind the scenes to ignite sectarian strife in Egypt." Erian echoed popular feeling in suggesting that attacks may have been encouraged by members of the now disbanded National Democratic Party, which ruled Egypt during the Mubarak era.

Mohamed ElBaradei, former head of the UN nuclear watchdog and a presidential hopeful, called for "urgent measures … to combat religious extremism and intolerance before Egypt slides into the dark ages".

Salafis demonstrated in front of the US embassy in Cairo last week after the killing of Osama Bin Laden.

Last month 13 people died in similar Muslim-Coptic clashes in another Cairo neighbourhood. Copts make up about 10% of Egypt's 80 million people.

Over the weekend, democracy activists held a conference to discuss the future of the revolution in advance of landmark parliamentary elections planned for September. The Muslim Brotherhood boycotted the event, saying that the priority was to change the constitution for the post-Mubarak era.

• Egypt
• Middle East
• Islam
• Religion
• Christianity

Ian Black

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