Egypt: Salafists Attack Shia Homes Killing Four in Sectarian Violence

Image from video showing the body of a man being carried through the street.

Four Egyptian adherents of the Shia faith were killed in Egypt yesterday when the house they were meeting in was attacked by Salafists, following two weeks of instigation against the Shia.

According to various reports, the house the Shia were meeting in, in Giza, Cairo, was attacked and burned. Al Badil News quotes a witness from the mortuary [ar]who says that one of those killed was slaughtered and the remaining three had injuries to their heads. The horrific incident unleashed anger online.

Hazem Barakat documented the crime, sharing bloodied photographs and a video of the attack (Warning: Graphic video) online. On Twitter, he says he was threatened for sharing the incident he has witnessed. He adds [ar]:

@7azem122: I am ready to testify at the Public Prosecutor and I will say what happened in detail and I will say that the clergymen were the ones who instigated this crime

He continues:

@7azem122: Instigating against the Shia started two weeks ago in all the mosques and today they executed their plan. Those clergymen are sons of dogs. They killed people with young children

Five hours ago he tweeted:

@7azem122: The Salafists have started to break the roof of the house the Shia are in. It is a surreal scene.

He also claims the police, including officers, were standing by and watching as the lynching took place.

The incident was met with anger online.

Satirist Dr Bassem Youssef tweets:

@DrBassemYoussef: Today it is a Shia; tomorrow a Sufi, and then a Copt, a before him a Bahai. Afterwards it will be a Muslim who doesn’t agree with the way you want to implement Sharia (Islamic teachings) with your ideology and then it will be someone whose look you don’t like

Egyptian blogger Zeinobia shares a similar thought:

@Zeinobia: And today it is the Shia and tomorrow your neighbour who is not in agreement with you politically and intellectually

Ahmed Abou Hussein asks:

@abouhussein7: When your clergyman [President Mohamed Morsi] says that the protestors are infidels and that the Shia are unchaste, don’t be surprised when they are killed. Morsi, the question is not whether you have lost your legitimacy. The question is: how many times have you lost your legitimacy?

Ahmad Khalil is surprised at the way people are reasoning murder:

@ahmad_khalil: The Salafists have killed four Shia. What is surprising is that there are some among those who are condemning the act who say that spilling the blood of a Muslim is Haram [forbidden in Islam]. It is as if spilling the blood of a Christian is Halal (acceptable in Islam]. Such sectarian ideas have inflicted everyone.

Sherif Azer notes [ar]:

@sherif_azer: There were a lot of incidents and statements that have happened over the past period which prepared the scene for the attack on the Shia in Egypt. Not being prepared for such an incident is a crime in its own

And Adel Salib wonders why people are shocked that the Shia are being attacked in Egypt when the police previously attacked – and killed – Egyptian Copts:

@Adel_Salib: Someone is surprised that the police were watching while the Shia were being murdered when two months ago the police were attacking the Cathedral. Are you under a spell or just stupid?

Ali adds:

@ali4592000: Are you angry that Sunni Muslims are being killed in Burma and happy that Shia Muslims are being burnt alive in Egypt and their corpses defiled? You should see a good veterinarian

Rawah Badrawi shares some history:

Cairo was founded by Shias you Neanderthals. They established half its heritage sites including Al Azhar.

— Rawah روعه (@RawahBadrawi) June 23, 2013

And Yemeni blogger Noon Arabia concludes:

@NoonArabia: We are returning to the age of Jahiliyya [ignorance]. Islam is innocent of the blood being spilled today in Egypt, Lebanon and Syria

Of course not everyone was horrified by the attack. Blogger Mohamed Beshir shares a tweet by a presenter at the Egyptian Television named Mohammed Saber, who is celebrating the murder of the Shia and calling for more deaths.