The secretary-general of Egypt’s Islamic Jihad Party said that it’s OK to kill Christians because they threw the first punch.
“Those who came out with weapons, their blood is allowed for us [to spill]. As a fighter, [it’s] not considered dhimmi,” said Mohamed Abu Samra, according to the Christian Post.
Dhimmi is an Islamic law that says those of non-Muslim faith who live in Islamic states are supposed to be protected if they pay taxes.
But Christians at a recent funeral “brought the [Koran] and urinated on it,” Mr. Samra said. “They also came out in demonstrations to destroy Muslim places, chanting ’We’ll bring Islam down by any means possible.’”
Mr. Samra railed against Pope Tawadros II, who was named as the head of Egypt’s ancient Coptic Christian church in November, calling him more dangerous than his predecessor because he “considers using force as he is trying to establish a Coptic state. He considers the arrival of the Islamists an opportunity to declare civil war.
“What Tawadros is doing is a far cry from what the Coptic people want,” he said.
The pope did not respond in the Post report.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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