CWN - The secretary of the patriarch of the Coptic Catholic Church has told Aid to the Church in Need that attacks on Christian churches in Egypt are not evidence of religious conflict between Muslims and Christians.

“The idea that this involves a conflict between Muslims and Christians simply isn’t borne out by the reality,” said Father Hani Bakhoum Kiroulos. “It’s not only Christians who are being attacked, but also state institutions.”

“The attackers want to provoke us Christians into calling for Western intervention, for instance from the USA or European countries,” he continued. “This would internationalize the conflict and disrupt national unity … But this tactic won't work. We Christians have shown that we are genuine Egyptians.”

“During the rule of the Muslim Brother[hood] many terrorists entered the country,” he added, referring to the regime of ousted President Mohamed Morsi. “This is a terrorist problem that affects all Egyptians equally, not only the Christians. Egypt is conducting a war on terrorism.”