Arson Attack on the Coptic Orthodox Church in Lichtenberg, Berlin
In the early morning, unknown men pushed and lit a garbage can in front of the entrance of the Church of St. Anthony in Lichtenberg in Berlin. The fire spread to the oak door of the church. Fortunately, firefighters could prevent the fire from spreading. Nevertheless, the entrance area of the church had been badly damaged.
"These kind of attacks are commonly experienced in Egypt. The fact that it has also come to Germany, is a new and shocking occurance for us. We are stunned," commented the Coptic bishop Anba Damian.During the previous year, four burglaries had already taken place in the church of St. Anthony in Lichtenberg in Berlin. Thieves had stolen sacred objects as well as rainwater gutters made of copper. All of the incidents are suspected to be caused by Muslims, also because the local church staff had been insulted in Arabic on several occasions in the weeks before. Sources:
http://www.idea.de/nachrichten/detail/thema-des-tages/artikel/brandanschlag-auf-kirche-stecken-radikale-muslime-dahinter-82932.html http://www.tagesspiegel.de/berlin/polizei-justiz/berlin-lichtenberg-brandanschlag-auf-koptische-kirche/10792710.html