20110308
reuters

CAIRO, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Clashes between Egyptian Muslims and Coptic Christians escalated on Tuesday after Coptic protestors blocked a main road in Cairo for more than two hours.

Hundreds of salafists, or conservative Muslims, claimed for regaining two women who they believed were held in a church after they proclaimed their Islam belief, state MENA news agency reported.

The salafists stressed the importance of not changing the second article of the constitution as the Copts called on in the nationwide demonstration, which affirms that Islam is the only source for jurisdiction.

The clashes between salafists and Copts in the Autostrad road in southeast Cairo left at least one Copt dead and five people wounded, according to local media.

Meanwhile, thousands of Coptic protestors continued a sit-in for the fourth day Tuesday in front of the Egyptian Radio and TV building protesting over a church that was torched in a village in Helwan Governorate, south of Cairo.

They demanded ending of the sectarian clashes against them and rebuilding the burnt Shahedain church.

They also called for providing protection for Copts and securing their houses along with paying compensations for the losses inflicted on them.

A fight among members of a Muslim family on Friday night over the romantic relationship between a Muslim girl and a Christian merchant left two dead, including the girl's father.

After the funeral, crowds of Muslims from the village directed to the Shahedain church and broke into the church before they torched it.

Egypt's new Prime Minister Esssam Sharaf promised the Coptic protestors to reclaim the land of the burnt church and rebuild it.

Brigadier General Tareq el-Mahdi, the Radio and Television Union's supervisor, confirmed with MENA on Tuesday that the church is being rebuilt.

Christians represented about ten percent of the 80-million Egyptian population. Any marriage relationship between Muslim and Christian is forbidden according to Islamic jurisdictions.