Alexandria Man Slits Throat of Christian Alcohol Retailer

CAIRO, EGYPT - OCTOBER 21: Mohammed Helmy (29) prepares to open his family's copperwa
Ed Giles/Getty
Ali Waked

An Egyptian liquor store owner died on Tuesday after his throat was slit by a middle-aged bearded man, witnesses said.

The perpetrator attacked Youssef Lamei, a Christian resident of Alexandria, while shouting “allah akbar,” and subsequently fled the scene.

The heads of the local police arrived at the scene, but have yet to determine that it was a case of sectarian violence.

The murder was caught on CCTV cameras, and the attacker was identified as a local Muslim contractor.

The incident made a splash on social media.

“A Salafi slaughtered a Copt. When will the state understand that every Salafi is a potential terrorist,” Father Angelos Gerges tweeted. “When will the state address this ideology by banning their activity. These terrorist ideas are not in the realm of the freedom of expression.”

https://twitter.com/Angelos_Gerges/status/816270466897838080

Medhat Safwat, a journalist, refrained from treating it as a religious clash. “There are conflicting reports about the slaughtering of an alcohol retailer by an Alexandria contractor,” he tweeted. “The motive may have been a financial dispute or the killer’s objection to the victim’s profession.”

“The first time I saw someone getting slaughtered was online, in 2011, and it was in Tunisia,” another wrote. “I never thought we’d see something similar, and today it happened here in Alexandria, with the slaughtering of an alcohol retailer.”

Amal wrote: “The truth is that ignorance murdered the alcohol retailer, hate murdered the alcohol retailer, neglect and leniency [by the authorities] killed the alcohol retailer. Only the government is to blame.”

“Now the terrorists will start celebrating and praising the terrorist who killed the victim and will make him a hero because of the alcohol,” Iman Nasser wrote. “May Allah take vengeance at you.”

“Look at all this faith, how he performs a halal slaughter, look at him coming from behind like the devil, attacking and slaughtering,” Citizen wrote sarcastically. “The virgins are waiting for him.”

Mona Abdel Wahab wrote: “When preachers in mosques in the villages and even the cities adhere to Islamic State ideology, why are we surprised that a Salafist slaughters a man in broad daylight. What should surprise us is that they can move freely.”

 

COMMENTS

Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.