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Sol, Egypt (TML) – Euphoric rhetoric about a new era in Egypt’s Muslim-Christian relations since Husni Mubarak stepped down as president has quickly given way to warnings of civil war, after sectarian clashes in Cairo left 13 Egyptians dead this week.

Angry villagers in Sol, a village about 80 kilometers (50 miles) south of the capital, set fire Saturday to a local church following a feud over a romance between a Christian and a Muslim that left two men dead. In response, hundreds of Copts took to the streets of Cairo late on Tuesday, blocking a main traffic artery and vandalizing cars.

Six hours of clashes with Muslim residents ensued, resulting in 13 fatalities and 140 injured by live gunfire, Molotov cocktails and stone-throwing. The Egyptian army was called in to take control of the situation.

Egypt has long been riven by strife between the country’s Muslims and its Coptic Christian minority. Twenty-one Copts died on New Year’s Eve when a suicide bomber detonated an explosive charge in a church in Alexandria, the country’s second-largest city. But the popular uprising that took off less than four weeks later seemed to usher in a new spirit.

Tahrir Square, the center of the revolution, was the setting for Christian-Muslim prayers and a leading Muslim cleric pointedly addressed the country’s Muslims and Christians in a sermon two weeks ago. Many Egyptians maintained that sectarian violence was being fanned by the Mubarak regime and would no longer be a problem for Egypt. That theory still prevails, even though Mubarak is no longer in power.

“‘Hidden hand’ civil war threatens to burn Egypt,’” Al-Masry Al-Youm said in its lead headline Thursday.

“Some people say Mubarak cronies or radical Islamists were behind the ransacking of the church,” Joseph Fahim, a Coptic journalist at the Daily News Egypt, told The Media Line. “But sectarianism is still there, you can’t deny it. The revolution isn’t going to solve that problem in one day.”

Fahim said the Coptic community, who make up about 10% of Egypt’s 80 million population, is torn between those who support protesting attacks on Christians and those who favor preserving national unity to accomplish “more burning” issues, such as reforming the constitution.

“The general ambiance is one of confusion,” he said. “This is very unsettling and we don’t know what to think.”

The Revolution Youth Coalition, a makeshift grouping of anti-Mubarak activists, called for nationwide rallies on Friday under the slogan “for the love of Egypt” to protest attacks on Copts. “Everyone knows who is inciting these events,” the group wrote in a statement published by Egyptian daily Al-Masry Al-Youm, referring to Mubarak loyalists.

The U.S. government, which is anxious to see its Egyptian ally make a smooth transition to democracy, also expressed concern about the sectarian clashes.

“We have urged the Egyptian transitional government to act swiftly to bring the perpetrators of that violence to justice,” Mark Toner, a State Department spokesman said on Wednesday. He said Washington saw “no signs” that Egypt’s transitional military government was behind the violence.

Amr Khaled, a popular television preacher, contended that “hidden hands” were attempting to cause fitna, a loaded Islamic term denoting civil strife but also demonic seduction. Khaled said he intended to speak in the village of Sol where violence had erupted and call for restraint.

A group of Egyptian celebrities including politicians, clerics and businessmen came to Sol, a previously unheard-of hamlet, to lend their support to stopping the sectarian tension.

For its part, the Egyptian government also framed the violence as a counter-revolution, orchestrated by Mubarak loyalists. On Thursday, Prime Minister Isam Sharaf told newspaper editors that the eruption of sectarian violence “raised doubts,” adding that partisan demands would slow the process of growth in Egypt.

Maye Kassem, a political scientist at the American University in Cairo, said she also suspected the role of Mubarak-era security agencies in the unrest but expressed hope that they wouldn’t succeed in dividing Egyptian society.

“Both Muslims and Christians know these events are linked to Internal Security Forces and related elements tied to the previous regime,” Kassem told The Media Line. “The Ministry of Interior is also said to be behind the bombing of the Alexandria church and hotels in [the resort town of] Sharm El-Sheikh a few years ago.”

Ali Salem, a liberal Egyptian playwright was optimistic that things would gradually calm down.

“Security instability is a natural outcome of the dismantling of the Egyptian security establishment,” Salem told The Media Line. “But we must do what we can so that this phase doesn’t last long.”

Salem said he was reassured by statements made by Egypt’s new prime minister and minister of interior. “The wheel of state has begun to turn,” he said.

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