Egypt's Coptic Leader Apologizes For Bishop's Questioning of Qur'anic Verses

The leader of Egypt's Coptic Christian Church, Pope Shenouda III, in an interview aired on Egypt's state-run television Sunday apologized to Muslims for remarks made recently by the church's top bishop. Al-Azhar criticized Bishop Bishoy for provoking sectarian tension after Egyptian media quoted him as suggesting that verses in the Qur'an disputing the divine nature of Jesus were inserted after the death of the Prophet Muhammad. Daily News Egypt reports that Egypt's ambassador in Cyprus also raised the issue directly with Bishoy. The bishop has also contributed to rising tensions between Muslims and Copts by telling a newspaper last week that Muslims are only guests in Egypt. Egypt was majority Christian before the 7th century. Pope Shenouda said in his interview that it is now Christians who are guests since Muslims are the majority. Thousands of Muslims demonstrated Friday against Bishoy's statements and Al-Ahzar's Islamic Research Center held an emergency meeting to condemn the statements.