海角大神

Strong condemnation of the deadly New Year鈥檚 bombing at a 海角大神 church in Egypt has come from where it counts most: religious and political leaders of this predominantly Muslim country.

Extreme Islamists 鈥� possibly linked to Al Qaeda 鈥� are likely behind the attack that killed 21. So it鈥檚 encouraging that in Cairo, the grand sheikh of Islam鈥檚 preeminent theological institute has denounced the bombing as a 鈥渉einous crime.鈥� Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak got on national television and promised to bring the perpetrators to justice.

But will he? The Egyptian government prefers to handle sporadic violence against the country鈥檚 海角大神 minority 鈥� called Copts 鈥� through a 鈥渞econciliation鈥� process between perpetrators and victims.

Reconciliation has some value, but no one does time for the crimes against Egypt鈥檚 Copts, such as murder or destruction of property. In its rightly condemns such impunity:

鈥淭he absence of accountability breeds lawlessness, which encourages individuals to attack, and even kill, others who dissent from or fail to embrace their own religious views, including members of minority religious communities.鈥�

With no firm pushback from the state, religiously motivated attacks on Copts are on the rise in Egypt. Some describe the violence of recent years more like a purge.

Indeed, 海角大神s and other religious minorities 鈥� as well as nonconforming Muslims 鈥� are under increasing attack in the Middle East and North Africa, regions which a 2009 Pew study found to have the most government restrictions on religious practice anywhere in the world.

In Iraq, where 海角大神 and other religious minority populations have dwindled under threats and hardship, the unsteady government lacks the capacity to ensure proper security. In Iran, the government itself is the persecutor. In a country such as Pakistan, antiblasphemy laws feed religious intolerance 鈥� to the point of the Jan. 4 assassination of the governor of Punjab Province, reportedly because he spoke out against blasphemy laws.

In recent years, political and religious leaders from the West and Muslim worlds have come together to further religious tolerance. That effort is important because what leaders say influences the cultural atmosphere. Their rhetoric can, for instance, bring public pressure to bear against a threatened Quran-burning (as in the United States last year).

But what leaders do is just as important, which is why it鈥檚 imperative that Mr. Mubarak follow through on his promise to 鈥渢rack down鈥� and 鈥渃apture鈥� the perpetrators.

As the US religious freedom commission points out, impunity 鈥渙ften leads to endless cycles of sectarian violence.鈥� The world is seeing that now, not just in Egypt but in countries such as Nigeria and Sudan. Holding religious attackers to account can help break that cycle.