An Egyptian journalist and a member of parliament from the ruling party are being summoned to court for allegedly inciting against the Baha’i minority in the country.

The journalist, Jamal ‘Abd A-Rahim from the pro-government daily Al-Gumouriyya, and the MP, Muhammad Yusri from the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP), are being questioned about their role leading to the burning of Baha’i homes last week.

Residents of A-Shouraniyya, located in the Sohag governorate about 345 kilometers south of the capital Cairo, set fire to houses belonging to Baha’is last Thursday and forced them out of town.

Molotov cocktails were hurled at their homes and the water was cut off to prevent them from putting out the flames.

The police soon arrived and helped the Baha’i families flee the premises.

Twenty residents of the town who allegedly took part in the assault have also been summoned to court.

‘Abd A-Rahim is being accused of inciting against the Baha’i after he published an inflammatory article in which he described them as apostates who rejected Islam. Yusri expressed support for ‘Abd A-Rahim’s statements.

Thursday’s was the second attack on Baha’i homes in a week. During a similar attack in late March, the assailants chanted against the Baha’is, calling them “enemies of Allah.”

Hossam Bahgat, director of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights said these latest attacks were unprecedented.

The Baha’i community has had problems with the state in terms of being stripped of its legal status, having property confiscated or being prosecuted for contempt of religion, he said.

“But this is the first time we’ve documented physical assaults on Baha’i homes or property.”

Last week’s incident was a setback for Baha’i freedom in Egypt, especially since it came two weeks after this minority made a significant legal gain.

On March 16, an Egyptian court ruled that the “religion” field on national identity cards could be left blank.

Up until that decision, Baha’is had to identify themselves on their ID cards as being Muslim, Christian or Jewish, and cards would not be issued for whoever refused to be labeled under one of these three religions, effectively rendering them non-citizens.

“Unfortunately these attacks marred the positive reaction that the court ruling received,” Bahgat said.

There is no official data as to the number of Baha’is in Egypt, but unofficial data puts their number somewhere between 1,500 and 2,000 believers.

In a separate development, sectarian tensions flared in the coastal town of Alexandria over the weekend, when Muslims damaged shops under Christian ownership. Security sources said hundreds of Muslims participated in the attack, hurling stones at the shops and destroying them with sticks, according to news reports.

It was reported that the attack on the shop was prompted by the death of a Muslim man in the city who was renting an apartment from a Christian family. The protestors accused the Christian family of stabbing the tenant to death.

The incident highlights ongoing tension between Muslims and Christians in Egypt.

Human-rights organizations accuse President Hosni Mubarak’s government of discriminating against Copts, who constitute around 10 percent of the country's 80 million inhabitants, constituting the largest Christian community in the Middle East.

Rights groups say the Copts in Egypt face discrimination and harassment from the Egyptian authorities.

Copts complain of fewer rights than Muslims, and say they are refused positions of authority in some sectors of the government, the military and academia.