Islamists protest outside Coptic church in Cairo

Egyptians march to St. Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in Cairo  About 2,000 hardline Islamists protested Friday outside the Coptic Church's headquarters in Cairo to demand the release of two women they allege are being held after converting to Islam. The protesters, who belonged to the puritanical Salafi sect, marched on St Mark's Cathedral from a mosque after Friday prayers to demand the release of Wafa Constantine and Camellia Shehata, the wives of two priests. The church denies the women converted to Islam. The Salafis have held regular protests over the case in the past year, but they have usually been smaller in number. Their cause was eventually picked up by a Qaeda-linked group in Iraq that massacred dozens of Christians in a Baghdad church in November 2010 and vowed more attacks until the two women are freed. Two months later, a suicide bomber killed more than 20 Copts after a New Year's Eve mass in the Egyptian coastal city of Alexandria. The Coptic Church has reportedly convened a synod in response to the growing assertiveness of Salafis, who have increased their political presence in Egypt since a popular revolt toppled president Hosni Mubarak in February. Copts, who account for about 10 percent of the country's 80 million people, complain of discrimination. They have been the targets of fairly regular sectarian attacks.