Egypt el-Sissi inaugurates cathedral, mosque in new capital

Egypt's president on Sunday inaugurated a new cathedral for the Coptic Orthodox Church and one of the region's largest mosques in a highly symbolic gesture at a time when Islamic militants are increasingly targeting the country's minority Christians.

Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, a general-turned-president, has made sectarian harmony a cornerstone of his rule, fighting Islamic militancy while advocating equality between the overwhelming Muslim majority and Christians, who account for 10 percent of Egypt's 100 million people.

However, el-Sissi's widely publicized policy to staunch sectarianism has done little to protect Christians in rural Egypt, where Muslim extremists frequently attack their homes and businesses or force them to leave their homes after violent disputes.

Critics and activists say discrimination against Christians there is often tolerated by local authorities and branches of the security agencies.

But Sunday's opening ceremony in Egypt's New Administrative Capital, el-Sissi's brainchild that is located in the desert east of Cairo, stressed what the pro-government media like to call "the national fabric" of Christians and Muslims.

Entertainers and chorus lines took to the stage to sing about the two faiths live peacefully side by side. Short films on the same topic were also screened.

The ceremony's presenters portrayed the construction of the cathedral and the mosque, which took 18 months to complete, as a message to humanity. "It is a message to the whole world that Egypt is a nation for all," said one presenter.

The ceremony, attended by Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and a host of Arab dignitaries, included recorded video messages of support from the region's top Christian clerics as well as Pope Francis.

Speaking in Italian, Pope Francis said: "With joy I greet all of you on the joyful occasion of the dedication of the new Cathedral of the Nativity, built in the new administrative capital. May the prince of peace give to Egypt, the Middle East and the whole world the gift of peace and prosperity."