The priest, Father George Thabet, who was holding morning services, was escorted away in a police car by security forces. Several youths who were attending mass remained inside the church to defend it from Muslim attacks without the aid of police.

In March, the same group of Muslims surrounded the church, which was granted a renovation license. The group ordered church officials to stop construction immediately and threatened to demolish the church if their demands were not met.

Muslim extremists in Egypt have repeatedly targeted Coptic Christians, as they account for only 10 percent of the nation’s population. Twenty-four people were killed and around 100 injured in a New Year’s Eve bombing of a Coptic church in the city of Alexandria.